Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier

Every project has to begin somewhere. When our engineers began work on the Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier they began with inspiration from the absolute pinnacle of vinyl playback: the 2008 Phono Preamplifier, easily the most celebrated phono stage of all time.

But that’s where the similarities end. Where the 2008 was pure excess, the 508 is pure efficiency. As the smallest Boulder in more than two decades, the 508 packs an enormous amount of performance in a single, small chassis. A chassis that is carved from a single block of metal, no less. All of the proper inputs, outputs, and adjustments are here. As is the one constant from every Boulder product since Day One: a stunning level of performance.

Features

Simple selection of MC or MM modes via switch on the rear panel

Elegant casework carved from a solid block of aluminum

Balanced inputs mean the perfect interface with the balanced output of phono cartridges

Integrated low-cut filter removes excessive low frequency information from warped or damaged records

Balanced outputs to minimize distortion and drive long cable runs with no loss of fidelity

Precision built and compact main PCB, produced on Boulder's own surface-mount circuit board manufacturing machinery

Specifications

INPUTS

1 pair balanced, converts to unbalanced

OUTPUTS

1 pair balanced

INPUT IMPEDANCE, MAXIMUM

MC: 100 ohms, MM: 47k ohms

OUTPUT IMPEDANCE

100 ohms, balanced

1 KHZ GAIN, RIAA

MC: 70 dB, MM: 44 dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE, RIAA

±0.5 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

DISTORTION, THD

0.01%

NOISE (EIN), MC

116 nanovolts flat, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

MAXIMUM OUTPUT LEVEL

16 Vrms

CROSSTALK, L TO R OR R TO L

>100 dB or better 20 Hz to 20 kHz

WEIGHT

11.5 lbs. (5.2 kg)

POWER REQUIREMENTS

100, 120, 200-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz

POWER CONSUMPTION

15W maximum