Our Boulder Amplifiers, Inc. page is up, read more about the Boulder 850 monoblocks.

With the Boulder 850 monoblocks, Boulder has avoided the off-the-shelf, switch-mode modules and topologies to ensure much better performance and to protect residual value.  "With the release of the 850 Mono Amplifier, the Boulder performance enthusiasts desired but could never afford is finally attainable. "

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Built like a tank, at 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms (250w into 4 ohms), these amplifiers serve a wide range of needs.  Check it out at our showroom driving the Living Voice Auditorium 2 loudspeakers or the Hyperion HPS-906 standmount loudspeakers.

Fresh from the press, a few official photos of the latest Scheu Analogue turntables have been posted, more to follow.  Scheu Analogue has just come back from exhibiting these new multi-arm models at the Frankfurt Analogue Meeting March 2006 show.  Germany indeed has one of the strongest analogue communities in the world, having shows dedicated mainly to analogue equipment, as well as magazines.

The Living Voice Auditorium 2 loudspeakers are back on demo. 

The Living Voice loudspeakers are benchmark and reference speakers by senior reviewers at Hi-Fi+, HiFi Choice, and Ultra High Fidelity magazines.  The UHF magazine review has finally been posted online, read how 3 of their writers first reviewed the OBX-R2 (and eventually selected it as the replacement for their decade-long reference speakers). All we can say is that the UHF staff have good ears and a great sense of musicality for sure :)

"A million speakers look just like it. Few sound anything like it." "A reference quality speaker in plainclothes."

"The first time I saw the Avatars I expected them to sound adequate but boring.  Surprise! This is one of the world’s great speakers, and certainly one of the greatest to have such a small physical footprint. It will reproduce nearly anything you can throw at it with grace and respect for musical virtues. And I say “nearly” from elementary caution, not because I’ve witnessed any exceptions. True, it requires proper care and feeding. But then I’ve been told Ferraris won’t run on regular gas, either."
- Gerard Rejskind, Vegas 2001 Show Report, UHF Magazine

 

"We have a long list of requirements, apart from the obvious one, namely very high performance. Because we have limited space in the Alpha room, the speaker needs a small footprint. It needs to be efficient enough that we can use it to test an entry-level integrated amplifier. And because we use it to review other components, it must have extremely broad frequency range, and lots of headroom even at the extremes. Does the Avatar qualify? Possibly. We will be spending some more time with it, and we will decide together. We have used our present reference speakers for over a decade. If we want similar service for their replacement, we will need to think long and hard."  - UHF magazine

 

Read the full review ... (in pdf format)

 

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We are now dealers for the excellent range of Boulder products. Introducing the 200-watt 850 monoblock amplifiers, Boulder at a more affordable price.

Living Voice loudspeakers ... still our benchmark speakers, these will be back soon in our showroom, sorely missed.  After all these years living with these speakers (and comparing with many others), we can confidently state that Living Voice loudspeakers are definitely references when it comes to delivering the music's message (for many types of music), as opposed to just being good at reproducing sound, which is totally different. 

It's the music that matters most with the Living Voice Auditorium range, and their speed alone, which rivals those of horn speakers, already makes a huge difference to the musical message (not surprising since Living Voice makes some of the best horn speakers). Those who only listen to sound without feeling the music will never get it, but not knowing is bliss anyway. The review excerpt below echoes what we mean by this.

"Definitive/Living Voice is set in one of the city's "dark satanic mills" that's been beautifully restored and now houses light industrial warehouses and workshops. But forget the outside. It's what's inside that counts. Definitive is now the Kondo UK distributor and Kevin has a Kondo system set up and playing through the latest iteration of his Living Voice OBXR speakers. The sound is something else and something else again. Unbelievable. Tonally, I found a richness there (and this was on CD) that seemed like the difference between a real wood fire as opposed to everything else I've heard coming across like a gas or electric. I went with a very experienced audiophile who thought he had reached what he has always been looking for with a Lindemann/Boulder/Mårten Design Coltrane system and when he came away, realized he was going to start from square one all over again.  We've both been haunted ever since." 

- Excerpt from SixMoons review of the Living Voice Mystic Mat - In Vinylo Veritas : Vignettes of Vinyl" (scroll to bottom)

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The Dr. Feickert Analogue Alignment Tool will soon be available at our showroom, watch this space for arrival.  This is definitely one outstanding design of an alignment tool, and will be our reference.  Easy to use, well-made, and with great attention to little details that can only result in better accuracy.

We have updated our Products webpage to break down the product listing by both product type and brand, for the convenience of our readers : Soundscape HiFi Products

The Audio-Technica AT33-PTG phono cartridges are back in stock, limited quantities, SGD 550 this time.  Price varies due to Japanese exchange rate fluctuations, where the AT33-PTG can be SGD 600++ at certain times.  The AT33-PTG is a cartridge meant only for the Japan market, but we occasionally bring these in as we find them excellent value in relation to their sonic performance.  This is our preferred cartridge in its price range, to be matched with the right arm in well-balanced systems.  (Webmaster Note: All sold out as at Feb 5.  Until then, watch this space for new arrivals).

After 4 years without price increases, the inevitable has to happen and Hutter racks and furniture will increase slightly in price, due to price increases in raw materials and Austrian local transport costs.  These new prices will be effective by March 1, 2006.  Watch this page for more details.

Great news for Graham Slee Era Gold V phono stage owners.  The Era Gold V will be upgradeable to the flagship model Era Gold Reflex phono stage, cost will be about just the price difference. 

• Applies to every Era Gold V featuring the latest case (front panel showing V logo)

• Fully modified for virtually the price difference

• Includes new front panel

• Resets existing warranty back to 2 years

• "Green Upgrade" - existing case and PCB is recycled

• Fully specification tested

One can then go with an Era Gold V today, and go for the Era Gold Reflex upgrade tomorrow.  Upgrade kit currently being worked out for users outside the UK.  Watch this News page for further details.

Graham Slee presents the Gram Amp 3 Fanfare MC phono stage, at SGD 680, an affordable phono stage without the budget sound.

"A complete dedicated Moving Coil RIAA phono stage in one box plus remote power supply. Suitable for all low output moving coil cartridges between 0.2 and 1.0 mV output. With the high performance you've come to expect from Graham Slee, this is an absolute bargain."

Read more ...

We present new products and upcoming products to mark the end of the year 2005 and start the year 2006.

My Sonic Lab Eminent MC Phono Cartridges