[muralman1]

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/h2o2/1.html
Below are a few segments. Please read Glen Wagenknecht's wonderful review of the amp and preamp I am using on my original Apogee Scintilla. I am fortunate that Glen is a champion of non-oversampling DACs, which must be used by all ICE amp owners if you are going to get all the music. I top his system by having just the right wires, and the very best transport, the 47 Lab Flatfish, where the bass mids and highs are exquisite. He mentions the importance of careful source and wire selection.

"The S250 had a discernible flavor blending a bit of tube and class A transistors to be not quite colorless but colorful in the best sense of the word. The ear was consistently drawn into the lower midrange to midrange transition in classic vintage tube form, romantic but with the modern accoutrements of superior control in the lower ranges. An evening listening to the live and unamplified Opera Atelier production of Mozart’s La Clemencia di Tito drove home that the amp’s reproduction was quite faithful to the acoustical event. The S250 Signature emphasized the body of instruments and properly centered the timbre of hands clapping, giving live recordings an uncannily realistic presentation."

"The Fire also had a distinct character. It had control and power in the lower octaves that matched the companion amplifier and showed transparency in the bass through lower midrange, contributing neither more or less, allowing the character of the equipment ahead and behind to be readily apparent. From the midrange on up the Fire made subtle enhancements. The slight emphasis contributed a little extra vividness and life and could be pushed by choice of cable to create a range of top-end personalities from slightly cooler and analytical to warmer and better integrated with the rest of the band. At its best it was lush and centered in the midband and upper midrange with sweetness and extension. Combined with the S250 Signature there was a marriage of individual characteristics that extended and enhanced the range of both components with extremely vivid midrange reproduction."



"Both products proved remarkable in their own right. Based on limited listening to the original H2O S250, the Signature successfully pushed past it by making improvements in all parameters, especially in the upper octaves with more detail, extension and smoothness. It proved an unflappable powerhouse that could toss the Apogees around with absolute authority and yet pour a wealth of detail and delicacy through the AS3/5As with tube-like demeanor. The sonic signature of the amplifier leaned more to the classic tubular rather than transistor, even more so in fact than many modern tube designs which aim at achieving the precision of solid state. The S250 Signature also maintained that character differentiation against other digital amplifiers."

[mitch2]

What's up with this company? They made a splash in mid-2000's, then quiet, then this review comes out two months ago, now it appears their website is gone. The gear sounds outstanding for the money, and has been consistently ranked as excellent in reviews, but it would be nice to get a handle on the dependability of the company. Do you have any insight?

[catastrofe]

What's up with this company? They made a splash in mid-2000's, then quiet, then this review comes out two months ago, now it appears their website is gone. The gear sounds outstanding for the money, and has been consistently ranked as excellent in reviews, but it would be nice to get a handle on the dependability of the company. Do you have any insight?

Pun intended?   

[mitch2]

I could have said they were.....red hot...now extinguished...up in smoke....washed up....under water?? I am actually curious especially given such a recent rave review.  I have pretty good gear but always wanted to hear the H2O stuff.  Google shows their iceh2oaudio website as having a 2011 copyright so hopefully it is just a website glitch and they are still....smokin'....riding the wave...etc.

[catastrofe]

Maybe their website is flooded with activity and their server can't handle it!   

[arthurs]

His site was up Friday.  I had Henry over last weekend to hear his pre and mono's in my system and I would say the reviews are merited. His mono block amps with my VAC pre got everyone in the rooms attention.  As an aside, Henry is not only very intelligent and insightful when discussing amplifier or preamplifier design, he is a humble and truly great guy to hang out with. I got the sense if you went with his product you'd have no issue getting support and have never heard or read anything to the contrary....FWIW....

[mitch2]

Thanks arthurs, my Clayton monos are also designed and manufactured by a sole proprietor who is a creative and intelligent individual, yet also humble, friendly, and passionate about his concepts and products.  The gear from these types of operations, though sometimes overlooked, can be exceptional. Do you know whether Henry has upgraded the original monos to match the sonics of the recently reviewed stereo amp?  I still cannot get the website up so will check back on the status next week.

[Bemopti123]

I am the owner of a updated S250 to S status along with mundorf caps.  I left my amp with Henry in Houston on the beginning of my Cross Country and I picked it up in the end of it.  The S250 Signature powers a pair of amp destroying Infinity Kappa 9s in my mom's place in Atlanta.  The preamp we use is a rare Van Den Hul Array-1 or A-1.  The amplifier not only runs cool but it is devoid of any intrinsic sonic signature unlike the DNA-225 which replaced it.  People who know the DNA will never say that the DNA has much of a signature but it does a sort of drive, that while adding excitement, it can become tiresome after a while.  His S250 is like water, there and nothing more.  Henry as an individual is not out there to make a quick $$$$ or into overpricing his wares.  He like a selected few is into making products that other people can enjoy.  The listening session in his house with his Apogees was amazing. 

[arthurs]

Thanks arthurs, my Clayton monos are also designed and manufactured by a sole proprietor who is a creative and intelligent individual, yet also humble, friendly, and passionate about his concepts and products.  The gear from these types of operations, though sometimes overlooked, can be exceptional. Do you know whether Henry has upgraded the original monos to match the sonics of the recently reviewed stereo amp?  I still cannot get the website up so will check back on the status next week.

I believe the upgrade to the Mono's is happening as we speak.  These were his stock mono's....

I have spent a good bit of time with the Clayton 300's...I would concur with exceptional as a description...

[Nordic Bob]

I am the owner of a updated S250 to S status along with mundorf caps.  I left my amp with Henry in Houston on the beginning of my Cross Country and I picked it up in the end of it.  The S250 Signature powers a pair of amp destroying Infinity Kappa 9s in my mom's place in Atlanta.  The preamp we use is a rare Van Den Hul Array-1 or A-1.  The amplifier not only runs cool but it is devoid of any intrinsic sonic signature unlike the DNA-225 which replaced it.  People who know the DNA will never say that the DNA has much of a signature but it does a sort of drive, that while adding excitement, it can become tiresome after a while.  His S250 is like water, there and nothing more.  Henry as an individual is not out there to make a quick $$$$ or into overpricing his wares.  He like a selected few is into making products that other people can enjoy.  The listening session in his house with his Apogees was amazing.

Henry has just finished updating my H20 S250 Stereo amplifier which I bought from him in 2005 and will be sending it back to me soon.  He has also been kind enough to do the break-in for me.  I certainly agree that Henry is one of few people who is truly dedicated, provides an exceptional product, and not out to make a quick buck.  His customer service has always been tops too.   

[H2OAUDIO]

Hello Mitch,

Thanks for your interest in the H2O amps. The Iceh2oaudio website host has been very flaky to say the least.  I'm thinking of moving the website to a different host.  Their server was down and has been now backup and running.  Unfortunately it is still loading the old pages.  If you're still interested, please send me a private email. 

Hi Art,  Thanks very much for the kind words, and you're absolutely right! I'm working on the upgrade as we speak.  I'm still waiting for the Mundorf caps however.  They should be here shortly.

As for H2O existing owner, thank you so very much for your kind words and support throught the years.

Henry

[Nordic Bob]

As for H2O existing owner, thank you so very much for your kind words and support throught the years.

Henry

I received my updated H20 S250 on Friday and must say that I am most impressed with the improvements even though the version with the V-Caps was no slouch.  Thank you Henry for making an already outstanding amplifier sound even better.

Bob