BOULDER 812 / 861

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23.800 €

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Amplificateur de puissance 2 x 50 watts / 2 x 200 watts peak.

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Préamplificateur de très haut niveau avec contrôle de volume « optique » propriétaire issu des modèles de la serie 3000.

La sensibilité est ajustable sur chaque entrée, y compris les entrées numériques ! Le réglage peut descendre jusqu’à -25 dB, par pas de 0,5 dB.

Entièrement symétrique, de l’entrée à la sortie.

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Streamer Roon ready, UPnP, Airplay et bluetooth avec entrée réseau et wifi.

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DAC 32 bits / 384 kHz  reprenant les concepts du DAC 2120.

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Amplification casque avec entrées 3.5mm, 6.35mm, 4-pin balanced & Pentaconn 4,4mm.

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Haute Fidélité :

 Ce qui frappe avant tout est la grande classe des timbres, totalement dans la lignée de la prestigieuse série 1100.

Les Boulder sont absolument inimitables, à la fois chaleureux, définis, veloutés, enveloppant,

mais avant tout très crédibles et transparents.

Équilibre miraculeux… profondeur de la scène sonore confondante… ampleur hallucinante…

Du grand art. Un sommet accessible !

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HiFi – Sound + Music :

If the preamplifier doesn’t optimally process a signal—be it digital or analog—and doesn’t deliver it perfectly to the power amplifier, even the best speakers and the most expensive cables won’t help.

The result remains unsatisfactory.

Toward the end of the last millennium, one of the most elaborate preamplifiers ever created gaveme many goosebump moments and revealed an important truth: the Cello Audio Suite.

Developed by Tom Colangelo and marketed by Mark Levinson, this exceptional component accompanied me fot many years—both personally and professionally.

When I managed “The World’s Most Expensive System” for Audio magazine, the Audio Suite was always on board.

How many preamplifiers have I tested over the years? Too many to count.

Most sounded decent at a volume setting around „10 o’clock,“ but fell short at lower levels and became annoying at higher ones.

But there were exceptions from Spectral, Viola, … and now I’m celebrating the first one, which, at 11,700 euros, is considerably less expensive than the all-time greats.

What makes the Boulder 812 so special ?

In addition to its outstanding technical features, including an excellent digital-to-analog converter

and a so-called „Roon endpoint,“ it almost reaches the sonic level of the Cello Audio Suite.

Its greatest achievement, however, is that it gives the listener the feeling that purchasing new speakers becomes unnecessary.

You can confidently postpone that purchase—perhaps even indefinitely.

Once you’ve heard the Boulder 812 in your system, you’ll understand why the preamplifier is the key figure in music reproduction.

A listening test with the Boulder 812 turns into a spectacular audio experience.

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With the first note that the Boulder 812 transfers to a power amplifier, respect turns into love. Forever

The Boulder 812 preamplifier is a masterpiece in high-end audio.

It delivers the finest details while preserving the emotional core of the music.

Once you‘ve heard this preamp paired with a fitting power amplifier, it‘s hard to go back to anything else.

A true highlight of the audiophile world.

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Le test complet ici : Boulder 861 Review

HiFiClube :

The sound is clean, informative, if not overly detailed, and dynamic, as if springing from the black silence of a warm and pure water fountain.

The midrange has a rich harmonic texture and conveys a sense of intense, saturated colour, yet paradoxically it always sounds neutral, never over-processed.

Bass is dry, tight, solid, articulate, and well-defined in the best Boulder tradition.

The four complementary JFET pairs used in the amplifier output stage sound reminiscent of tubes but without compromising overall resolution and transparency.

No one would say that we are listening to digital sound through a solid-state device.

The sound quality is disarmingly natural – you feel like listening to it non-stop.

Listen to it at your own risk. The temptation to buy it is overwhelming, despite the high price.

You’ve been warned…

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Future Audiophile :

I’ve touched/seen/experienced pretty much every high-end audiophile brand or product out there, and these Boulder components are the finest that I’ve ever experienced. 

The rise of the uber-high-end in the audiophile hobby has been well-documented in recent years.

The reality is that the gross majority of audiophiles couldn’t ever justify or even dream of owning many of those products.

The Boulder 812 delivers the greatest hits from the new-school audiophile world at a price that, if you try really hard, you might just be able to afford. 

You get so much of what Jeff and his team at Boulder have learned over 35 years in the 812 DAC/Preamp that the value is relatively high.

They do their own filtering (for DAC design not user “EQ”), so are not stuck with the stock options.

The DAC in the Boulder 812 borrows a lot from the reference Boulder 2120 DAC.

On Kashmir, it was heart-stoppingly good. What was impressive was how much of that beyond-expensive sound I was able to get in my room with the Boulder 812 DAC/Preamp in my system.

The palpability of the bass is just addictive.

You can find a larger, more powerful amp, but I am not sure that you can find a better power amplifier in the audiophile world than the Boulder 861.

The 800 Series by Boulder is a game-changer for the high end.

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High Fidelity :

The comparison to the reference player showed that the ‘812’ DAC has an incredibly clean presentation but also that it is saturated and not bright at all.

It clearly articulated the attack of the sound, but then immediately switched to a silky sustain. This resulted in an incredibly pleasant, but also fantastically clear and selective presentation.

PAT METHENY  was shown in an incredibly natural way. The guitar was shown in an incredibly dynamic way, very natural, with saturated sub-ranges.

It was clear, I had no doubts about it, that the designers perfectly control the phase coherence.

The vocals of the Gilberto couple were presented close to me, had a large volume, but also a natural softness.

The Boulder sounds to some extent « analog ». The sound is dense, it has a velvety depth, and it also has an internal compactness.

This is one of the best digital-to-analog converters I have heard in my life, despite the fact that it is relatively – for high-end and this manufacturer – inexpensive.

Better than the vast majority of devices of this type from the up to 25.000 € range.

With the 812 preamplifier, the tonality became warmer and denser. The sound was now even closer to me, it was more palpable, even though it seemed more rounded at the same time.

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A well-deserved ˻ RED FINGERPRINT  Award.

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Audiodrom :

I would summarize the 812’s sound by two words: clean comfort.

This preamp gives an impression of grip on sound, from bottom to top, which helps keep things organized.

The instruments and voices are locked firmly within the soundstage, and although the 812 projects the soundfield a bit more upfront that I am used to, the projected space still has impressive width and depth.

The bass of the Boulder 812 has wonderful control; the smear is reduced, so it may seem that there is less bass weight, but it is not true –

it is because the bass is very well controlled in time domain, with no hanging or ringing.

At the same time, the subjectively less pronounced bottom end, combined with subjectively slightly rolled off top end that effectively fights nasties like sibilants and edginess, let the rich tapestry of the 812’s midrange stand out.

This provides the aforementioned listening comfort, as the preamp is easy on ears.

Compared with Bryston BP-19 and D’Agostino Progression, the 812 wanders towards the D’Agostino sound, which makes the 812 a really good deal.

BP-19 is not a competitor to the 812 and the Boulder crushes it.

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The Absolute Sound :

I owned Boulder AE500 monoblocks and LA5 preamplifier, so I think I’m as familiar with the Boulder sonic signature as anyone.

That signature is all about transparency, neutrality, and not editorializing on the sonics in any way.

The Boulder 812 imbues every track with a special sense of solidity and cohesive energy.

Also, the 812 has a superb level of lucidity, so that each recording retains its own particular soundstage and environmental characteristics.

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