Digital Amps - Your opinions and why so few?

I'll second what Ramy said about the Acoustic Reality eAR amplifier. I hate to use adjectives like "analog" or "un-digital" to describe its sound because I don't believe in these terms. But I will say that it sounds "right" and "natural", and that's about the highest compliment I can give to a piece of audio gear.

With respect to the key topic of this thread, I think that that digital amps have already grown to dominate the low-end. Just look at the plethora of receivers from the likes of Sony, Panasonic, JVC and others, and you'll be hard pressed to find one that doesn't use a switching amplifer circuit. This is not meant as knock against the technology, but it's merely a reflection of its potential for lower cost which plays into the busines model for affordable consumer gear.

The high-end market is a different ballgame altogether where demand is low, margins are high, and the consumers (though few in number) can be demanding, superstitious, and fickle. For this reason, I think there will always be a market for diversity in the high-end so that digital, linear SS amps, and tubes will continue to co-exist for the foreseeable future. As to the question of why there are so few currently, that's certianly not true in the low-end consumer market. Digital amps are only relatively scarce in the high-end, for now, because of its newness, yet I don't expect it to dominate this end of the market like it has in the low-end for the simple matter of what I noted earlier about how demanding and superstitious this market can be. To wit, the term "digital" still carries a stigma to this day that's hard to shake, whether it's wholly deserved or not.

I have an Acoustic Reality digital amp. These amps have a conventional toriod for the power supply & ICE modules for the digital section. This amp sounds very good to me, so did the Spectron I borrowed from a friend.
I do have a Debussy CD that has some very low level room noises in the performance. I now use this as my reference resolution test CD.
The AR amp clearly re-produces the louder of the 2 backround noise incidents. Any of my Pass Aleph amps makes both easily heard.

I am a dealer for the new Flying Mole digital amps. Shown at Cedia a few weeks ago, their is a review in the current edition of Widescreen Review by Gary Altunian. For addt'l comments see www.stereotimes.com and search for the review of the Von Schweikert dB99 high efficiency speakers. The writer comments on the DAD-M100 pro here as well. Affordably priced, compact in design, efficient and generating little heat, these 100watt giant killers have attracted lots of attention lately for 2ch and HT application.
See the site at www.flyingmoleelectronics.com or www.esotericaudiovideo.com for more info

Rooze, the pics you saw must have been of his very first hand made prototype. My amps have perfect fit and finish. All the ones I've seen pictures of coming off the line are the same. I hear you on the sales lag time. There is a waiting list. As for resale, I know several people that would pay full price for my used monos.

Oxia knows I owned an Acoustic Reality, and the Pass X600. There is no doubt for anyone hearing all three, the H2O is the finest al-rounder. There are several items separating the H2O from the Acoustic Reality. For one, the H2O has an independent power supply, not borrowed from winds on the output transformer. The H2O transformer is a kilowatt.

A thousand dollar increase was necessary. The H2Oo amps are substantial amps that do not cut corners anywhere. The $4k price is way under some competitors, and equal to others. Henry offers a free trial for prospective buyers.

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.