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Hegel H95 Review (Streaming Amplifier)

dshreter

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Benchmark has three times the power...
100W x 2 vs 60W x 2 into 8 ohms?

I actually think the Hegel is a bad deal and will stick with my Sonos Amps any day. But I find it interesting how hard that perspectives swing on these topics. My point was to call out the contrast.
 

voodooless

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I think both amps are bad value. Were I to have the money to spend, I do however know where it would go: to the amp with the superior engineering. There is no reason to reward crappy engineering and bullshit marketing claims.
 

Eetu

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Man buys Benchmark AHB2 for $2,999 - very good, fine objective choice, may you and your amp live even longer than the 112 SINAD

Man buys Hegel H95 for $2,000 that sounds identical to AHB2 plus pre-amp and streaming capabilities - you are the worst kind of audiophool and deserve to be parted with your money, your marriage, and your happiness. Discard it to ebay and purchase a Topping posthaste!
An alternative way to look at it: when you buy the Benchmark you're rewarding some of the best engineering in hifi. With this Hegel you kinda buy mediocrity and dishonest marketing jargon ("...we have equipped the H95 with a Digital-to-analog converter of the highest quality", really?).

Edit: @voodooless beat me to it
 

ousi

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No it does not. Maybe you need to subjectively seduce yourself with the sound over days and believe it is glorious and whatever but for a experienced person it takes a short while. Be realistic. :facepalm:
Probably arcy thought that playing it over and over again will somehow make more power. Here comes the other common argument - warming up. I don't understand how 1 hour is not enough to warm up modern amps to designed temperature - be it tube or semi-conductor; especially with Doodski's torture test at the start.
 

Doodski

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Probably arcy thought that playing it over and over again will somehow make more power.
He's been brainwashed perhaps to think the stuff needs to be auditioned for 2 weeks+ before knowing it's true nature. :D

I don't understand how 1 hour is not enough to warm up modern amps to designed temperature - be it tube or semi-conductor
A good amount of bass boost and they warm up pretty fast with music. With a 1kHz sine wave they get very toasty and hot in short order such that the dust can be smelled on the heatsinks. :D
 
OP
amirm

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100W x 2 vs 60W x 2 into 8 ohms?
I don't have 8 ohm results for Benchmark but do have it for 4 ohm:

index.php


Hegel H95:
index.php


I just realized the dashed blue is the Benchmark and you can see how much more power it outputs.

A much better comparison is Topping PA5 at $349 which is what an objectivist would buy if he wanted this level of power:

index.php


So more power, far less costly and less noisy.
 

JRS

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I don't think the first guy was paid by Hegel for his review c'mon - did you even watch it before casting speculations? He bought a used H90 with his money. Also, he compared its sound with his many previous amps and many dacs he reviewed and decided to stay with H90 based on how it sounded. Honestly, I would much trust this guy who uses his ears than armir oscilloscope and a bunch of Apple Dongle/Sinad guys that are present on this forum. To make your hairs stand on your back, he uses Denafrip Ares II DAC which costs a whopping 800$ with it, which is worse as I'm sure you know than Apple donge. He compared many budget topping, smsl etc dacs to it and somehow he chose Ares. I don't think he is paid by anyone and sure anywhere near Darko income.
So he does this for nothing as a public service?

And no, I listened to only a bit of each and took the word of you or whomever posed the question as to why 2 different reviewers would conjure up the same language and imagery to describe the "house" sound. What followed was a reasonable hypothesis of why this might be so, assuming that like any modern electronic audio device that FR was flat, and besides it was the description of a black background from whence the music leapt, or something along those lines, which was perplexing given it's mediocre noise levels. The only thing left is that somehow this expands the dynamic capabilities which obviously makes no sense given the slew rate of any modern competent amplifier. Again when you have a "mystical" result that defies any other explanation, one has to speculate that the human factor is at work. So using my background in human psychology, I described how a misconception about negative feedback might just "inform" such a response. And anything electronic capable of having my hair stand on end is likely a Van de Graf generator.
 

