H2O Audios' M250 Special Edition Mono Block Amplifiers


I saw a question on the forum about Class D amplifiers. Following the question was a comment about how class D amplifiers have distortions and lack of low level detail. I am not here to debate or disagree with anyone but just to tell of my experience with my H2O Audio M250 Special Edition mono block amps. My previous mono block amplifiers were Tube Research Labs  GT200s'. My pre-amp was and still is Tube Research Labs "The Dude". The sound was very desirable and I had that sound for a couple of years. During those years they were matched with JM Labs Nova Utopias and then Martin Logan Summit Xs'. The tube amps had the qualities that most tube lovers desire. They have rich harmonic textures, great 3D imaging and are very dynamic. They are triode amps with zero negative feedback rated at 200 watts. I must mention that I also have owned Sonic Frontiers Line Three SE amps, several Krell behemoths including the 650 mono blocks. I am a big electrostat  fan and now own the Sound Lab A3 PX speakers. Let me tell you Sound Labs are lightning quick and have tons of inner detail. But to really hear what they are capable of doing they really need an amp that just laughs at the load. Because these speakers are so revealing, any amp that has issues will be brutally exposed in seconds. That is where the H2O mono blocks come in. Boy you talk about power, grip, extension, lightning fast transients, inner detail, low level detail, it is out of this world! These amps just kick butt and have such grace and beauty. They took a long long time to break in but boy when they broke in! Never have I been so pleased with the music these things recreate. They have Ice modules in them minus the power section. The amps have huge analog toroidal power supplies. And massive caps for reserve power. I have a pretty good front end on this system. I have the Ayon transport, Ayon Skylla II DAC, Dude pr-amp. I have WireWorld power cables, interconnects, and speaker cables. My power conditioning is by Triopoint Audio it is called the Orion. Also I have the Tripoint Troy grounding system. The room is very carefully treated with sound treatments. I am just saying there is a great new world out there and most are blown away with what they hear from these amps. A friend of mine that has been in the recording industry for years said "never in his life has he heard solid state amps so free from harmonic distortions" as the H2O amps. In fact he said never has he heard ANY amp sound so beautiful period. I know I am biased but I must agree. Bottom line is do your home work about class D amps. Just like cars or anything else for that matter not all are created equal.
128x128booboobaer
Thanks for sharing your positive experience with us, booboobaer. Have you heard Henry's Fire preamp?

Best to you,
Dave
No sir I have not had the pleasure. But the revues I have seen were pretty positive. Henry is very glad to give you and idea of what to expect. He explained the power amps to me and he was dead on. I just love them.
Hi booboobaer,

Henry is a friend of mine and lives nearby, so I have auditioned the Fire preamp in my system.  I very fine preamp that bettered my Ayre K-1xe in some ways. The problem was the it was SE only and my Krell amp (in my system at that time) only has XLR and CAST inputs, thus requiring XLR to RCA plug converters at the preamp end. This created an audible 60hz buzz. What I heard in a week long audition was very promising, most impressive was its lively sound, rich tonality, and delicate & detailed upper treble.  The buzz was not the fault of the preamp, but the limitation of the Krell with a SE preamp, yet obviously not something I could live with long term.

Best to you,
Dave 
Yep. Active shielding actually. This is a known problem with the FPB series of Krell amps when used with SE (RCA) preamps. These amps are differentially balanced (only) so they only have balanced XLR (for connection to other brands of differentially balanced preamps like the Ayre K-1xe) and CAST (propriety for connection to Krell preamps) inputs, no RCA.

I don’t know if I would have preferred the Fire preamp to my K-1xe overall, but it is a very fine sounding preamp. The Fire’s external powers supply is the beefiest I have ever seen for a preamp. If you are ever in the market, you should give one a try.

Best to you,
Dave