Rooze,
Perhaps I can expand a bit. A bit over a month ago I drove up to visit Henry and listen to his H20 monoblocks on his Apogee Scintilla's after hearing much of the buzz on the Apogee user forum.
You mentioned the fit and finish to look a bit unprofessional. I would respectfully disagree. Seeing them in person they are superb in fit and finish. They are not "exotic or industrial engineering state of the art" in form. Form follows function. With that being said, I can't recall off the top of my head ANY manufacturer out there that uses 3/8" thick aluminum plates on ALL sides of the unit, top, and bottom. It is a very refined and subtle look.
I was also aware of the price increase being imminent. As I understood from reading the Apogee forums, these amps were being produced for forum members at near cost as a "gift" to forum members that had interest and wanted to try them before the retail pricing was set forth. I can honestly say these monoblocks at a retail of $4K are still quite the deal. I don't say that lightly. However, I did hear the amps driving a 1 ohm load Apogee Scintilla. There is something to be said about system/speaker matching. If these monoblocks perform with other speakers equally as well as they did on the Scintilla's then it will not be long before the H20 name is common in audiophile circles. I would also go so far as to predict when a review site such as 6moons.com or stereotimes.com get a listen with these monoblocks there will be much more than a 6 week wait time. Again, IF - they perform sonically with other speakers as I have heard them on the Scintillas - they will be nothing short of an amplification leader at their price point, not to mention their stout fit and finish.
As for the wait time... you may have seen the "Preamp deal of the century" thread about Supratek preamps. There is a reason there is a 6 month plus wait. Both of these designers want to manufacture a product to their exacting specifications, by hand, with their own eye. Then they test them for some hours before shipping to ensure they are as they should be. I personally wish more audio companies took this stance.
Perhaps I can expand a bit. A bit over a month ago I drove up to visit Henry and listen to his H20 monoblocks on his Apogee Scintilla's after hearing much of the buzz on the Apogee user forum.
You mentioned the fit and finish to look a bit unprofessional. I would respectfully disagree. Seeing them in person they are superb in fit and finish. They are not "exotic or industrial engineering state of the art" in form. Form follows function. With that being said, I can't recall off the top of my head ANY manufacturer out there that uses 3/8" thick aluminum plates on ALL sides of the unit, top, and bottom. It is a very refined and subtle look.
I was also aware of the price increase being imminent. As I understood from reading the Apogee forums, these amps were being produced for forum members at near cost as a "gift" to forum members that had interest and wanted to try them before the retail pricing was set forth. I can honestly say these monoblocks at a retail of $4K are still quite the deal. I don't say that lightly. However, I did hear the amps driving a 1 ohm load Apogee Scintilla. There is something to be said about system/speaker matching. If these monoblocks perform with other speakers equally as well as they did on the Scintilla's then it will not be long before the H20 name is common in audiophile circles. I would also go so far as to predict when a review site such as 6moons.com or stereotimes.com get a listen with these monoblocks there will be much more than a 6 week wait time. Again, IF - they perform sonically with other speakers as I have heard them on the Scintillas - they will be nothing short of an amplification leader at their price point, not to mention their stout fit and finish.
As for the wait time... you may have seen the "Preamp deal of the century" thread about Supratek preamps. There is a reason there is a 6 month plus wait. Both of these designers want to manufacture a product to their exacting specifications, by hand, with their own eye. Then they test them for some hours before shipping to ensure they are as they should be. I personally wish more audio companies took this stance.