2023 Golden Ear: Boulder 866 Integrated Amplifier

$13,450 (without DAC); $14,950 (with DAC)

The ergonomic beauty of the Boulder 866 is that with one chassis you can accomplish everything required (except transducers, a turntable system, and a couple of cables) to assemble a complete high-performance playback system. You can actually have a fully functional state-of-the-art audio system that does not entail large metal boxes on the floor tethered via cables to a phalanx of chassis on racks. For audiophiles with smaller rooms and space restrictions, the Boulder 866 has the ability to produce superb sonics in limited space at a level that, depending on the level of refinement to the environment, can equal that of a multiplicity of separate boxes in a larger dedicated room.

While I was waiting for my review sample of the Boulder 866 integrated amplifier, a friend and regular listening buddy purchased an analog version of the 866 to be the centerpiece with his new Elac Concerto S 509 loudspeaker system. In his fairly large, well-damped space, the 866 had no problem driving the Elacs to well past my upper volume limits. Although the 866 has a rated output of “only” 200 watts into 8 ohms, it can deliver 250 watts of peak power into 8 ohms and 700 watts peak into 2 ohms! His Boulder/Elac combination was more than a little impressive. The system had a wonderful sense of quiet and calm. And while his room was 3dB higher in noise level than Boulder’s factory listening room, where I heard the 866 driving a pair of big Focal loudspeakers, the system’s silence when music was not playing was indicative of the extremely low level of inherent noise in the 866.

If you’ve been a fan of Boulder’s sonics and build-quality but unable to field the space for their generously sized components, the new 866 could be the component of your dreams, made into reality. (Forthcoming)