About

Long before there was “high-end,” “luxury,” or “high-performance” audio, there was the center of all high-quality recorded sound: the world of professional recording and broadcast. This is where Boulder began. In the 1970s Jeff Nelson was a largely self-taught electronics savant who owned a recording studio and built mixing boards for other studios.

The 500 amplifier was quickly followed by the 500AE (“AE” denoting “Audiophile Edition”), which was adopted by home audio connoisseurs.

Boulder designed and released the L5M, 102M and 500M. The M Series products were an evolution of an already exceptional product line, combining the electronic innards of the AE products with a new satin and polished aluminum fascia that appealed to the eyes as much as the sound appealed to the ears.

After years of steady growth, the company relocated its production facilities from Superior, Colorado to the heart of Boulder’s commercial and industrial sector.

The larger manufacturing space included room for a dedicated machine shop and Boulder acquired its first Haas CNC vertical machining center. Developing metal fabrication and finishing capabilities in-house was an important milestone. A successful family machining business was in Jeff’s history, so Boulder’s move in this direction, while unusual for an audio manufacturer, was a familiar one.

The 1000 Series debuted with the Boulder 1060 Stereo Power Amplifier. The 1060 shared many of the features of the larger 2000 Series, beginning with a non-resonant machined chassis and its own version of Boulder’s distinctive aluminum heatsinks. The 1060 design was quite conservatively rated at 300 watts per channel. With this kind of power, it was nearly as tolerant of demanding program material and difficult loads as its much larger predecessors.

The Boulder 1012 DAC Preamplifier—an analog preamplifier, digital-to-analog converter and phono preamplifier in one chassis—was first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show. A few months later it was named Component of the Year by Japan’s prestigious Stereo Sound magazine.

The pièce de résistance for the year was Boulder’s 2008 Phono Preamplifier, a product for which Stereophile magazine created the “A+” rating for electronics and called it “one of the 100 most important products in the history of audio.”

At its introduction the enthusiasm for this esoteric component surpassed even Boulder’s expectations. Originally created for a handful of 2010 owners, it was presumed that a limited production run of a few pieces would be built upon request. Instead, the 2008 had a waiting list of customers for a good portion of its lifespan.

Boulder unveiled the 1010 Stereo Preamplifier, later named “Product of the Year” by Ultra Audio magazine along with the 1060 Stereo Amplifier. A more traditional two-channel preamplifier, the 1010 was identical to the Boulder 1012 DAC Preamplifier but without the digital-to-analog conversion circuitry.

Boulder released its first entirely new product line in six years: the 800 Series. The 800 Series was the first generation of products designed completely with Boulder’s new CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) design system.

The 800 Series debuted with the 850 Mono Amplifier, a small, 200W powerhouse in a half-width chassis. The unique size lent itself to much easier installation in custom applications. The 850 also proudly demonstrated that Boulder could offer its legendary performance in a much smaller package without scaling back performance.

In September Boulder quietly released the 865 Integrated Amplifier with the intent that it would find a niche in places where space or budget prohibited the use of separate products. Instead, the 865 exceeded expectations and became a viable solution not just for those with system limitations, but for music lovers of all kinds. It quickly collected more review requests than any other product in Boulder’s line up.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the site of the first appearance of the 1021 Network Disc Player. The 1021 was one of the largest undertakings in the company’s history. It was also the first complete source component from Boulder.

In the midst of the engineering phase of the 1008 Phono Preamplifier, a new state-of-the-art surface-mount circuit board manufacturing system was acquired and installed at the factory. Every aspect of manufacturing was now under Boulder’s control, leaving no production detail unaccounted for. Circuit board quality was vastly improved and metalwork did not leave the machine shop unless it was flawless. The production team also created assembly manuals to guarantee unit-to-unit production consistency. Nothing was left to chance that could affect the potential satisfaction of Boulder customers around the world.

Prior to the 3050s, there had been no such thing as a true reference-level audio product. There was always a compromise, shortcoming or limiting element of the design that wasn’t taken as far as possible. Even products with an extremely high price tag had the tiniest bit of cynicism in the results.

And then came the 3050s.

The new 3000 Series was Boulder’s all-out endeavor to find the limits of audio reproduction. It would also fundamentally change the way every future Boulder release would be developed.

It had been eighteen years since the release of the original 2000 Series’ 2010 preamplifier. In that time, Boulder had undergone a complete vertical integration and become entirely responsible for its own manufacturing. Technology had also marched forward, so it was time to reengineer the first products that had established Boulder as the preeminent manufacturer of high-performance home-audio electronics.

Boulder embarked on the largest project the company had ever undertaken: construction of a new, 23,000-square-foot facility that would more than double factory space. The company had outgrown the existing building and the extra room needed to grow was no longer available. A three-acre plot of land was purchased in the nearby town of Louisville, Colorado, approximately 15 minutes east of Boulder. Architectural and design work began in earnest.