Boazu vs Tundra 2.2 (with various preamps)

[Zee9]

I've been listening to a preloved Boazu that i just acquired to replace the bedroom system with a lesser box count.
Earlier bedroom system was the following:
a. mdsm/3 + tundra 2.2 Tarandus + Kan II's - this was a fantastic sounding system although i wasn't sure about the digital VC and i did keep a volume offset of +10db on the mdsm Preout.

b. WiiM mini + CA Dacmagic + tundra + Kabers (mdsm/3 and kan II's sold)- Kabers are a different animal and in all the Years I've had Kabers i only liked them with a Klout (but still needed a subwoofer) until i tried the Tundra. With the Tundra i never felt the need for a subwoofer but maybe my tight placement in the rom results in the left speaker playing a little bit louder so its about 3 cms closer to the back wall than the right speaker. Even at loud volumes which i rarely listen to in the bedroom (65 (actually 75 considering the volume offset) the tundra controls the Kabers beautifully.

c. WiiM mini + CA Dacmagic + Boazu (1.3) + Kabers: ive just had it 24 hours and low to medium listening levels i(blue to Green)its magical, even better than setup A and that's probably due to the preamp section + DVC of the mdsm/3 that's probably the cause. it starts to lose control the moment i enter the yellow led territory but im not complaint as the bedroom is not a place where we listen to music loud.

A friend of mine with a tundra 1.9a Tarandus has the exact same experience with his T+A CTL2100 speakers so we've both been wondering what's next? from what i understand all the amps pretty much have the wattage but obviously the tundra has more control than the Boazu and the ones even more control the the stereo versions. Could my source be the cause for this lack of control at higher volume (i doubt it but im no guru)

am i right in thinking that?

[springwood64]

With Källa or Axis as source I can take Boazu as loud as it will go and there's no loss of magic. If anything, it just gets better as it gets louder.

[Spannko]

With Källa or Axis as source I can take Boazu as loud as it will go and there's no loss of magic. If anything, it just gets better as it gets louder.

Same here. With a little liquid lubrication, I can listen to Boazu at literally 100% volume. It’s pretty loud, but there’s absolutely no signs of distress from the amplifier, even if it is just a bit too loud for my relatively small listening room and the other household occupants!

[Zee9]

Wow that’s great news so i’ll try a different dac as I have it handy and I should try a different source as well. Maybe I move the Boazu to the art studio where the source is a genki.

[ljknewbie]

As zee mentioned I have a similar issue with louder volumes.

The system is Tundra+Kikkin+MDSM3+TA CTL 2100

I am going to try taking the Kikkin out of the chain and use the MDSM-3 pre/volume control exactly as Zee had set it up (which is the combination that introduced me to the wonderful world of LJK) and see if it solves/improves the issue.

Will update with results.

[Tendaberry]

Good as the WiiM Mini is for the price (€ 107,-), it's still a very basic streamer, that's miles away from a really good one.
You might wanna try the Majik DSM just as a streamer (not involving the digital volume) into the Boazu to see what happens.

[ljknewbie]

Good as the WiiM Mini is for the price (€ 107,-), it's still a very basic streamer, that's miles away from a really good one.
You might wanna try the Majik DSM just as a streamer (not involving the digital volume) into the Boazu to see what happens.

This is exactly what I am doing with the Majik DSM3. Kikkin is the volume control with tundra. But have the same issue as zee

[springwood64]

I found with Hakai as source that it could get a bit raw when I turned the volume up to max, so I suspect what you're hearing is the limitations of the source, not the amplification.

[Tendaberry]

This is exactly what I am doing with the Majik DSM3. Kikkin is the volume control with tundra. But have the same issue as zee

Did you try connecting your Källa to this system instead of the MDSM?

[ljknewbie]

This is exactly what I am doing with the Majik DSM3. Kikkin is the volume control with tundra. But have the same issue as zee

Did you try connecting your Källa to this system instead of the MDSM?

Will be trying that over the weekend also.

[lejonklou]

I don't know exactly what you're experiencing, Zee9 and ljknewbie, but I'd like to point out a few things:

1. Most digital sources have an output of 2 Vrms, which makes the loudest volume setting on the preamp 78 when using one of my power amps (or the integrated amp Boazu). Volume 78 is two steps down from orange (80). At volume 79, the power amp will clip on the loudest passages. And it may sometimes clip a couple of steps lower than that if there's lots of bass at frequencies where the loudspeaker has a low impedance.

2. Boazu has a "child safety" feature that limits the volume to 78 - unless you remove this limit. This is done by rebooting the amp: Press and hold the MUTE button on the front panel. When the amplifier shows white light, it's booting. While the amplifier blinks red, press the VOL+ button on the front panel. The amplifier will respond with a short white blink. Now your 78 volume limit is removed and you can crank it up to 100.

3. Sagatun has the same child safety feature as Boazu. Only the reboot requires you to press and hold all three front buttons.

4. Kikkin and Superkikkin have no child safety feature. They go from volume 0 to 100 with no pause at each new decade.

4. Källa has a slightly lower output that most digital sources, which makes the loudest volume setting on the preamp 80 when using one of my power amps (or Boazu). 80 is orange. At 81, the amplifier will clip on the loudest passages of the music (but some songs are recorded lower so they will be fine a couple of steps louder still).

