Hegel H95 Review (Streaming Amplifier)

[steve59]

I never demoed the h95, but when mt krell kav 300il baked the amp section out of warranty I owned the Salon 1's and of all the affordable favorites the hegel h360 was the one to make those big revels sing! Of coarse being afflicted with upgraditis 6 months-a year later I sold the salon 1 to help pay for the salon 2 and while the mids and highs still sounded beautiful I lost the thundering bass of the salon 1, throwing the whole tonal balance off.

My point? I found that when component matching next level systems, measurements were less useful than I'd hoped for.

 

[jaczar]

https://audio.com.pl/files/efv/2814-Hegel-H95.pdf

Although it is not a revolution (compared to its predecessor), the latest model maintains its fantastic parameters - maybe apart from the absolute power values, which were never among the highest in the cheapest Hegel amplifiers. The manufacturer himself announces 60 W at
8 Ω, in our laboratory it was 83 W with one channel driven and 2 x 73 W with two, and with 4 Ω - 129 W and 2 x 114 W, respectively.
As usual with Hegel (and many other manufacturers) the sensitivity is lower than the old-fashioned standard of 0.2 V, but 0.66 V will be better suited to the requirements of modern sources. In addition, lower sensitivity improves S/N, and this is the company's specialty, in this "discipline" Hegel amplifiers are second to none, the H95 reaches a fantastic 95 dB and we really do not remember when
(and whether) any integrated could boast such low noise. Thanks to this, the dynamics soared, despite the moderate power, to 114 dB, which is also a record in this test.
The frequency response (Fig. 1) is smooth, the drop at 100 kHz is about 2.5 dB.
The strongest third harmonic (Fig. 2) reaches the level of only -89 dB, and the second and fourth are well below -90 dB.
THD+N (Fig. 3) below 0.1% is maintained almost in the entire range of rated power. And the highest
damping factor (140) in the test.
All this probably explains well why Hegel amplifiers sound so clean and precise.

 

[ahofer]

https://audio.com.pl/files/efv/2814-Hegel-H95.pdf

Although it is not a revolution (compared to its predecessor), the latest model maintains its fantastic parameters - maybe apart from the absolute power values, which were never among the highest in the cheapest Hegel amplifiers. The manufacturer himself announces 60 W at
8 Ω, in our laboratory it was 83 W with one channel driven and 2 x 73 W with two, and with 4 Ω - 129 W and 2 x 114 W, respectively.
As usual with Hegel (and many other manufacturers) the sensitivity is lower than the old-fashioned standard of 0.2 V, but 0.66 V will be better suited to the requirements of modern sources. In addition, lower sensitivity improves S/N, and this is the company's specialty, in this "discipline" Hegel amplifiers are second to none, the H95 reaches a fantastic 95 dB and we really do not remember when
(and whether) any integrated could boast such low noise. Thanks to this, the dynamics soared, despite the moderate power, to 114 dB, which is also a record in this test.
The frequency response (Fig. 1) is smooth, the drop at 100 kHz is about 2.5 dB.
The strongest third harmonic (Fig. 2) reaches the level of only -89 dB, and the second and fourth are well below -90 dB.
THD+N (Fig. 3) below 0.1% is maintained almost in the entire range of rated power. And the highest
damping factor (140) in the test.
All this probably explains well why Hegel amplifiers sound so clean and precise.

Is it still connected to a sub-standard DAC?

 

[jaczar]

The DAC is better than the chord mojo

 

[MacCali]

https://audio.com.pl/files/efv/2814-Hegel-H95.pdf

Although it is not a revolution (compared to its predecessor), the latest model maintains its fantastic parameters - maybe apart from the absolute power values, which were never among the highest in the cheapest Hegel amplifiers. The manufacturer himself announces 60 W at
8 Ω, in our laboratory it was 83 W with one channel driven and 2 x 73 W with two, and with 4 Ω - 129 W and 2 x 114 W, respectively.
As usual with Hegel (and many other manufacturers) the sensitivity is lower than the old-fashioned standard of 0.2 V, but 0.66 V will be better suited to the requirements of modern sources. In addition, lower sensitivity improves S/N, and this is the company's specialty, in this "discipline" Hegel amplifiers are second to none, the H95 reaches a fantastic 95 dB and we really do not remember when
(and whether) any integrated could boast such low noise. Thanks to this, the dynamics soared, despite the moderate power, to 114 dB, which is also a record in this test.
The frequency response (Fig. 1) is smooth, the drop at 100 kHz is about 2.5 dB.
The strongest third harmonic (Fig. 2) reaches the level of only -89 dB, and the second and fourth are well below -90 dB.
THD+N (Fig. 3) below 0.1% is maintained almost in the entire range of rated power. And the highest
damping factor (140) in the test.
All this probably explains well why Hegel amplifiers sound so clean and precise.