JRS

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I think both amps are bad value. Were I to have the money to spend, I do however know where it would go: to the amp with the superior engineering. There is no reason to reward crappy engineering and bullshit marketing claims.
So right! Otherwise removes incentive to offer a good value and rewards snake oil. As more and more reviewers sing the praises of inexpensive (per watt) stereo and MCH amplifiers via class D, support for this sort of nonsense will eventually wilt. I'm here partly to expedite that process.
 

Rottmannash

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What measurement would you look for?
I believe that's for you to reveal- you're claiming to be able to hear these qualities.
 

Everett T

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Leave your sarcasm in the bar. your logic still doesn't hold regardless of using "maybe" word. Speaking of speakers you should love them as armirm measured them so well.
You can take my post how you will, the the last sentence was all that matters, enjoy.
 

VoRAT

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100W x 2 vs 60W x 2 into 8 ohms?
One is a power amplifier and one is an integrated amplifier, so there will usually be a difference in power output. Same with distortion too, particularly with Class AB designs, as I’m sure members here will be aware of.
 

Bogda

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I don't have 8 ohm results for Benchmark but do have it for 4 ohm:

index.php


Hegel H95:
index.php


I just realized the dashed blue is the Benchmark and you can see how much more power it outputs.

A much better comparison is Topping PA5 at $349 which is what an objectivist would buy if he wanted this level of power:

index.php


So more power, far less costly and less noisy.
H95 does not really compete with those amplifiers. Real competitors for H95 are more All in one solutions like Naim Unity Atom, Cambridge Evo, Bluesound Powernode, NAD C700... If you want easy to use, all in one solution, bought from your audio distributor but do not want to install another application just to enhance your TV sound or your Spotify/Tidal music, H95 does not look so overpriced or underperforming.
 

bravomail

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H95 does not really compete with those amplifiers. Real competitors for H95 are more All in one solutions like Naim Unity Atom, Cambridge Evo, Bluesound Powernode, NAD C700... If you want easy to use, all in one solution, bought from your audio distributor but do not want to install another application just to enhance your TV sound or your Spotify/Tidal music, H95 does not look so overpriced or underperforming.
or u can get Loxjie A30 :p
 

Geert

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H95 does not really compete with those amplifiers. Real competitors for H95 are more All in one solutions like Naim Unity Atom, Cambridge Evo, Bluesound Powernode, NAD C700... If you want easy to use, all in one solution, bought from your audio distributor but do not want to install another application just to enhance your TV sound or your Spotify/Tidal music, H95 does not look so overpriced or underperforming.
Did you ever look at the feature set of an NAD M10, which has DIRAC integrated? Also the Cambridge Evo is a far better deal
 

JRiggs

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I love the looks of those Cambridge EVO's.

Granted the Bluesound Powernode lacks the cachet, but it offers a LOT at half the price of the H95. I am using one right now for desktop duties powering LS50. The main system is a totally different set up. It's ROON ready too, and at this point it doesn't seem Hegel product will every be ROON ready.

Compared to the Powernode, to me, the H95 does look way overpriced or way underperforming.
 

René - Acculution.com

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A local magazine reviewed recently the H95 against Atoll IN200, NAD C388 and Rotel RA1572MK2. Their measurements were not exactly similar (they measured SNR, THD, IM etc... from speaker outputs using both analog and s/pdif inputs), but as far as I can see, their measurements do not contradict with amirm's measurement. They did not measure/review the headphones amps.

When it came to subjective listening based verdict, the reviewers were quite happy with the Hegel. This made me think, where are the limits in measured deficiencies after which we can reliably hear them? I think it is obvious that the H95 performance s nothing special, especially considering the price, but then again, is it already good enough in the sense that improvements in technical performance would not mean significant improvements in what we can hear?

Now, don't get me wrong. I can appreciate the engineering excellence manifested in an equipment with superior objective measurable performance. I'm just wondering that purely from the listening point of view, where's the level that can be judged as "perfect 10".
It is possible to see that review somewhere (bought the in200 recently)
 
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