I am restarting a system on Audiogon just to let class D owners know there is gold to be mined in their systems. This is my H2O Laboratory. For over six years I strived to bring out all I could from the 16 bit CD. Finally, I think I learned everything there is to learn on how to match class D and H2O specifically to the most difficult speaker load extant.

I started this venture with unbridled enthusiasm. Having already heard great class A and AB amps on the Scintilla I knew how the speaker controlled the amp rather than the other way around. My first dally with Class D cleaned some of the thick solid state smudge. That was encouraging. I didn't care much whether it was musical or not in the beginning. I just wanted to hear what was on every CD. I didn't know then, how long a road of discovery it was going to be.

My beginning with the H2O six years ago was a rough start. I had to put up with preamps not made for the class D amp. My funds weren't overflowing putting two kids through out of state university. An Aleph P did a decent job. H2O make things OK by creating a class A preamp that not only worked with the H2O amp, but assisted the waking of the 1 ohm speaker too.

My sources were wanting back then too. I started with a Jolida 100 loaded with NOS Sylvania Black Plate tubes. Later I replaced that with an Audio Note One.1 DAC and a PSA Lambda. This combo allowed more of a the view through the CD window. I thought it was quite enough, until someone characterized the sound as being dark.

I sent the Lambda and AN back to H2O. They came back with cutting edge diodes that opened up all those highs I was missing, plus a lot of dynamics I didn't know I was missing. That sufficed for three years. The sound was extremely dynamic with full force surges that followed the biggest climaxing classical scores.

Cables were always a problem for me. I learned early on class D amps need shielded cables. The clip on iron rings did no good. Shunyata did good. Made up Belden wires did as well. All my gear is hooked up with Shunyata or Belden. I don't know why it works, but I do know it works well.

The speaker cable conundrum flummoxed me. I knew from experience insulation talks. Depending on the cable's thickness the insulator's sound will be a hiss to a shush. The only commercial naked SC I knew of was Speltz Anti Cable. After a year, I found out that they were lacking in the highs and lows, but had a killer mid. By listening to other's experiences I tried thin ribbon. That worked better than anything I had imagined. It just let every note through in it's fullest expression. The front to back depth popped into focus. Obviously all the CD's information can travel unscathed by the

Now, to bring it to present. My trusty Lambda transport died, and I became disabled.

I went on a search for a replacement for my Lambda. I was looking at older greats. They seemed to all upsample the signal before passing it on to the DAC. Some pre-filterred the music. I did not want any of that. Only one just passed the honest digital information.

There was one transport in my price range that did just that. That was the 47 Labs Flatfish and it's power supply, the Dumpty. This little jewel is better than I ever dreamed a transport could be. All of a sudden, I found the bass was not absorbed by my pliant 100 year old floor. There was something else, something that gave me dance fever. I looked up the Flatfish on the 47 Labs site. There I found what the transport's creator called the new ingredient in my system. He calls it, "Harmony." Whatever it is, it definitely takes the music to a whole new level of enjoyment. Suddenly, you just know that is what music should sound like. It isn't just low mid and hi notes it is the melodic interconnection of those notes that is missing in so many systems.

The Flatfish is coupled directly to the floor through the cabinet. My floor is suspended over a basement. I can feel all the speaker vibrations from the far side of the room where I am typing. Walking on the floor makes it bounce. How was I to keep the Flatfish from collapsing on it's unattached legs?

That is where I made the next big step. Like with the speaker cables, I had to invent something that would isolate the CD spinner. I looked at what was on the market, and saw there was nothing there that could do the trick to my satisfaction. So, I made one. It is perfect. It actually absorbs all the tremors and thumping the speakers make.

There will be no other changes. The lab is closed.