New H20 Signature S250

Jeff: great "mini" review. I too, have had the pleasure of hearing Larry's system a couple times. Last time was prior to his Sound Lab "extreme make-over", so I can only imagine how good they sound now!

OK..., I have heard the H2o, and mostly agree it is quite an amp -- especially for the price (and also owned JC-1's for about a year), but has anyone seen, or more importantly heard, the Red Dragon ICE module amp? Listed here @ 'Gon for around $1700, and the guy's confident enought to let you audition for 45 DAYS, and wll pay the shipping BOTH WAYS. Interesting, eh?

Denf...When I made inquiry about the eAR amp I got an EMail from Red Dragon suggesting that I consider their unit. It appears to be virtually identical to the eAR 1000 watt amp, without the hassle of overseas shipment. Red Dragon is supposedly working on a multichannel version that I could configure for three channels, which is what I want.

Eldartford, like you, I believe the future of ICE and other digital amps lies in multi-channel applications. What a benefit to have crystal clear sound for 5,6 or 7 channels in an inexpensive and lightweight single box? Frankly, I'd be surprised if commercial theaters don't jump on this.

We two channel lovers will forever debate the attributes of digital vs. ss vs. tubes, but the multi-channel market seems to be wide open because listeners are less critical (no perjorative connotation intended). I mean how many viewers of "Die Hard" care about the "naturalness" of Bruce Willis' footfall on road gravel?

Tvad...You have a good point that digital amps make it possible to have half a dozen or so without dimming the lights or draining the bank account. Great for HT.

However, I am one who believes that, at least for music, every channel, amp and speaker, should be of the same high quality one would use for a 2-channel rig. When this is not done, which is often the case, audiophiles don't like multichannel. My "main" system is multichannel using the same stuff, eg: Maggie MG1.6, that I would use for a 2-channel system, but it has no video screen. Just a little 13" TV in the equipment rack for setup. In another room I have a plasma screen with a minimal multichannel audio rig (Panasonic SA-XR25 and inwall speakers) which is just fine for movies and TV.

Eldartford, I agree with you regarding the goal being the same level of quality between high end two channel amplification and high end multi-channel amplification. It's getting closer, and perhaps the gap has already closed and is just being discovered. The largest universe of audiophiles doesn't know the answer, but maybe a smaller subset does. From a marketing perspective, it makes more sense to me for the manufacturers of digital amplification to go after the HT crowd to establish a foothold.

I may have extrapolated too far when I read your comment that,"Red Dragon is supposedly working on a multichannel version that I could configure for three channels, which is what I want". I thought this meant you were after ICE amplification for HT application, but perhaps you meant multi-channel music application.