Hegel H95 Review (Streaming Amplifier)

[Doodski]

You're bad

I almost feel guilty. What the effect will be economically on the people at Hegel is unknown. The other side of the coin is that Hegel will perhaps maybe change the direction of the company and offer proper value for the dollar and stop the rubbish chatter.

 

[Unground]

The sign of a good beverage is abstinence of taste.

I think we might be using different terminology here. A drink should taste nice?

 

[Amplifier dude]

I think we might be using different terminology here. A drink should taste nice?

”Less taste than my mouth or air” wasn’t sure if you were being sarcastic, or if that was a quality you seek in a good, hearty beer.

 

[Geert]

Even before the ASR review, I ruled out Hegel because they didn't look good enough.

The same for me. We already discussed it more than a year ago in the other Hegel thread https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-not-review-some-hegel-amps.15023/post-471969. Open up the lid, red flags everywhere.

 

[Eetu]

While the DAC & line out performance was surprisingly poor just wanted to point out that all the Hegels with comparable amplifier section measurements - the Hegel H20, H30, H590, H360, H80, H160, H120, H300 and now the H95 - have all shown quite similar SINAD (5W, 4 ohm) figures of 80-87 dB. Above average to pretty good but nowhere near SOTA and thus can be considered overpriced. So the H95 is definitely not a one-off regarding the amp section performance.

The Hegels mentioned above have been tested in Soundstage!, Stereophile & Audio PL. See this list for links to the measurements.

 

[Tangband]

Only problem is if they did that the Chinese would be their direct competition. And they’d go under because they could never compete and continue with a profitable business utilizing the distributor/dealer supply chain their business model is based on.

The Chinese manufacture in house, and sell direct to the consumer. Hegel subs out their work to the Chinese, imports them back to Norway for final inspection, then distributes world wide though a network of distributors. From there they go to dealers, and from there they go to the consumer. Lots of mouths to feed.

You forgot the marketing cost in hifimagazines and online. Cheap Chinese companies dont do marketing , heres a cost cut at maybe 20 %….?

So an Aiyima a07 would probably cost about 300 dollars if sold by marketing and in stores, instead of 70.
The extra cost with sellers in stores and marketing would then be about 4 times more.

 

[Amplifier dude]

You forgot the marketing cost in hifimagazines and on line. Cheap Chinese companies dont do marketing , heres a cost cut at maybe 20 %….

So a Aiyima a07 would probably cost about 300 dollars if sold by marketing and in stores, instead of 70.

Yes you’re right. That‘s a massive expense.

 

[watchnerd]

The same for me. We already discussed it more than a year ago in the other Hegel thread https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-not-review-some-hegel-amps.15023/post-471969. Open up the lid, red flags everywhere.

I have a simple rule:

Never buy things that look like they were built and soldered by me.

 

[Geert]

If the input is digital you can only input 0dBFS. Every device shuld be able to handle 0dBFS without clipping at any volume.

Maybe it should, but when it comes to integrated amplifiers it usually doesn't. Maybe the designer chooses to give you a bit more gain in case you want to zoom in to some content that's not 0dBFS.

Gain structure in HiFi is often not very exact. Hegel isn't the only one that doesn't publish in and output reference levels. Looks like it isn't fashionable anymore. Paying attention to numbers probably takes away "the musicality" of an amplifier

 

[watchnerd]

Samuel Adams saved my beer drinking butt when I was in California the last time. That's all I drank. I prefer a dark thick porter but it was good stuff.

Sam Adams on the West Coast is kind of sucky and stale compared to the NE.

You should have been drinking something like Deschutes Black Butte porter.

 

[Amplifier dude]

Sam Adams on the West Coast is kind of sucky and stale compared to the NE.

You should have been drinking something like Deschutes Black Butte porter.

I take it you don’t suffer from gout.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Bud Light is an amazing substance. The only thing I’ve ever had that has negative-taste. Less taste than my mouth or air. Remarkable. See if you can get some Meantime London Lager, or Purity Lawless unfiltered lager. IMO a good lager has more taste than the plethora of very bitter IPAs.

I'm totally averse to IPAs, just not interested. BTW, I live in what is considered the craft brewing capital of the eastern U.S. -- even big left coast brand "Sierra Nevada" has a brewery just a few miles down Interstate 26 from my place -- but I still tend to choose Sam Adams whenever it's available because it's so remarkably consistent, whereas even though there are dozens of great small breweries hereabouts, I'm not much into the crapshoot of trying one of the tremendous variety of local creations found on tap here. When I do throw my beer-choosing caution to the winds, I'm batting roughly .500 -- the problem is, when I pick a winner it's very likely to disappear before I can order it again because the craft brewers tend to be eager to move on to something else, whereas a "Sammy" is always a winner.

 

[DanielT]

My DNA test that traces through my ancestors from the Shetlands carries the remnants.

But too off topic, although I will plug Peteris Vasks.

Maybe OT. I'm not sensitive to such things, others may be. Now it seems to be about beer in this thread. Great.

Most things are more or less said about this Hegel. It measures as it does. It costs what it costs. The interesting thing is whether Hegel themselves will show their own measurements.

I think there's a lot in what Amir said in the thread that Hegel probably has a poor idea of what their competitors can achieve. Then it will be like this.

If it is appearance and not price, performance that is the determining factor, I would have preferred my vintage bed room receiver HK 330C compared to this Hegel. But as I said earlier in the thread, the taste is like the butt, .. divided.

 

[Doodski]

Sam Adams on the West Coast is kind of sucky and stale compared to the NE.

You should have been drinking something like Deschutes Black Butte porter.

Yeah, I like a yummy porter with pickles and chocO chip cookies.

 

[Geert]

Actually I think that’s exactly why this forum is so popular. If non-pro audio were marketed honestly, this forum would not be needed.

The problem with non-pro audio is that you want to sell equipment people don't really need. That might require some "creative marketing" Like "With a damping factor of over 4000, the H190 is powerful enough to drive almost any loudspeaker currently on the market, especially the big ones!"

 

[fordiebianco]

Well there you go guys. This is why there’s a market for this shit. Put the money into the case rather than whats inside it, and you can charge 10x more. Real time lesson for those following this thread.

I have a collection of 70s vintage receivers. I am aware that their objective performance is significantly below my chinese chip amps, but I enjoy their looks. I understand @watchnerd's point. Sometimes you make compromises for aesthetics.

 

[Chrispy]

Maybe it should, but when it comes to integrated amplifiers it usually doesn't. Maybe the designer chooses to give you a bit more gain in case you want to zoom in to some content that's not 0dBFS.

Gain structure in HiFi is often not very exact. Hegel isn't the only one that doesn't publish in and output reference levels. Looks like it isn't fashionable anymore. Paying attention to numbers probably takes away "the musicality" of an amplifier

I always thought that was the adventure of finding "synergy"....

 

[voodooless]

Sometimes you make compromises for aesthetics.

That is all fine and good if you actually know you make a compromise. Most people buying this Hegel however do not know this.

 

[watchnerd]

I take it you don’t suffer from gout.

?

No gout here.

 

[watchnerd]

But as I said earlier in the thread, the taste is like the butt, .. divided.

It sounds a little odd in English.

Maybe:

"Taste is like butt cheeks"