This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below "Concert #4: La Pantomine" from Rameau Pieces de Clavecinen Concert Baroque Nouveau [Reference Recordings RR-118] is a bold and lively Baroque recording with the pronounced attack and intricacy of the harpsichord against the texture and interplay of the orchestra. It was recorded at Skywalker Sound and artfully captured by the microphones and talents of Reference Recordings’ Keith O. Johnson. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (in the style of Tchaikovsky) from Heigh-Ho Mozart - Various Artists [Delos DE3186] is an easy-to-dismiss novelty album where a quick listen will tell you however that the novel interpretations of Disney works are inventive and stylistically faithful due to the solid enthusiastic work of the different orchestras and choirs. Here we have the music from the Lion King by way of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in D for Violin and Swan Lake with powerful musical swells and soaring solo violin work for a cornucopia of different styles on one CD. "La Clemencia di Tito: Aria" from Mozart: Arias for Male Soprano/Pearlman/Boston Baroque Michael Maniaci [Telarc TEL-31827-02] is a stunning recording capturing the immense acoustic of the hall and the astonishing vocal gymnastics of male soprano Michael Maniaci supported by Pearlman conducting the Boston Baroque. It’s a rare chance to hear a forgotten vocal musical instrument once referred to as the castrato from a time when the church dictated that women’s voices remain silent in song and the male soprano held musical court. Superb performance and engineering work. "Snatch it Back and Hold It" from Let Your Hair down: The Steve Miller Band [Roadrunner Records 1686-177182] is a fun little entry with a polished bar-band style of Blues covers that capture a toe-tapping mood. This is a piece from Amos Blakemore and Buddy Guy. "No Surprise" from Coming Apart: Friends of Emmet [Masterplan Media] is a first effort by group Friends of Emmet which arrives with largely original material in an interesting package under the heading of mainstream pop with a retro bent and which shows some Beatlesque influences on this track. "All for the Feeling: Claire Marlo" from Prime Cuts: Gourmet Selections from Sheffield Lab [Sheffield Lab CD-PC1] is a compilation of material from different recordings. Here we have a lovely female vocal with Sheffield Labs‘ big dynamic kick and raw power. Armed with these cuts and my trusty stable of regulars it was time to examine the hearts of Fire & Ice. The H2O amplifier had both delicacy and clout. It unraveled low-level information with ease and handled dynamic gradation according to the source. With the Densen 130+ as preamplifier it acted as an extension of that unit’s dynamic drive and pronounced gradation shifts. With the AudioSpace Reference 2S it took on the tube preamp’s handling of texture, upper-frequency micro detail and bass. The Fire struck middle ground in applying leading and trailing edge detail of the tube-based pre with a good portion of the control and drive of the Densen. Bass control and level were outstanding and the amplifier showed the virtue of maintaining resolution and dynamic character as well as frequency balance to its lowest levels, keeping it both intelligible and lively. The Fire also marked an interesting middle ground of styles, resolving information in a manner equivalent to the Densen 130+ but applying that information in a more tubular manner. The result was a presentation where  detail and dynamics didn’t stand out on their own but integrated holistically. The Fire also played an unusual trump card more often associated with low-wattage tube amplification. It made low-level information more apparent, trevealing complex leading and trailing edges on instruments as well as enhancing dimensional solidity and soundstage boundaries. Where the Densen emphasized the content of the performance, the Fire’s strong suit was illuminating the context. It recreated not only the musicians but the totality of the event in a musically coherent manner. The S250 had a discernable 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. Bass had the robust weight that hallmarks the best tube gear in capturing the visceral immensity of an instrument like the grand piano but with the control of a class A transistor design. There was tube-like warmth that reached from the upper bass with a touch of prominence through the lower midrange and midrange which endowed the amplifier with a great intimacy and real presence. The upper mids and highs were sweet but a little drier than the lower end of the spectrum, transforming to a very refined transistor rather than tube signature. This was easily within the adjustment range of cable combinations and could be swung between mildly dry to mildly sweet as well as addressed by front end choices. 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. The S250 Signature played big and bold. Intrinsic to the amplifier and regardless of combination it presented a large soundstage with life-size images. Dimensionality followed the amplifier’s frequency character from the mid bass through the midrange having the dimensionality associated with tube designs. In the upper mids through highs the unit was very much dependent on the preamplifier. Tube front ends and the Fire extended the liquid character upwards while the Densen placed more emphasis on transparency, focus and precision rather than pronounced dimensionality. The Fire made good use of its enhancement of low-level data to create very convincing soundstaging especially when mated with the S250. It had the uncanny ability to eliminate the real room boundaries and replace them with the recorded acoustic. Image size was in keeping with the H2O amplifier, big and meaty. Soundstage had good depth and substantial forward projection, creating very solid images in a wide highly immersive soundstage. It successfully eliminated both the AS 3/5As and the Apogee Duetta Signatures as apparent sound sources by presenting material ahead of, behind and beyond the speakers in a manner most often associated with tubes. The Fire didn’t approach the listening experience as a spectator sport. It demanded participation. 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. Compared to the Bel Canto EVO 200.4 and  Wyred4Sound STI1000 it was meatier from the lower midrange on down, considerably more so in the case of the STI1000. Bass response and control on the H2O were remarkable into the Apogee Duetta Signatures, showing sufficient prowess to render the Servo 15 subwoofer superfluous for most listening. In fact authority and depth were so great that visitors repeatedly made the mistaken assumption that the sub was still in the circuit.