Why are we going over measurements again? It’s on page one.

The price to performance is the biggest issue. If you purchased it without knowing this and knowing what you posted we ain’t mad at you. Not implying that you did, just a general statement.

But if you accept any form of objectivity and saw this and purchased it based on purely subjective perspective you were basically taken to the cleaners.

Most of us on here already put the nail in the coffin. But we will wait and see if the H100 will try to do anything. They clearly didn’t want to represent this information to the public and when the revision comes out we are not asking for stellar performance, but it better be better than this especially with the obvious increased price tag to come

 

[buzwork]

My H95 (the one used for this review) is now doing spare room duty with an Arcam SA30 in its place since first week of October.

 

[MacCali]

My H95 (the one used for this review) is now doing spare room duty with an Arcam SA30 in its place since first week of October.

How do you like the SA30? Class G seems interesting. Also one of the amps I first considered purchasing.

Says it’s not effected by EMI

 

[buzwork]

How do you like the SA30? Class G seems interesting. Also one of the amps I first considered purchasing.

Says it’s not effected by EMI

So far it's been fantastic. The criteria I was looking for was room correction (Dirac Live), eARC (my stereo listening room has a 55" OLED with PS5 & XBox Series X), Roon Ready & streaming (FLAC & MQA support), moar power (upgraded from Hegel H95 & Revel M105 to F206 and the SA30 makes them sing), AirPlay 2 for multi-room, 'modern DAC' (ESS 9038K2M Sabre), and processor mode if I ever decide to move this gear into my home theater setup.

So far my only gripe is how long it takes the SA30 to power up. Due to CEC when I turn off the TV it also turns off the SA30 and puts it into full sleep mode and not standby. There's no way to change this behavior unfortunately. It takes about 30-40 seconds for the SA30 to turn on & grab eARC audio. I also wish that it had the option for Dirac Live dual subwoofer since I have a pair of SVS 3K Micro but alas, it is single sub only.

I also recently added an Arcam PA240 amplifier and will be using the SA30 as pre-amp only. Total overkill for the Revel F206 which do fine with the rated 120w @ 8 ohm but it looks cool to have an Arcam 'stack'). I got a ridiculous deal on open box that was too good to pass up but will be handy when I upgrade to Revel PerformaBe. I also picked up the CDS50 SACD player.

From a feature set perspective it's really hard to beat the SA30. The only other comparable was the NAD C399 with Dirac/BlueOS MDC2 add-on which was quite a bit more expensive and didn't make sense financially since I picked up my SA30 for a really good price. I've also heard about sync issues with the MDC2 modules and just didn't want to mess with it. The Hegel *looks* better but the much bigger/better display on the SA30 is a plus.

Working on getting the SA30 to Amir soon and possibly the PA240 amp & CDS50 SACD/Streamer for testing since he lives down the street.

 

[MacCali]

So far it's been fantastic. The criteria I was looking for was room correction (Dirac Live), eARC (my stereo listening room has a 55" OLED with PS5 & XBox Series X), Roon Ready & streaming (FLAC & MQA support), moar power (upgraded from Hegel H95 & Revel M105 to F206 and the SA30 makes them sing), AirPlay 2 for multi-room, 'modern DAC' (ESS 9038K2M Sabre), and processor mode if I ever decide to move this gear into my home theater setup.

So far my only gripe is how long it takes the SA30 to power up. Due to CEC when I turn off the TV it also turns off the SA30 and puts it into full sleep mode and not standby. There's no way to change this behavior unfortunately. It takes about 30-40 seconds for the SA30 to turn on & grab eARC audio. I also wish that it had the option for Dirac Live dual subwoofer since I have a pair of SVS 3K Micro but alas, it is single sub only.

