The Review of the Boulder 866 Integrated Amplifier

Welcome to the world of Boulder Amps! This is a feature and review of the Boulder 866 Integrated Amplifier. I was honored to have been considered for this opportunity and hope you all enjoy the detailed review!
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#audioarkitekts #hifi #audio #boulder #boulder866 #boulderamp

[@HEARDIFFERENT]

When a man makes a video about something he REALLY LOVES you can see it in his face and hear it in his voice.!!! So proud to be a subscriber.!!!

[@audioarkitekts]

So proud to be YOUR subscriber as well! The music you curate for your channel is exceptional!

[@bikemike1118]

When a man makes a video about something he REALLY tries to sell … you always must be cautious!!!

[@HEARDIFFERENT]

In every case, he knows how to make THE BEST QUALITY VIDEOS OUT THERE.!!!

[@audioarkitekts]

I’m flattered thank you my friend

[@mattmarceau8156]

Glad you had such an awesome experience with Boulder gear. I have a pair of Oberon 3s and they are probably the best sub $2k pair of speakers I’ve heard, although I do want to check out the Opticon mkII and Menuet SE. I’m actually amazed that you put sub $1k speakers with a $10k plus piece. I imagine it was sublime. I hope you can make more of these types of videos.

[@HEARDIFFERENT]

Mike with his videos can make anything audiophile look way sexier than it probably is. That's a talent that someone out there ( in the audio industry muse SEE ) and take care of more sponsorships.!!! Just noticing.!!!

[@audioarkitekts]

Thank you my dear friend!

[@michaelmityok1001]

Hey man love the enthusiasm, you got yourself a new sub here! Just a bit of feedback, most people will want you to do two main things in your reviews: first they will want a DETAILED description of how the piece of gear sounds relative to some of its peers; second they will want to know its value proposition relative to its peers. Do those two things consistently from review to review and avoid too much random rambling about other stuff, unless you are Dave Chappelle of course, and you will get subs fast. Good luck!

[@audioarkitekts]

Hey Michael thank you for your support and feedback! It’s greatly appreciated!

[@talhabutt6416]

Audio Arkitekts from Colorado and Bloulder from Colorado. Both doing great job at delivering the best😍

[@vader540is]

That is a awesome Amp, it's rare to find stuff nowadays made in USA. IMO it's worth the extra cost.

[@2ChannelListening]

I think Liv's reaction said it all. Really great job on this review Mike.

[@audioarkitekts]

Thank you very much!

[@simonkim9361]

Mike, a good summary of your audio setup with Boulder 866 as the centerpiece. Like you, Boulder 866 was acquired to simplify the audio setup from separate DAC, Media Streamer, preamplifier and tons of cables. Audio setup is Ayre CD player (also from Boulder, CO) and B&W 802 speakers. Cables used are Transparent. Since most of the feedbacks have been positive, I'd like to provide some of the negatives. 1) Boulder's products are in the area of diminishing returns given the price. Boulder 866 starts at $12k+ and up 2) The initial setup for home network can be quite convoluted. The inexpensive but highly rated media streamer from Cambridge Audio was a piece of cake compared to Boulder's setup 3) Owner's manual... Boulder says it is trying to save money by providing the best product by saving on the printed owner's manual. $12k product and no owner's manual? 4) Boulder products are quirky because speaker connection is only spades, source connection is XLR. If the source is a turntable, you need to get another equipment on top of Boulder 866. 5) Lacking RCA SPDIF input 6) Headphone output However, through my audio setup, and once it is setup correctly, the audio experience is indeed fantastic. On the other hand, should you expect anything else after investing over $20k on your audio setup? My two cents!

[@JilesMcCoy]

Very nice! I get like Scandinavian subs though!

[@talhabutt6416]

Awesome bro

[@audioarkitekts]

Thank you my brother

[@thomashenry847]

Beautiful amplifier

[@starkesound]

Excellent amplifier!

[@warsshan]

I like to hear the Boulder paired with Magico A5 or Dynaudio Confidence 30

[@josephkabuchi9237]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIKcZ2urjL6ci5I

[@jc51373]

Im sure it's great and I like Integrated Amps, just dubious on these slam dunk type products with DAC, streamers etc. Rather see this product as a straight up integrated amp something Boulder lacks in it's lineup. Great review either way.

