Why not review some Hegel amps?

[MCH]

Sorry, I have not tried the Hegel H90 with headphones and I have to agree the pre-outs on the Hegel seem weak. I also notice the wifi connection on the Hegel H90 is relatively poor so I use the USB input to connect the computer and that works absolutely great.

I tried connecting the Hegel H90 to the Revel F328Be instead of my BMRs. It was a disaster. In this case, the Purifi amp provided an abundance of power while the Hegel H90 would distort at relatively low volume levels. It wasn't pretty. The longer I own the H90 the more I understand it's short comings (wifi/pre-outs). It may not work well with larger speakers. But if you find a good speaker match while using the USB input it can sing.

When you say wifi connection you mean the ethernet connection? Mine works fine, what is good because when pressing play in my phone the amp switches on automatically, i don't even need to reach to the remote

 

[amper42]

When you say wifi connection you mean the ethernet connection? Mine works fine, what is good because when pressing play in my phone the amp switches on automatically, i don't even need to reach to the remote

I have my Hegel H90 connected to ethernet too. But it can also accept computer connections via Airplay/wifi. It's just not very reliable. For instance, Audirvana lets me connect to the Hegel H90 via Wifi or via USB. The Airplay connection can fade in and out while the USB connection is absolutely solid.

 

[Koeitje]

I have listed 10 Hegel amplifiers below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlTOYxmPs938gqHjtDABkWS-MApu7uJjzIGnJ2Elm6Y/edit?usp=sharing

Pretty disappointing, I was expecting them to be in the 90-95dB SINAD range.

 

[MCH]

I have my Hegel H90 connected to ethernet too. But it can also accept computer connections via Airplay/wifi. It's just not very reliable. For instance, Audirvana lets me connect to the Hegel H90 via Wifi or via USB. The Airplay connection can fade in and out while the USB connection is absolutely solid.

I didn't even know it has wifi connectivity!!
But well, mine is close to a router so no need. In any case goodbto know

 

[buzwork]

Proud (and happy) owner of a Hegel H95 (powering GoldenEar BRX pair) and I'm down the street from Amir. Picked mine up from Seattle HiFi as used/demo for well below retail (thanks Burt!) and it was pristine.

Working with Amir to schedule a time for him to measure and review both sometime in the next month or so (he's busy and I'm still breaking in the gear).

So far I love the simplicity and feature set and it sounds fantastic with the BRX.

 

[MCH]

Proud (and happy) owner of a Hegel H95 (powering GoldenEar BRX pair) and I'm down the street from Amir. Picked mine up from Seattle HiFi as used/demo for well below retail (thanks Burt!) and it was pristine.

Working with Amir to schedule a time for him to measure and review both sometime in the next month or so (he's busy and I'm still breaking in the gear).

So far I love the simplicity and feature set and it sounds fantastic with the BRX.

It would be interesting if @amirm has a look at the headphone amp too. Thanks both.

 

[RoA]

Proud (and happy) owner of a Hegel H95 (powering GoldenEar BRX pair) and I'm down the street from Amir. Picked mine up from Seattle HiFi as used/demo for well below retail (thanks Burt!) and it was pristine.

Working with Amir to schedule a time for him to measure and review both sometime in the next month or so (he's busy and I'm still breaking in the gear).

So far I love the simplicity and feature set and it sounds fantastic with the BRX.

Fantastic sounding amplifier. I have one here after getting rid of my active (Class D) active systems. I also have an Audiolab 6000a and Arcam SA20. Both superb in their price categories, all built very well.

I have rediscovered enjoying music after going back to separates non-class D.

 

[ronwan]

Fantastic sounding amplifier. I have one here after getting rid of my active (Class D) active systems. I also have an Audiolab 6000a and Arcam SA20. Both superb in their price categories, all built very well.

I have rediscovered enjoying music after going back to separates non-class D.

I agree, H95 and separates for sure are a feast for the eyes!

 

[snaimpally]

Proud (and happy) owner of a Hegel H95 (powering GoldenEar BRX pair) and I'm down the street from Amir. Picked mine up from Seattle HiFi as used/demo for well below retail (thanks Burt!) and it was pristine.

Working with Amir to schedule a time for him to measure and review both sometime in the next month or so (he's busy and I'm still breaking in the gear).

So far I love the simplicity and feature set and it sounds fantastic with the BRX.

If you can arrange it, please get Amir to test the Golden Ear BRX as well. Thanks.

 

[RoA]

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.

A very subjective and, dare I say ... slightly arrogant way of looking at it.

Still ...

 

[MikeA]

I ran old but excellent Exposure monoblocks for many years driving Quad ELS 2805s and playing classical music. Having read many inline reviews, I decided to try class D and bought a pair of Nord NC1200 monoblocks with all the latest upgrades, they sounded good but different from the Exposures. After a lot of comparison, my (professional musician) wife and I decided that the Exposures sounded better although there are characteristics of the Nord amps that I liked. I sold the Nords.
After reading many excellent reviews of the Hegel amps, I tried an H390 and it was a worthwhile upgrade on the Exposures and certainly better than the Nord 1200s, not cheap but I am very pleased. However, I still use my Chord Hugo DAC which I marginally prefer to the Hegel H390 DAC.

 

[RoA]

Imho Class D amplifiers definitively have a 'sonic foot print' regardless if the figures read similarly to different topologies.

