Hegel Amplifiers

Recently purchased a used H200 here on A'gon. It is nicely detailed but very smooth and non-fatiguing driving Totem Forest speakers. I can certainly see why people say it is tube-like. Improved bass (not sure if it is really deeper or tighter or louder - but it's more there in a balanced way). Possibly a little drier with a bit less air and high end extension but now, on hot recordings where the Totems could sound harsh...smooth as butter. A different amp can certainly "tame" your speakers (as asked in another, unrelated post).

I bought the Hegel as backup for tube mono-blocks. So very happy with the sound that I'm now uncertain which will be the backup.

I did a audition of the Hegel H200 with my Harbeth C7es3's and it made these babies sing. Since then I've wanted to audition the H300 but that might not be possible for me. I'm actually considering buying the H300 blind. I've said this in another thread but I can't stand the look of them but I cannot let looks be part of the equation. I really liked that H200 a lot. I fully agree with Ghosthouse where I can see the tube like comparison. I run tubes and I'm not so sure I would miss them with the Hegel, but I'll keep them nonetheless.

Hegels are a great amp, i sold my pass labs XA60.5 in favor of the H30 (although i did not want more power, i liked the sound of the H30, crisper,smoother, a tad bit warmer)

It wasn't boisterous or rowdy with my high sensitivity speakers, in fact behaved more like a pure class a amp, and this was a huge draw for me, just incase i should change speakers in the future, instead of 1 oversized transformer, the H30 houses two mid sized transformers, hand wound in norway, for a true dual mono design.

Looks like Hegel's have a great future ahead of them. all the circuitry,boardings
etc..are made and designed in Norway to impeccable standard - with some important parts manufactured "just for them" as opposed to OEM parts widely shared and used by other manufacturers, even some high end ones.

The Circuit designer is a Semiconductor Physicist Mr.Brent Holter who is quite well known force in scandinavia.

Although my only complaint is, i hope they improve on their case or metalwork, which does not do the sound/circuit design/brand any justice, where pass labs and other manufacturers are clearly better favored (my personal favorite is manley) when it comes to casework. (oh yes i look at everything from knobs,to feet, to attenuators..to casework).

My brother picked up the Hegel H70 (70 wpc) after an A/B shoot out with NAIM Nait XS (60 wpc) both were almost equally priced or i think the hegel was just a bit cheaper..i think like 150 dollars or so..but the musicality on the hegel was so much better especially when listening solo piano recordings..

anyone heard their dacs?

Maximum amperes output between the Hegel H20 and the Parasound A21. The Parasound peaks at 135 amperes and has a larger power supply and a larger transformer than the Hegel. The Hegel peaks at just over 130 amperes, so both amps have enough power reserve to launch a Space shuttle.

I recently purchased a Hegel H300 integrated amp and did an a/b comparison between its internal DAC with my NAD M50 feeding it and my Ayre C5xe into the Hegel's balanced inputs. The Hegel's internal DAC did some things better (pace and imaging) and the Ayre did some things better (dynamics and a more forward presence). In the end, I settled for the Hegel internal DAC.

My understanding is that all of Hegel's DACs whether stand alone units or internal units are unique. For instance, the internal DAC in the Hegel H70 integrated amp is not the same as the HD11 stand alone DAC as one dealer has claimed (the H70s DAC may be inferior to the HD11 but at $2,100 the H70 is a great value even if the internal DAC is not utilized). Similarly, the H300's internal DAC is neither the stand alone HD20 nor the HD25. In terms of quality it probably lies somewhere in between those two stand alone units.