As charlie1 suggests, the Boazu is a very tuneful amplifier, certainly as tuneful as the likes of Linn/Naim/Dynavector, all of which put rhythms & tunes at the top of their design objectives list. Where they tend to differ is in their sound presentation. When we’ve heard a component in enough different combinations we begin to notice that the component has a sound character which colours the sound in some way or has a prominent feature. No amplifier is perfect and each designer has to choose what compromises they’re prepared to accept in order to reach their design goals. Some people have said that the Linn sound has a greyness to it, or the Naims are dynamic. I’d say the Dynavector’s big nose is its powerful yet clean sound. Yet, at the same time, they all achieve their main objective of being able to reproduce music in an enjoyable fashion. Remember, because we’re talking about a subjective impression, there’s considerable room for disagreement here! With regard to the Boazu, my impression so far is that it treads a very neutral path through the HiFi jungle. The only sound characters I’ve been able to detect so far are possibly a lack of the powerful sound one gets with big muscle amps or it has what possibly could be called SMPS bass. A beefy linear supply can give an amp a bit of low end grunt. The Boazu uses dual SMPS which may not be quite as grunty as a good linear supply, but it has the advantages of great natural resolution and pitch reproduction (in this respect it’s absolutely bang on)but possibly not the dynamics of a Naim. This might sound like a criticism of the Boazu, but it’s not intended to be. I’m just trying to introduce some kind of perspective. Compared to a Linn Klimax Twin (which I’ve also owned), the Boazu sounds as powerful, has better low end control and detail, has a similar midrange and lacks the false high frequency sparkle of the Klimax. More importantly, the Boazu has a natural coherence from bottom to top with nothing being overemphasised which can stand out and irritate after a while. I’d say it’s more tuneful than the Klimax too. Again, this isn’t a dig at the Linn. It’s still a good amp and I’ve been a fully committed Linnista since the 1980’s so admitting something like this doesn’t come easy! Compared to Sugden’s, which I’ve also owned (20 years ago), and for me, the Boazu is a much better choice. None of the Sugden’s I’ve heard are anywhere near as enjoyable to listen to as the Boazu. The Sugden’s would occupy a place at the bottom of the first division of my fantasy HiFi league tables. Good, but not great. The Boazu would be up towards the top. It’s not perfect, but I’ve a feeling I’ll be keeping it for a very long time. The manufacturer provides upgrades (I’ve got the latest 1.3) at a very reasonable cost (under £300) and the cost of buying anything any better would be completely prohibitive.
