Boulder 2150 Monoblocks – Review in „stereophile“

Geschrieben am Veröffentlicht in High-End

In der aktuellen Printausgabe von „stereophile“ (February 2017, S. 124-129) bespricht der „Analogpapst“ der Zeitschrift, Michael Fremer, die Monoblocks 2150 von Boulder, die hierzulande zu einem Paarpreis von fast exakt 100.000 € gelistet sind. Die Besprechung ist angenehm ausgewogen, weder mit Lob noch mit Kritik wird gespart. Die (etwas ausführlichere) Zusammenfassung macht dies deutlich:

„Based on having the pair of them in my system for an extended period of time, I conclude that Boulder Amplifiers’ 2150 is a muscular, tonally neutral, all-controlling monoblock power amplifier capable of unrestricted macrodynamic excursions and, because of its vanishingly low noise floor, the most delicate and highly resolved explorations of microdynamics. The 2150’s high level of transparency let me see into the sound as far as is possible, to pick out the smallest details of music and space.

The 2150’s electrical stability produced well-controlled, ultra-solid, well-defined low-frequency response that was neither over- nor underdamped, and remarkably clean, precise, etch-free transient response from top to bottom. In fact, the 2150s’ overall grip and control produced aural images and a solidity of soundstage that were, in my experience, second to none. The 2150 was ‚analytical‘ only in the sense that it added no sound of its own to the signals it was fed – but this means that the associated gear must be chosen with great care. Owners of 2150s must also be willing to accept the fact that some, or even many, of their favorite recordings don’t sound so great.

But nothing made by mere mortals is perfect, and every audio product, despite its designers’ best intentions, ’sounds.‘ I think that the 2150’s sound does have an overall character, and that that character is somewhat dry, and lacking the ultimate in musical flow. It reproduced precise attacks and ear-popping decays, but the sustains of notes between those attacks and decays were less than fully expressed.

By comparison, my reference monoblocks, darTZeel’s NHB-458s, don’t grip quite as tightly as the Boulders, nor do they achieve the 2150s’ levels of transparency and solidity. What they deliver so well, especially for solid-state amps, is music’s liquidity and natural flow – due to their more generous sustain. You can’t have everything.“

Vermutlich wird diese Besprechung bereits in Kürze auch via Internet zur Verfügung stehen.

Update 25.1.2017: und der Link zum Artikel in der Onlineausgabe von „stereophile“ ist hier.

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