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Are ICEpower amps really that good?

Hi folks, it's getting a bit boring now, but I would like to hear your opinions about the following issue. I have the eAR ICEpower based amps (with the ASP1000 modules with built in SMPS). Some audiophiles and amp manufacturers believe they are just trash. In my opinion they are no slouch compared with the almost 8 times more expensive Accuphase A-50V stereo amp. In fact, I prefer the ICEpower amps above the Accuphase. Now I'm a bit in doubt (audiophiles are such weird creatures): are this sub $2k ICEpower amps really that good that they can compete with the $$$ Accuphase amp, or is it due to my own shortcoming (I might have some form of insidious and progressive hearing impairment) or is it just imagination? If the ICEpower amps are really that good, what's the point of buying $$$ amps? Btw, I have Dunlavy SC-V loudspeakers.

Chris
dazzdax

Showing 6 responses by muralman1

muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Hack, you are describing the H2O.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Hi Boa, this is what I agree with:

"That's not to say they can't be improved upon, maybe a manufacturer will incorporate the ICE principles with a massive power supply and make their product more appealing to the discerning 'phile. I want to think this will be the new wave in amplification, but I suspect there's a maturation process that is (so far) in the very early stages. Stay tuned?"
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Hack, I wouldn't trade my monos for any amp you may name, at any price. Srajan of 6 Moons is accurate in his assessment.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/h2o/m250.html.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Eldartford, are there any digital supply UCD amps out there? It seems to me almost all ICE amp builders are taking the cheap way out, sacrificing the best sound. I don't know anyone around here that has a UCD amp, only TacT and ICE.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Tvad, Here is Sacramento. The thing I was complementing was Eldartford's UCD's power supply. It makes all the difference.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Don't make a lick of sense to me. So, we have to have conventional amp smears, hyped highs, second order and third order distortions to cancel or mask speaker and player distortions? That seems counter productive to me.

We who have great class D amps find it an invigorating exercise to hone out great sounding components from the pretenders. I am continually amazed how most wires, preamps, and CDPs really mess up the music.

My speakers are one of the most neutral, and revealing speakers ever made. That's a good start. Non oversampling and upsampling players with no digital filters sound best. Less circuitry yields purer reading of disc material. I still am looking for the perfect cables and interconnects. Dielectrics fizz is real when you are trying to hear subtle textures, real textures, not contrived.

The beauty of it all is when all distortions are minimized, your reward is a treasure trove of subtle nuances locked into 16 bit CDs you can't hear otherwise. That is because of the barely audible fuzzys and fizzys generated by electronic wizardry, and winter jacketed wires.

I wince every time I read someone complaining how their new class D amp sounds all congested, bright, or dull. There should be no worry. You just have a little house cleaning to do.
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