I also recently added an Arcam PA240 amplifier and will be using the SA30 as pre-amp only. Total overkill for the Revel F206 which do fine with the rated 120w @ 8 ohm but it looks cool to have an Arcam 'stack'). I got a ridiculous deal on open box that was too good to pass up but will be handy when I upgrade to Revel PerformaBe. I also picked up the CDS50 SACD player.

From a feature set perspective it's really hard to beat the SA30. The only other comparable was the NAD C399 with Dirac/BlueOS MDC2 add-on which was quite a bit more expensive and didn't make sense financially since I picked up my SA30 for a really good price. I've also heard about sync issues with the MDC2 modules and just didn't want to mess with it. The Hegel *looks* better but the much bigger/better display on the SA30 is a plus.

Working on getting the SA30 to Amir soon and possibly the PA240 amp & CDS50 SACD/Streamer for testing since he lives down the street.

Yea nothing is perfect it happens.

More power isn’t a huge factor. I think people exaggerate power, seems like specific circumstances call for massive amounts of power. My personal assumption would be current is far more potent.

I just bought a NAD M23 and I’m so lazy to set it up. Just had my Infinity R263’s come in and so excited to give those a run

 

[jaczar]

Why the price to performance is the biggest issue ?
The H95 is the best amp I’ve ever had. Better than NAD M10 v2.
In my country the H95 now costs US $1360, NAD M10 v2 $2520, Arcam SA30 $2970.
The H100 is an old amp. It was released in 2010 ?

 

[jaczar]

 

[MaxBuck]

The H95 is the best amp I’ve ever had. Better than NAD M10 v2.

Sure it is.

 

[MacCali]

Why the price to performance is the biggest issue ?
The H95 is the best amp I’ve ever had. Better than NAD M10 v2.
In my country the H95 now costs US $1360, NAD M10 v2 $2520, Arcam SA30 $2970.
The H100 is an old amp. It was released in 2010 ?

This was mentioned as well, I am sure you can’t read 60 pages of comments. For an all in one unit at 50% of the price it’s not a bad deal.

I completely understand what you are saying, I am one of the members on here who is objective. Yet, through my experience and products I have owned I have had an amplifier which has the worst possible measurements and performance but subjectively when I listen to it it does not sound bad.

Still my point is it’s not better than a well made product it’s just not as awful as you would imagine and this is definitely a reason why it won you over.

Also far more important that amp was only 20 dollars, not 1000 or 2000

Second, which was my original point if you bought it because you are super tight on space you can have that as a plus on your purchase to a certain extent but still feel it’s a rip off and I will explain.

But for instance a NAD 326BEE + 100 usd dac + pi streamer would not only meet or beat the performance of the H95 but also give you mobility to change equipment out.

You clearly are aware as an audio enthusiast separates provide better performance. All the things I mentioned have a small foot print in size too.

So that’s 630/730 usd vs 1200/1300 for the Hegel

 

[TonyJZX]

you all know that when you want objective criticism you should go to steve guttenberg jesus christ on a bike...

to be clear i find steve quite entertaining and have so over the past few decades

i also quite like equipment that is known to be 'bent'... like the original NAD 3020 and I seem to really like the JBL house "west coast" sound.... the difference is I know its 'bent' and I'm not about to try to convert slash convince people to my 'bent' ways...

 

[Geert]

Sure it is.

Especially the touchscreens

 

[Berlin]

The H95 is the best amp I’ve ever had. Better than NAD M10 v2.

It doesn't even play music gaplessly via UPnP...

 

[TonyJZX]

is that a reasonable expectation for a $2,000 unit???

i kid

 

[Berlin]

is that a reasonable expectation for a $2,000 unit???

i kid

I had the H120 - that made it even worse...

 

[jaczar]

SoundStage! Hi-Fi | SoundStageHiFi.com - Hegel Music Systems H95 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

www.soundstagehifi.com

But the H95 smashes it in the same area that other Hegel amps I’ve heard have smashed it: sound quality. Whether you’re using the onboard digital converter or feeding a high-quality source through one of its analog inputs, the H95 provides an exceptionally clean, extremely detailed, super-dynamic, musical sound through speakers or headphones. Provided you don’t exceed its power limits, it’s comparable with integrated amps and separate preamps and power amps of pretty much any price. I encourage you to try Hegel’s H95 -- you may not get all the features and all the power possible, but it will provide you with a level of sound quality punching way above its modest price of $2000.

 

[jaczar]