Bel Canto eOne amps - Is this the future?

Move on Muralman1! The ICE age is over. Next up..UcD. You could probably get the module (from Hypex.com) for a few hundred bucks and drop it into your H2O with the power supply you are so fond of.

Muralman1...You do realize that I am pulling your leg a bit? Of course I have read your many comments about the H2O. I have also read many comments by others, who don't always agree with you. As Scintilla sez "Every ears and every system is different".

I confess that I have had only slight listening exposure to ICE based amps. One reason that I lost interest in ICE is that you and some others insisted that the on-board switched power supply is no good and the ICE module requires a conventional power supply (which you call "linear"). If the on-board supply is not used the price of the amp gets out of line.

Muralman1...Where in America is the ICE amp built?

Muralman1...Really? I thought the ICE module was made in Europe.

Muralman1....All the complexity, design originality, and parts count are in the ICE module. The H2O power supply is a simple brute force design. This may be a great approach, but it represents a small part of the overall amplifier.

By the way, I have nothing against European products. The UcD module that I like also comes from Europe.

And for comparison go to www.hypex.nl.

As the saying goes "There is more than one way to skin a cat" (IMHO all of them good).

But they are made (mostly) in Europe? Go on, admit it. We don't care.

Muralman1...Don't you see that being less than truthful about where the amp is made hurts your credibility about other aspects of the amp. We don't care!!! You raised the subject.

The case is very pretty. But if it costs $400 that would be more than the ICE amp itself, and raises concern about Mr Ho's design priorities.

Muralman1...I do not doubt your integrity. Sorry if it came across like that. I guess I should have said "accurate" instead of "truthful".

The usual description of products like this is "Assembled in USA with parts sourced from _____"

I do think that the amplifier module represents the heart of the unit, and that the power supply, the case, the connectors, the power cord, etc which are of very conventional design are of secondary importance.

By the way, I think that the CIA D200 and the NuForce share the same UcD amplifier module, but the CIA unit has a conventional power supply whereas the NuForce has a switcher. I have no idea whether this makes a difference.
I do note that the manufacturer, (www.hypex.com) offers fully assembled power supplies for their modules, and these are of the conventional type.

Humanmedia...I stand corrected. NuForce doesn't use the UcD module. Based on what I read its design approach is more like UcD than ICE.