[Zee9]

Hi Fredrick,

I read the max volume feature on the manual and din’t disengage it as the instruction showed no way to switch back the security feature. Is it the same procedure to switch it off?

As pictured the WiiM mini does have a mVrms (2, 1, 0.8, 0.5)setting but I think that’s only for the audio out and the internal dac is of very mediocre quality so I have the WiiM Mini feeding a shiit Modi 3+(dac) via Toslink and then further on to the Boazu. Volume control is switched off on the WiiM Mini.

I should be receiving an mdsm/4 shortly for a friend and will surely try that as a source with the Boazu.

I don't know exactly what you're experiencing, Zee9 and ljknewbie, but I'd like to point out a few things:

1. Most digital sources have an output of 2 Vrms, which makes the loudest volume setting on the preamp 78 when using one of my power amps (or the integrated amp Boazu). Volume 78 is two steps down from orange (80). At volume 79, the power amp will clip on the loudest passages. And it may sometimes clip a couple of steps lower than that if there's lots of bass at frequencies where the loudspeaker has a low impedance.

2. Boazu has a "child safety" feature that limits the volume to 78 - unless you remove this limit. This is done by rebooting the amp: Press and hold the MUTE button on the front panel. When the amplifier shows white light, it's booting. While the amplifier blinks red, press the VOL+ button on the front panel. The amplifier will respond with a short white blink. Now your 78 volume limit is removed and you can crank it up to 100.

3. Sagatun has the same child safety feature as Boazu. Only the reboot requires you to press and hold all three front buttons.

4. Kikkin and Superkikkin have no child safety feature. They go from volume 0 to 100 with no pause at each new decade.

4. Källa has a slightly lower output that most digital sources, which makes the loudest volume setting on the preamp 80 when using one of my power amps (or Boazu). 80 is orange. At 81, the amplifier will clip on the loudest passages of the music (but some songs are recorded lower so they will be fine a couple of steps louder still).

[lejonklou]

Hi Zee9!

You get the “child protection” back if you reboot Boazu. So every time it starts up, you either leave it be - and then the max volume will be 78 - or you decide to override it by pressing VOL+ during the startup sequence (when it blinks red).

As so few people read the manual these days, I will likely remove this feature altogether on the next version of Boazu

[springwood64]

For clarification, I've never removed the upper volume limit when listening to Boazu, so my comment relates to listening up to the 'child safety' limit.

[springwood64]

..... on the next version of Boazu

!!!!

Exciting!!! I'll start saving.

[Spannko]

For clarification, I've never removed the upper volume limit when listening to Boazu, so my comment relates to listening up to the 'child safety' limit.

Me too. FWIW I think the child safety feature is a great idea and have often wondered why every amplifier isn’t limited in this way.

[Spannko]

…………. on the next version of Boazu

This is something I’m really looking forward to too! How will Boazu 2 differ from the current version and when do you expect it to hit the streets?

[Zee9]

I took the safety feature off today. I guess that one white blink between the 6 red blinks confirms that.
Will update what I hear today at higher volumes.

It might also just be the Kabers and the room. Once the Akubariks are sold (a sad day) then I want to try the kan II’s in the main system with either the Boazu ar a tundra to see what those sound like. Again that’s a different room so let’s see what that sounds like.

[Zee9]

After two days of listening I can confirm that I prefer the sound without the safety feature and could easily drive my speakers to orange without any issues.

Now however I have a new issue.
Due to my main system speakers being sold I need to invest in the main system and will unfortunately be selling the Boazu.

I bought the Boazu as my friend was planning to buy my tundra 2.2 but now has decided to buy my Akubariks instead.

[Tendaberry]

@Zee9: Time to settle on a system and enjoy some music? Which speakers are you currently thinking about?
Two speakers have really impressed me in the past years and I'm considering trading my Akubariks for one of those (once finances allow...): Apertura Adamante, a French loudspeaker with superb musicality and excellent timing, they are also easy to drive at 93 dB/2,83V/1 m.
The others are the Graham 5/5f, which are larger and looks that can divide, but they sound phenomenal.

[Zee9]

@Tendaberry,

We live in a 1 bedroom apartment and have 5 sets of speakers. The oldest ones being Kabers and we actually have 2 pairs of Kabers.

The Akubariks had to go before we need to do a firesale for them mainly due to our doggie needing emergency surgery and also getting a cancer diagnosis. We’ve enjoyed the Akubariks for over 2 years but nothing is more important than our 4 legged son.

It’s also that we have enough other speakers that I can’t wait to try out with Lejonklou amplification. I was never 100% happy with our Linn amps except the Akubariks but the sale will also recoup the largest amount.

Once they are gone I will start with a selekt source Lejonklou amplification and back to musical passive. First on the block is our beautiful kan II’s , then Kabers and finally even Tukans.

Fingers crossed.

[Tendaberry]

My fingers are also crossed for your 4-legged friend, you have my sympathy. I would do the same, if something similar happened to my cat.