Radioactive (Bryan's) System

radioactive

radioactive

New member
Joined
Apr 30, 2013
Messages
393
Location
N. VA
So I thought I'd share what I've been building for about 6 years now. It's gone from McIntosh with B&W to entry level Boulder and Wilson Sasha's to now Boulder 2000 series with Wilson Alexia's. It couldn't sound any more different than it used to.

This week I think I finally hit the mark with adding a Boulder 2010 preamp to accompany the 2060 amp. Prior, I had the 1010 and was considering upgrading my DAC, thinking that my preamp was not the bottleneck in resolution in my system. On a lark I ran my DAC directly to my amp and noticed an improvement (not significant, but still an improvement). Everyone I spoke with said that the 2010 and 1010 are worlds apart, so rather than getting a Vivaldi (just the DAC) or the upcoming Rossini, I got the 2010.

I have to say I'm very happy with my decision and system now. I can listen at a moderate level (not reference or anything like that), and I get a ton of dynamics that just get louder when I increase the volume. In other words, I don't have to increase the volume to get dynamics -- there is a world of difference a good preamp can make and I'm now sold on it. I know it's a painful purchase -- it's like an infrastructure kind of upgrade that you don't really want to make as you don't think it's going to make that big of a difference. But even at the $10-15K level, there's room for improvement as I found out -- significant room even.

I had a dedicated 240V line run for the 2060, which Boulder recommends running the 2000 series and above from if you have the option as the line is inherently quieter and has greater reserves. I can only speak in terms of what I hear and it's dead silent and can get exceptionally loud, though I don't listen like that. Everything else is also run off from a dedicated line direct to the panel which I highly recommend. For under $1,000 it will remove the majority of humm, hiss and other noise that will cause you to spend 3 or 4 times the cost on Shunyata or other power filtration, etc. A good, dedicated line makes a major difference.

So here's a photo of the system. See my signature block for specifics on gear. I use Nordost cables all around and am happy with them. The exception is that I use Jeff Whitlock's top of the line power cables made from Furutech FI-50 connectors, which are also outstanding and reasonably priced. I'm considering an upgrade some time in the future on XLR's, but for now my wallet needs a break!

Also, things are pretty tight in this rack. There's about 18 inches that my 2060 sticks out the rear of this rack! It's seriously long and deserves to be showcased, I just don't have the room. Things aren't overheating though as I have very good ventilation in this room.


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 1.jpg
    1.jpg
    2.7 MB · Views: 18
Beautiful system. Boulder makes some of the most resolving, neutral, and clean sounding electronics out there. Enjoy :thumbsup:
 
Wow, what a great system, Bryan! Congrats! Hi end music and movies all in one room, very cool! :tup:
 
Mike said:
Nice Bryan!! How do you like the DCS?
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike. It's proven the test of time. I find it very natural sounding and dare I say, analog-like. It can be very detailed and accurate when playing electronic music, and shine when playing Jazz. I especially like two Jazz albums on this DAC, the first is Esbjorn Svensson Trio's (EST) "Live In Hamburg", tracks 1-3. The second is Hiromi's "Alive" track 1 (and the next three songs are great too). Really, both of these are whole-albums that sound great on this DAC. Very natural, crisp, dynamic and in the case of EST's album which is live, highly realistic in presenting an experience of being there. I've auditioned a lot of other's and I just keep going back to DCS; for now, they get digital very well, and it's built like a tank too. The new preamp has reaffirmed that there was a lot of detail that I wasn't taking advantage of too. I'm listening to stuff all over again and nodding my head -- don't you just love those experiences?
 
socfan12 said:
Wow, what a great system, Bryan! Congrats! Hi end music and movies all in one room, very cool! :tup:
Click to expand...

Yes, the Boulder 2010 has a unity gain AKA Home Theater bypass function that can be set on any input, so you don't have to swap cables if you want a two-channel experience. This makes it easy to integrate into your home theater setup -- and even better, the 2010 is the first preamp I've put in this scenario and not had any humm of any kind when in that mode. It's pretty awesome.
 
Carlo,

The width when looking at the Alexia's is approx 13 feet, and depth is 16 feet.

The room size was initially problematic for the Alexia's placement. When they were far out from the walls in order to keep the bass from having an annoying gain/hump, the soundstage would get too small. I found what I thought (and the Wilson team that set them up with their WASP) was a good compromise, but it still had, in my opinion, too small of a soundstage. I got Stillpoints Ultra 5's with the proper foot adapter screws for the Alexia's and was able to push them back almost another 2 feet, which made a word of difference in the soundstage. Everything opened up significantly. Something about the Stillpoints makes the bass tight and limits the boominess/bass hump that being closer to the walls causes. I guess there are many ways I could have addressed the problem. I could have done room treatments (bass traps, etc.) to accomplish the same thing with probably the same costs, but the Stillpoints were just so easy and don't take up wall space.

I think the biggest problem I have with the room now is my listening chair. I have a massage chair in the spot now, but it's really not optimal. I've had loveseats, recliners, overstuffed chairs (the Restoration Hardware kind that are just outrageously big and are almost a small sofa). What I really need is a comfortable sitting, relaxing, reclining chair LOL! Anyone have any recommendations (I might even start a new thread on the subject)?
 
Bryan,

We practically have the same room dimensions, mine is 14ft x 15ft and I also had an Alexia for a little over a year before I changed a few days ago. I've read a lot of good things about people with Alexias who had Stillpoints Ultra 5s just like you and swear by the improvements gained. One thing really cool about the Alexias is the adjustability of its 3 modules according to various room sizes and listening position. With enough patience, I'm sure you can find a placement best suited to the sound you would want.

When it comes to chairs, any comfortable one would do as long as the height of its back does not reach your ear level.
 
Bryan, thank-you for taking the time for the share. I too understand the chase the time & the price/cost of life with an ultimate sound. I have been gifted in life to have owned a few very good sounding systems but have not been lucky enough "yet" to have listened to Boulder..... one day!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top