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Lloyd, You found the one seemingly ambiguous line in the whole review. The
writing went like this,
"Tubes create a certain texture which these amps don't. Tubes can be
very transparent but to my ears, it's a transparency modified in different
frequency bands and modulated by certain layering and soundstaging effects.
The latter are highly addictive ( consider me a major addict). But they are
effects. They simply do not ever arise in real life."
The H2O will not add any effects, good or bad, to the recording. It just excels
on digging out the deepest nuances of the recording. I find that much more
addicting.
I believe a little bit of tubes is a good thing. My DAC has tubes. My preamp is
a class A solid state. |
Welcome to the party, Grk. I came to H2O by way of the eAR II as well. H2O amps have a one year warranty, parts, or mechanical. From what I've heard, delivery can be made within two weeks. That's not Gospel. |
Extremephono, You are confusing H2O amp designation with B&O nomenclature. They are not interchangeable. All H2O amps employ the B&O 500 A module. They are all rated 250 watts into 8 ohms, and 500 watts into 4 ohms.
Henry Ho, the H2O designer, has chosen not to use the ASP modules, nor the 250 A module, because they don't meet his needs. |
There is one other, that I can think of, ICE amp with an analog power supply. That would be the bigger eAR amps. They have a relatively small one. All the other ICE amp builders use the digital ASP modules. Size counts. With the smaller analog supply, it doesn't exude body, like the H2O.
I have never heard of someone burning out a speaker with more than sufficient current. |
Warning to all who have an interest in hearing the H2O:
The H2O will spotlight any system deficiencies you probably were never aware of before.
For instance, occasionally we hear from MIT cable users complaining about harsh highs, and recessed mids they get from the H2O.
The H2O gets mixed into a lot of systems highly evolved along the intention of coaxing a favorable sound out of digital, and solid state. Some of those fixes severely interfere with the pure signal. They may change things for the positive in that system. The H2O, just doing what it does so well, will only magnify the actual wounds inflicted on the music by those "fixes."
The H2O will demand just as rigorous a search for the best system. It will encourage simple circuits, clean cabling, rich power sources, and revealing speakers. |
Wow! Nobody would argue the big Soundlabs are a challenge. I laud you for sticking with the H2O for the time being. It is evident a lot of systems are well evolved along the path to better solid state listening. All dissatisfied listening I've seen has been when the H2O is set in place of a well hued solid state system. Some items could very well be incompatable.
MIT, and similar cables don't work with the H2O. Come to think of it, I wonder of any tube lovers use MIT? The H2O excels in low level info, and network box cables mess with that. Some line conditioners choke the high current H2O. The amps can not reach their optimum without well shielded power cables, on all components. They are ultra sensitive to speaker cables, digital cables, and ICs.
There is nothing remaining in my H2O system that was in use during my system's solid state days. I have incrementally improved the H2O's success with carefully chosen changes. I have opted for a modified non-upsampling DAC. The preamp has to be extra clean. I have a custom class A. There is still more to do.
I have the H2O Sig, which is worth the extra dough. I don't experience any placement, size, or stage width abnormalities with my Scintilla system. I have an old Vollenweider disc, "Book of the Roses." People who have his discs know there are lots comings and goings of very deep images. It comes as something of a shock when Vollenweider lays into a foreground electric harp. The strings of that harp extend from speaker to speaker.
I guess what I am saying, you have not heard the H2O amp at it's best yet. For the Big Soundlab, I think you should go with the Signature.
But then, what do I know? I use Speltz Anti-Cable.
Oh yeah, I like piano too. My piano is what size it would be in the recording. Clara Monty in her Uberoth recording, is on stage, some distance away. Jim Brickman's "No Words," the piano is close-miced, and fills the room. I fool people all the time. It has all the bloom, and decay of the real thing. |
Woodburger, I hear you on the looks of Anti-Cables. Speaker cables that look like they were just stretched out wire hangers, do not encourage confidence. I figure, someday, someone will fit the wire into hoses, and sell them at 10 times the price.
I don't know how resolving MIT cables are on some amps, but the Anti Cable has replaced similar box cables, improving the resolution. I was there. |
Oh no! Mr. Bill. Sorry, I just had to do that. Yes, I am using Anti-Cables, and it is good. |
I understand your experiences are different than my own. I put my H2O Signature on 4 0hm Studio Grands, and they kicked ass. The owner of the SGs likes percussion. He has an amazing drum run that will stress any speaker and amp to their limits. Those bass drums, kettles, bells, rim whacks, and cymbal crashes were hair raising, and in the room.
The S-H2O would be appreciated by people used to class A Alephs. Those who want the big bang, need to get the Signatures. The two differ considerably. |
How long have you had the H2O? After break in, there are system changes you can look at to bring the very best out the H2O. I have heard the Butler, but never the two in the same room. The Butler is a fine amp. I'm in California too. The H2O is a green machine, and so is my theater projector. |
Leave it on. The H2O, at rest, consumes about as much as your refrigerator light. |
