[Wayne1]

At LONG last, the first production prototype of the BOLDER Buffer has arrived in CO.



Here is shot of just the Buffer Board.

This particular board will be used in a prototype of the Re-boxed SB.

I also received a fully built out unit. It is in a natural Aluminum case. It has a pair of RCA inputs and two pair of outputs.

The Buffers are built with 9 db of gain, so they should be a perfect match with the analog modded SB.

If all goes well with listening tests, I should be able to offer the fully built out versions at around $850.00.

Delivery would be roughly May or June.

[mgalusha]

Very nice, I like audio porn.

[DSK]

Wayne, any potential to add in a top notch attenuator or switch (say 3 position) for user adjustment of gain to best fit their system?

[Wayne1]

This design has a jumper on the board to select between 6 and 9 db of gain.

It could also be built for 0 and 3 db or 3 and 6 db.

If there is enough interest, another product could be built with an attenuator designed into it.

I, personally, have yet to hear a mechanical attenuator that didn't degrade the sound in some way.

I chose to emphasize sound quality over convenience for this unit.

A more full featured pre-amp could also be built based on this circuit. It could include relay based volume and source switching that could be remote controlled.

I hope to VERY SLOWLY bring more products to market to address certain features that my customers have found lacking.

The BOLDER Buffer was made to increase the volume of the modded SB and to improve it's current delivery.

[ctviggen]

Wayne,

I'm going to run my modified SB2 through a Channel Islands PLC1 remote passive (see:  http://www.ciaudio.com/) and then to my amp.  Would you recommend putting the buffer board before or after the remote passive?  Would this change if I use long interconnects (say, 30 feet or so) to connect to the amp?

Thanks.

[Wayne1]

Hello Bob,

I would NOT use a passive controller after a modded SB. The output of the DAC chip will not be happy with such a load. The Buffer also does not like to have high impedances in front of it.

The best thing for control would be to use the passive after the buffer. I would suggest placement of the passive as close to the amps input as possible.

[AKSA]

Wayne,

Congratulations on the release of your Bolder Buffer.  It looks to be beautifully designed and executed.   

Cheers,

Hugh

[Folsom]

What kind of power supply does that thing take?