Boulder 500AE?


Is this amp as good as I have been told it is: durable, great sound, the bench mark in which others are judged? All of this and more? or less?
tireguy
tireguy: the boulder 500ae amp was the precursor of the current line. it has a well-deserved reputation as a built-like-a-tank powerhouse. the folks at boulder amp are very helpful and should be able to address any other questions you may have. give bruce vanallen a call or send him an email. their website is:
http://www.boulderamp.com/
I agree with Cornfedboy. I have owned this amp for eight years and it is real stable. Recently developed a sizzle in the left channel, but a quick call to Boulder Amps connected me with their tech support guy, who diagnosed the problem immediately. Boxed up an eight year old amp, sent it back, and they replaced the caps, and shipped it back for free. Incredible service!! Have since bought another one, and am running them mono (as they were meant to be)into Hale T-8's. Nothing I have ever heard sounds better.
I too own several Boulder amps. 2x 500AE's 2x 100AE's and a single 250AE. They offer stunning performance and transparency. I wish the 100AE's could be bridged but thats the only complaint.

A word of caution. If you understake to replace the Roederstein Electrolytic Capacitors, do so buy carefully chopping them top down using a pair of wire cutters and a vacum. If you attempt to remove them in a conventional way by desoldering, chances are you will tear up the traces on pulling them out. The leads are too wide for the holes and eyelets in the PCB's. The traces are fine and very fragile. Boulder is aware of this problem and will caution you if asked.
One caution. Believe input impedance is 10K. Several years ago I had two pair of 500AEs which never sounded right. Only after selling them did I figure out my tube preamp demanded a higher load. Wish I could hear them again driven properly.