I am talking about the well known, well developed brands/products ie. Hypex, Pascal, ICE.

My previous active speakers used these.

Cheaper chinese chip amps will probably follow a similar sound signature , albeit likely less refined.

The sound I am talking about is a lot of grip and punch in the bass but in a somewhat dry fashion. Good detail retrieval but lacking a little cohesiveness ... the thing that knits everything together and by far the biggest trait standing out ... dry'ish/slightly thin upper mids and treble.

Now I don't want to overstate this. The above is just my clumsy way of trying to put that 'footprint' into some words that perhaps make some sense.

In reality/use this may be a sonic signature some like and it's more subtle than my (clumsy) attempt to describe it but in direct comparison with good class A/B/G amplifiers it is easy to hear.

I think Class D, at least with non linear power (Switching) supplies, regardless of 'paper spec' have not yet evolved to a degree with which I could happily use them.

Having said all this, I have not heard every Class D ampifier out there. However, I have seen enough reviews and views about even the best measuring examples of today (Eigentakt/Purify) to gather it may not be all that it is supposed to be.

Almost exclusively, most descriptions point to a product that you can admire from a technical point of view, one that can impress on first (even 20th) listen but may be a little harder to actually love listening to and keep for the long run.

Subjective stuff which the measurement guys will object to but my experience nevertheless.

I have recently returned to (Linear supply) Class A/B/G amplifiers with passive speakers and am enjoying music again.

I sold the Kef LS50 Meta Wireless and B&W Wilkins Formation Duo's. Although they sounded not the same they had certain characteristics which stood out and started to irritate me.

 

[steve59]

I ran old but excellent Exposure monoblocks for many years driving Quad ELS 2805s and playing classical music. Having read many inline reviews, I decided to try class D and bought a pair of Nord NC1200 monoblocks with all the latest upgrades, they sounded good but different from the Exposures. After a lot of comparison, my (professional musician) wife and I decided that the Exposures sounded better although there are characteristics of the Nord amps that I liked. I sold the Nords.
After reading many excellent reviews of the Hegel amps, I tried an H390 and it was a worthwhile upgrade on the Exposures and certainly better than the Nord 1200s, not cheap but I am very pleased. However, I still use my Chord Hugo DAC which I marginally prefer to the Hegel H390 DAC.

My H360 is used for streaming tidal when listening and fm for background. The dac in the h360 isn’t mqa compliant. Both the h360 and h390 use the sound engine 2 so I wonder if the difference in resolution I hear, especially in the high fq’s is because of the dac section? IDK but there’s a project s2 dac on the way and hopefully it’ll shed some light on how hegel keeps on improving the h300 line.

 

[steve59]

Holy smokes.

How loud do you listen?

Those speakers were so clean, clear, and tight that 96 avg with 104 db peaks was normal. My work environment has desensitized me to spl even though my hearing range is great for my age. My new speakers have much better bass so I don’t have to play nearly as loud to get the impact I used to crave.

 

[buzwork]

If you can arrange it, please get Amir to test the Golden Ear BRX as well. Thanks.

Delivered an H95 and BRX to Amir this afternoon! Not sure when he'll be able to get them but eventually we should see some test results, ASR style, for the community.

 

[_thelaughingman]

Delivered an H95 and BRX to Amir this afternoon! Not sure when he'll be able to get them but eventually we should see some test results, ASR style, for the community.

Tip o the hat to you sir.

 

[phion]

this is not to bad mouth Hegel, I have a unit and I'm more or less fine with how it sounds and works, but I read recently in some review, which was actually meant to brag, that Hegel doesn't use established software stacks like Linux and whatnot, and they instead roll out their own in-house OS and firmware which is coded in assembler!! This sounds insane to me (and I have over 23 years of professional experience in software development including coding in assembly language for various micro/DSP processors). It makes me think that this explains their protracted development timeline for getting things like Roon readiness, which are otherwise kind of like weekend projects for most other firms who go at it the traditional way.

Same review also bragged about how Hegel's implementation of AirPlay is proprietary and allegedly superior to the open source/common alternative. These are all red flags to me, and make me question whether their leadership is in touch with the realities of software dev in 21st century, or the product is also partly a vanity project at the expense of the customers.

 

[NiagaraPete]

How about the H390 or the H590? Or how about some of their lower powered amps? I'm sure we'd all love to know how they measure.

View attachment 75984

I ordered a product from the UK to Canada then I shipped it to Amir. Sadly I got the headless panther. It’s expensive but it does answer questions so by all means have one shipped.

 

[NiagaraPete]

I am the opposite. Having been a coder part of my life, to me, there is an elegance to the more minimalist look of the Class D amp.

Powerful AB amps are the equivalent of the old big block V8s with four barrel carbs. Thank you, but I'll take the Tesla Model S

I don’t see how they look different other than the looks

 

[Geert]

this is not to bad mouth Hegel, I have a unit and I'm more or less fine with how it sounds and works, but I read recently in some review, which was actually meant to brag, that Hegel doesn't use established software stacks like Linux and whatnot, and they instead roll out their own in-house OS and firmware which is coded in assembler!! This sounds insane to me (and I have over 23 years of professional experience in software development including coding in assembly language for various micro/DSP processors).

Explains why these things are so expensive.