Meet your Maker – Boulder

 Boulder Amplifiers is located in a small semi-industrial area south east of downtown Boulder, Colorado.

With 20 full-time employees, all Boulder products are designed, and manufactured almost entirely within its factory.

Only Anodizing is done elsewhere.

The final assembly area at Boulder amplifiers.

Boulder model 850 Mono block amplifiers awaiting completion.

Boulder model 2060 stereo power amplifier side panels after anodizing.

One of the only processes Boulder doesn’t do in-house is anodizing.

To avoid flaws, parts being sent out for anodizing are bolted to aluminium sheets, which are then placed into wooden shipping boxes.

The anodizer never has to touch the actual parts because they are bolted to the sheet and the entire unit goes through the anodizing process.

Boulder model 1021 disc player during assembly.

Boulder amplifier products are essentially custom-made. Parts modules are assembled, but are not put into chassis until an order is received. This particular set of circuit boards are reserved for PN 2065.

Boulder has several CNC machines for making all their own aluminum chassis parts.

Here Ian, who’s been with Boulder for several years, sets one up for a run of bottom chassis parts.

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In the foreground are the wooden crates used to send parts to the anodizer.

In the background you can see the knob polishing area.

Here are all the drill bits used by the CNC machine to make the aluminum chassis.

Ian in his office working at the keyboard control of Boulder’s CNC machine.

Boulder’s most recent acquisition is a robot system for attaching small components to circuit boards.

The process begins with a special vacuum jig that puts a solder/adhesive gel in the spots where the parts will go.

Next, the circuit board goes to the robot device.

This machine takes parts off rolls and precisely places them on to the circuit board.

After being fully populated, the board goes into a heat unit that vaporizes the adhesive gel while simultaneously melting the solder.

After the process is completed, the board is examined under a stereo microscope to ensure that all the solder joints are perfect.

Boulder has several heavy-duty variacs in their final test area. They also have a full Audio Precision test suite.

Here are a pair of model 850 mono block amplifiers awaiting final testing. Boulder prides itself on having zero returns on new products.

Boulder employs extensive use of computer-aided design. Here we see their model 860 stereo power amp on the computer screen.

Boulder’s listening room has Wilson Alexandria X-2 speakers tethered to Boulder 2050 mono block amplifiers.

The front end includes a Boulder model 1021 disc player and model 1012 DAC preamplifier. 

The model 1021 easily read my 9624 wave files.

The sound was effortless and totally involving. During the entire hour-long listening session I was focused on the music, not the electronics. Although every Boulder product is a work of industrial art, the component’s functionality and sonic invisibility may even trump its physical beauty.

For information about Boulder’s products go to www.boulderamp.com