[@homerjones3291]

First off - looks like a great piece of equipment but will not be for everyone, especially those that are hesitant to throw so much money at a unit that contains a DAC that you’re stuck with for years to come. Second, separate, not seperate. Third: things to mention that I think are important - price? Offered in 2 configurations as all analog ($12250) or analog/digital ($14450). RCA or SPDIF inputs? No. Headphone jack? No, probably not expected but good to mention. How does it sound with other kinds of music other than EDM? Soundstage? Imaging? Depth of soundstage Dunno. How the DAC compares a really good external DAC and not the meh offerings in the Bluesound and your CD player? Dunno. Some specific detail about the DAC chips used in this thing? Nope. How well do the screen menus/remote work with this unit and does it play well with other units? Anything about the wireless capacity? Class of amplifier? How it compares to other similarly priced int amps? Shoulda spent more time on the unit itself and not so much about everything else. Last thing: I realize you were making the point that with higher end components you really have to pay more attention to interactions between components and cabling - didn’t need the “try to follow along” statement.

[@toneswinger]

how do they compare to likes of Arye or Pass Labs

[@audioarkitekts]

Once I experience those brands I will definitely compare them. 🙂

[@C--A]

Nice vid though I doubt you were hearing much audible difference between the three DACs. Lot's of blind tests have been done between cheap, expensive and really expensive DACs with most people not being able to tell which DAC is which. As long as it's a well measured accurate DAC they all sound very similar. The audible difference you would of actually been hearing would be from the Boulder Amplifier. As a very good transparent linear low distortion amplifier just let's the music flow through. With very little colouration (apart from whatever colouration the speakers have)

[@audioarkitekts]

I’ve been noticing that more and more. I haven’t had a chance to review a high end DAC, yet. However I hope to hear some type of improvement as the price goes up lol

[@madcrabber1113]

How much $ for this stuff?

[@heliolima7552]

congrats for the effort but the review is pointless… you use entry level tech with supposedly top end amplification… The amp worths more than all of the gear for a multiple times.

[@pennfootball71]

I never saw a larger mismatch of amp to those level of speakers in my life. You put a Ferrari engine in a Chrysler minivan imagine what you can do if you got better speakers like Magico A5 for example or even the A3 that's affordable and probably a better pairing for this amp and a little more forgiving. You would need 2 subs with the A3 maybe 2 with an A5 to get full extension down to 20. If you don't want to spend that much get 2 ATC SCM 40 for $6999 BUT IT IS VERY CRITICAL YOU GET 2 SUBS with ATC that is of upmost importance since they start roll off under 65-75 but are reasonably flat to 17k then have a gentle roll off on the high giving you all the detail and non of the pain and suffer and they are easy to place. Ported speakers in that room will have more room issues to deal with and the sealed boxes more forgiving. I use YG acoustics Carmel 2's with mola mola kaluga monoblocks and a lampizator dac/preamp with some higher end Kubala Sosna kable that's a little more warmer than that neutral Audience stuff.

[@audioarkitekts]

Well at Soundings they were Demonstrating the higher end Dali’s with the 866, which are around the same price point as the Concept 300.

[@pennfootball71]

@@audioarkitekts ATC, YG, Magico, something flat...the Dali's are not neutral and have a little bass bump and roll off the top. Another good one is Wilson audio new Sabrina X or Wilson TuneTots with 2 subs.

[@audioarkitekts]

@@pennfootball71 i agree. I wish I would have had access to speakers of that caliber. To be honest the Mágico A1’s are my dream speakers to own someday!

[@pennfootball71]

@@audioarkitekts The A1 will start rolling off under 80 htz. It's a good speaker but the A5 has a better midrange driver. Look into ATC SCM40 with a pair of subs like a Rel T/9i..IIf you want 1 sub you can make it work if you can place it in between the speakers. then I recommend the Kef KF92. Was that your Boulder? I mean that thing is 12.7k and they are only discounted 9% from that. That is not chump change.

[@davidkocourek6933]

Boulder 👍, Bluesound Node 2i is not partner for Boulder👎.

[@powerslavenegi]

At 5:05 I saw this guy spending thousands of dollars on interconnects and wires having Q acoustics speakers and I knew I needed to stop watching this video.

[@user-mk5cd8ko3w]

cheap speakers with dear amp