Boulder 866

Yes I had seen that.....Wonder if that applies to all conditioners , tho, given the variety out there...Everything from a power strip to a $20k box....but I think I'll stick with the wall as well...seems to work to my dusty ears....if it ain't broke......

Must say I do appreciate the ability to probably sell some cables, maybe a DAC, etc, and that's one of the big attractions of this unit....given it's sound, it's made life simpler, and I don't have as many remotes to dig out of the sofa!


Dylan said:
For what it’s worth, the FAQ’s on the Boulder 866 web site recommend plugging directly into the wall:

● “Do I need or should I get a power conditioner with the 866?”
We do not recommend using power conditioners with our products. There have been times we have heard of power conditioners making our products perform worse or even creates operational issues. We feel it is best to go directly into a wall outlet.
Click to expand...
 
maxdog923 said:
Running it direct from the wall at present....As my speakers have powered woofers drawing power from The Denali, thought it might be too much of a draw all together. SR suggested I run the speakers from the Denali...when I retire and can spend the time screwing with this I'll try several combos. ))..Right now it's sounding much better than a few weeks ago....May have to slide the Accuphase back in and see what the difference is . Or if I can hear it!!...
Click to expand...

We run our 866 into a Shunyata Power Conditioner since they don’t limit current and we really like the results.

But Boulder definitely prefers it into the wall direct.

YMMV.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Mike, From your post I gather you prefer the sound that way....good to know...Will give it a try soon. thanks
 
I toured the Boulder Amp Facility on Friday. (I've driven by their facility twice a day for several years on my way to work, but had never visited). I came away extremely impressed with the unpretentious professionalism and perfectionism of this company. They had the 866 hooked up to Grand Utopias in their reference listening room, but I ran out of time to listen! Hope to go back this coming week. They are very proud of the 866. I am also interested in the new 812 pre/dac. Think it might be a good fit for my Gryphon Essence. After visiting, hard to not want to work my way even farther up their component ladder. That said, I wonder if the 866 is so good that I should just trade out my Tambaqui and Essence for this convenient solution. The hobbyist/problem solver part of me, though, has some issues moving into an all in one....
 
If I was in a better position, I’d make your life easier and take that Essence off your hands!! Good luck sorting it out :)

Ricky64 said:
I toured the Boulder Amp Facility on Friday. (I've driven by their facility twice a day for several years on my way to work, but had never visited). I came away extremely impressed with the unpretentious professionalism and perfectionism of this company. They had the 866 hooked up to Grand Utopias in their reference listening room, but I ran out of time to listen! Hope to go back this coming week. They are very proud of the 866. I am also interested in the new 812 pre/dac. Think it might be a good fit for my Gryphon Essence. After visiting, hard to not want to work my way even farther up their component ladder. That said, I wonder if the 866 is so good that I should just trade out my Tambaqui and Essence for this convenient solution. The hobbyist/problem solver part of me, though, has some issues moving into an all in one....
Click to expand...
 
maxdog923 said:
Running it direct from the wall at present....As my speakers have powered woofers drawing power from The Denali, thought it might be too much of a draw all together. SR suggested I run the speakers from the Denali...when I retire and can spend the time screwing with this I'll try several combos. ))..Right now it's sounding much better than a few weeks ago....May have to slide the Accuphase back in and see what the difference is . Or if I can hear it!!...
Click to expand...

Any final thoughts? Was the 866 a sideways move or an upgrade from the E-650?
I am hoping you say sideways because I just bought an E-650 :lol:
 
Heard the 866 through Grand Utopias in the Boulder Amp listening room yesterday. Very nice unit. It is voiced slightly warmer then it's bigger brothers/cousins. Also had the chance to play with the new 812 pre/dac/headphone amp. Love having a rotary volume control, and the aesthetics are very nice. Trying to rationalize spending $8K and having it on my desktop as my headphone amp...
 
Final thoughts..they are both fine amps...put my E650 with PS Directstream back in yesterday..it sounds great too,,,,...hoping to switch back next week and see if I can define the differences...I'm sure you made a good choice tho....as long as there's a grin on your face, you chose correctly!!...
 
Great review of the the 866 in the September 2021 edition of Stereophile.
 
The Stereophile review of the Boulder 866 is up on their website.

One thing that's not on the website, but in the print magazine, is Boulder's response in the manufacturer's comments. There wasn't any comment by Boulder with respect to the measured difference in THD+N between the left and right channels, so it's still unclear if the results are normal for this model or if it was a the result of an "out-of-specification output device" in the right channel as speculated by John Atkinson.
 
Seems like an anomaly , as suggested by JA, maybe an issue with the feedback circuit on that channel , obviously its at its best above 2 ohms , lovely industrial design, as per most Boulder .

A good compare would be against the Humboldt ... :)




Regards
 
a.wayne said:
Seems like an anomaly , as suggested by JA, maybe an issue with the feedback circuit on that channel , obviously its at its best above 2 ohms , lovely industrial design, as per most Boulder .

A good compare would be against the Humboldt ... :)





Regards
Click to expand...

Given that the Humboldt is about 3 times the price that would be an interesting comparison!
 
Very much in consideration for my FL house.

I want to take my EMM stack down, but my wife wants me to keep it in MN.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Owners of the 866, there is a new 1.67 update. It updates the Kernel and adds Airplay.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Mike said:
Owners of the 866, there is a new 1.67 update. It updates the Kernel and adds Airplay.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

Any updates for my 1110? When I got it January 2020, just before the pandemic, they were supposed to make an app so could operate it with ios devices. It would be handy since I am running two systems in two rooms with it.
 
Listened to the 866 with Franco Serblin speakers last week while visiting Suncoast. Absolutely wonderful pairing. Thinking VERY strongly of getting this amp to power my Elipsa SE's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top