Best Digital Amps

Hey Kana813. Yeah a chum on the forum keeps bugging me about the power supply & Black Gate upgrades. Unfortunately, the 2.2X is not mine but on loan from a friend. It's an amazing piece though and once you crack its user interface it's straight forward to use. I'm saving my doe for the TCS MKII as I need 8 channels...for my quad amped Divas of course. The 2.2X let me see (and hear)how Apogee completely hosed up the application of the single element ribbon tweeter on the Diva via the passive x-over but also allowed me to hear what a stunning product the Diva can be when the ribbons are properly driven directly. I imagine Maggies would respond in a very similar fashion.

Also hear you about an all Tact system. I'm building towards that but right now the ICEH20's are a steal. For $2000 brand new I can't think of a better sounding amp right now also frees up the music so well. The production versions sound noticably better than the prototype. I've a feeling in the context of a "normal" system,(read non-Tact based)the ICEH20 would be the superior product, IMHO.

Kana, that was a prototype we begged for to be passed about to Apogee members despite it being premature. We didn't mean for it's performance to be made public. I'm sure you were told it was a prototype amp. Though it is similar to the production model in capacitance, transformer, and power supply, it lacked the filters, fast diodes, and quality parts of the production model.

The prototype is still a class above any solid state amp I've heard including the TacT. The H2O is an analogue amp, and I don't care how much tweaking you do to the Tact it is still a digital switcher. I know your friend, and I know his preferences. I don't share them. The sound differences between the two are dry and analytical for the TacT, compared to natural and true to life for the H2O.

I have the H2O monos now, and it, with the production improvements I mentioned, is a cut above the prototype, and unapproachable by TacT, even with a thousand dollars upgrades.

Now, if only I can get a pre-amp of equal stature.

No such thing!!

TUBES

1953- I agree with you, for $2K the H2O sounds very interesting. I just think, for someone who running a two channel rig, the TacT's ability to eliminate the preamp,
DAC and extra cables are worth the extra $900.

Muralman1- first, I said the amp our friend heard was a prototype, and it was our same friend that suggested the
use of high speed diodes and better parts to Henry, after
he heard what these improvement did in his TacT system.

I know you're excited about the H20, but with the mods I've done on the TacT amps, they're not "dry and analytical."

You know my friend, but you don't know me. I'm told you're a really great guy, but please don't made unsupported statement like "unapproachable by TacT, even with a thousand dollars upgrades," unless you've heard a tweaked out TacT system like mine or Mr.Perry's.

The mods don't cost "thousand dollars," try a $100.
worth of parts applied in the right area, some electronics knowledge and skill.

I'm not your enemy man. I want to see other digital amps come to market and push the development process of this new technolgy into high gear.

As I told you, I'd be happy to lend an ear and my mana'o
to the H2O's development process.

Contact me off line, or get my number from our friend and give me a call.

Aloha,

Dan

Sorry I came across... cross. I have heard the Tact over and over through many transformations. It is amazing to me the TacT people don't improve their product from the outset. To my ears, the things that produced the most positive differences were after market ferrite cloths, and ferrite protected power cords. I haven't come to an equally easy conclusion about the profit gained by inserting Black Gate mods.

We also can't rush to judgement against a new product. Synergy is everything. I don't know why one would assume the TacT houses a cutting edge DAC. I doubt if the older TacT pre-amp has the same DAC as the TacT amp.