Hi all, new member here! Have to chime in on this thread. I will preface this with the fact that I have never heard the xs amps or any pass gear for that matter. Luckily I have an exceptional dealer who let's me demo mega buck gear in my own home. I too own the s5's and over the past year have had the itch to swap some boxes. I had been a hardcore Boulder fan for the past few years and I guess I just wanted to try something different. The dealer (who also sold me the s5) graciously sent me the Constellation Centaur and Virgo with the newest DC filter. The Constellations sound great with the S5 and I could immediately hear why they are pairing them with magicos at shows and in showrooms. This is both a positive and a negative. The constellation softens the sound of the ultra resolving speakers making them more palatable to a larger audience and appealing more to "joe" audiophile. I could go on and on but ultimately I felt they lacked resolution and control when directly compared to my boulder separates. I will note that they sound fabulous at low volumes and this certainly is their strong point. However, they lacked extension at the extremes and the softened sound I remarked on above led me to feel they muffled(probably a poor description) the highs and lost quite a bit of bass control. Almost like they couldn't keep up with what the S5 wanted to deliver. I felt the lows weren't actually extending down but the focus was on the low low mid range frequencies. This created what I would call a "slow" sound from the Constellation pair. Upon replacing them with the Boulder setup it was immediately apparent they were lacking in attack and low frequency delineation. So, the dealer sent me the soulution 530.
For about the first 48 hrs on and running I was a bit underwhelmed and unsure that they could articulate much other than bass boom and highs. Where is the mid range and control Soulution is noted for I thought. Then came the transformation. Speed, lows, forgiving but extended highs and a midrange sound I never had with the Boulder combo. Unbelievably resolving and detailed without anything I would call harsh. A relaxing sound that exudes confidence and ease. I still cannot wrap my head around how it does this without any bloat or fatigue. So, I plugged the boulder setup back in. Again, great extension and detail but a bit of leading edge that detracts from the listening experience. After an hour or so it becomes annoying in comparison to the Soulution. I was sold along with a couple serious audiophile friends who had a similar opinion. The 530 is not not as extended in the low frequencies as the boulder but it has more drive and more control still. To me, the sound is more natural, less hifi than the Boulder. Detail without fatigue, speed without etch. I am still figuring it out but after a month of owning the 530 I think it is the way the midrange is presented. Not as focused on the upper mid but more of a lower mid warmth that takes the edge off. Or maybe an excentuated "mid-low" midrange that makes it pleasing. The 530 seems nearly limitless in its power as well.
So, The 530 replaced a Boulder 2010, 1060 and 1008. 4 boxes into one. Had a 1021 as well-gone.
I didn't get into the phono stage but a quick summary would be that it is not as quiet as the boulder stand alone but is more natural sounding, more analog and more enjoyable.
Anyway, I'm down to a turntable the 530 and now the 540 CD. Couldn't be happier.
As always, YMMV.
Current system: Magico S5, Soulution 530/540 and Spiral Groove SG 1.1 TT.
Spiral groove IC's and SC's with Pranawire PC's
Regards, Chris.
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