I second this. Mucking about with expensive boutique mediocrity, without even the exquisite build quality and looks of say a Luxman or Accuphase is a waste of both Amir's time and an AP test cycle. It won't significantly sway the devoted userbase anyway, that buy into the minimalist-purist-Norwegian-boutique-amp cult of personality.
I have always believed that potential measurement candidates should be screened on a few factors:
- presence of at least indicative measurements of products from the manufacturer's line elsewhere to show the ballpark they are/were in - many Hegel tests scattered across different pubs already exist
- potential interest to users both ASR and beyond (ie. approximate sales volume, number of units in circulation, price) - not much new can be gleaned for Hegel that would be of interest given the above
- anything with price/performance that's obviously way out of line in a bad way (expensive stuff that even on a simple look does not justify its price in any way, based on inputs, build quality, functionality etc.) - most subjective but way too simple and nondescript for the prices they want and the performance established elsewhere.
For instance, I want to see more JRDG tested, the non-audio factors like build quality and looks are compelling enough for me to be curious about it. I'm not ashamed to say that I can appreciate the hobby beyond purely audio performance, and include other factors like backstory, aesthetics, ergonomics/industrial design and build. But Hegel simply does not seem remarkable enough in any of these ways to warrant being tested.
