Should i go Boulder 1060 or Jeff Rowland 625

I too would put the Rowland and Boulder at the same level of performance. I would lean toward the Rowland in favor of system matching. With the Rowland you *know* the impedance matchups and voicing together will be spot-on.

Plus, to these ears the Rowland AB amps are some of the best SS amps ever made, not counting crazy money for Halcro, Soulution, and the like.

Hi Guidocorona,
Thanks for sharing your observations. My understanding of the Boulder 1060 is that it is very neutral, detailed & revealing of upstream equipment. In and of itself it may not be quite as harmonically resolved as the Rowland, however I have a theory that combining valves with the Boulder should bring the perfect balance of harmonic richness, tonality, detail retrieval, drive and sound staging.

Inner Ear Magazine did a review of the Vac Renaissance Signature Mk2 pre with a Boulder 1060 and thought that this combination was a perfect match in kind with my above comments. Here is a link to the review fyi - http://www.innerearmag.com/reviews/preamps/VAC_Signature_Preamplifier_MkII.shtml

I have my new Ayon CD-5s burning in over the next 3 days which i've rolled with NOS 6h30p-DR's, so it should sound wonderful with the Boulder. Looking forward to posting my findings on AG soon!

There is usually a synergy when using the same designer's opinion of what is right....I would lean to Rowland. If you decide for Boulder, make sure you listen first.

Melbguy1, it is quite possible that the combination of Boulder 1060 with VAC Renaissance II might work well for you, although usually the VAC sound is a little tipped up for my own preference. My favorite tube pre is the fabulously resolving and ever so sweet VTL TL 7.5 Series 2. In my listening sessions with 1060 and M312 the pre was the 1000 series boulder ..... the audition of Boulder 2060 and Rowland M312 used the excellent Boulder 2000 series pre, and in my home system I use the Rowland Criterion on M625 and M312. Let us know how things go. G.

I agree with Stringreen and Johnnyb re: the OP's question, If you've already got a rowland front end, then it's a no brainer to go for the M625.

The Boulder pre/power combination is very dynamic and quiet, but this combination does not have enough harmonic richness or warmth for my taste. The Ayon is a good impedance match for the Boulder, and is very quiet..so this combination should sound wonderful, adding class A warmth and sweetness, as well as harmonic richness and body. If this combination sounds great, I will most likely upgrade to a higher end Ayon separate next year. I thought i'd mention the Vac review just to show the extent to which the Boulder's sound changes with good tubes upstream.

Yes I think there is a photo floating around somewhere of an egg frying on the top of an M625! No wonder they needed ceramic circuit boards!!