Boulder monoblocks

Having owned both the Levinson No.32+No.33H, and the Boulder 1012+1050s pairs, I can honestly say the Boulder pairing was more neutral and natural souding.

The Levinson combo was excellent too, but just a tad too laid back. While the Levinson pair was quieter, it did hide some level of detail, which the Boulder pair excelled at retrieving (both pairs were used with Revel Studio speakers, and Linn Undisk 1.1 as the source).

I heard them at CES in The Aerial room driving their flagship 20 t speaker . It was lightning fast , had iron control over the bass and was stunning in its dynamics . Mated with their preamp it was possibly the finest sound at the show I heard .

Before, any other option choice, you need listen the VIOLA AUDIO LABS, BRAVO AMPS 2 chassis, Viola Audio Labs (ex staff Mark Levinson and Cello) by Tom Conlongelo and Paul Jayson.

happy Listening.

Some of you have said that it is plain crazy to consider the purchase of $55K/pair monoblocks without an audition. However, there are so many interesting amps on the market that I would have to spend 6 months flying around the country to hear them all. I could also consider, Krell, Classe, SimAudio, MBL, Goldmund, Chord, Halcro and many others which I am sure are very fine amps. Ultimately, you can never be sure if you really have the best amp unless you heard them all, which is nearly impossible.

Then, even if you do hear them all, it is then nearly impossible to hear them on the same speakers.

Ultimately, I have to rely on reviews and the opinions of others. Again, I am looking for an amplifier with the best bass performance, not necessarily the most "natural" sounding amplifier. Any suggestions?

Audioaril, I'll just accept your position that it is just not possible to audtion all the great amps of the world. However, after narrowing down the field, you could arrange home audtions, you just pay the shipping back after your audtioning process. This is exactly what I did and was able to listen carefully and at home to seven very highly regarded amps, including Boulder, until I found what I was looking for. I'll give you two more entries of amps to put on your audtion list:1) Pass LabsX-600.5 monoblocks 2)Edge Sig-1 monoblocks. They are both great amps that offer many sonic virtues, but if your looking for balls/bass they both have it in spades. So, don't take my word for it, or anybody else's, use your own ear's and get busy arranging some home audtions.