Talk2me/Bill_k,
Did you read this review about the H20?
http://www.soundstage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:hegel-music-systems-h20-stereo-amplifier&catid=55:full-length-reviews&Itemid=4 |
Yes I have seen the review you linked to. Very impressive, comparing it to other mono amps up to $25K and overall still preferring the Hegel. I agree with this reviewer's assessment, but I have to admit that I haven't yet had the pleasure of hearing the Burmester that Talk2me acquired. I'm extremely pleased with the H20 and find myself enjoying my music collection more than ever with it in my system. I have no plans of looking for something to replace it anytime soon (famous last words!) |
Milpai, as I wrote in my show report on CES '11 in StereoTimes, I thought the Weiss, Hegel, Sound Applications was the best sounding room. They used the H20. I have sought it for review, but it is in such demand, that I have been unable to get it for review, as yet.
I should also say that their speakers were the new Venture Encore speaker. |
Milpai, as I wrote in my show report on CES '11 in StereoTimes, I thought the Weiss, Hegel, Sound Applications was the best sounding room. They used the H20. I have sought it for review, but it is in such demand, that I have been unable to get it for review, as yet.
I should also say that their speakers were the new Venture Encore speaker. |
Tbg,
Yes, I did go through stereotimes.com site where it was mentioned. Hope you get the amp soon, for a review.
Bill_k,
Talk2me had the H10. Maybe the H20 is a much better amp than H10 and what you are hearing in your system might be might close to the $36K Burmester...who knows. But good to know that you are enjoying the Hegel. I considered this amp in my search last year and hence I started this thread. But I had no way to audition it in person. Hence I decided not to go for it. |
The H10 (special edition-only 30 made world wide) was $12,000. The H20 is $5500. Do you think Hegel would do that to it's H10 owners? That is, build a better amp right away, for over 2x LESS? But, in all reality, the Hegel H30 would be a better match for the Burmester 911 MK3(best amp in the world by Tone Audio Magazine) |
I wonder about the Hegel H30? Any owners out there? I do love Hegel's customer service, after I realized I was too hot tempered. Sorry Hegel! |
Talk2me,
You are the only person on the forum, that I know of, who uses Hegel's higher end amps. You should check out the H30 with yourself...he he he. Just kidding. Here is a forum where you might get your answer:
http://avforum.no
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http://avforum.no/&ei=Lj5FS-faHZHllAeFsq0V&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3DAVforum.no%26hl%3Den |
Talk2me and Milpai,
I auditioned the H200 a while back and was so impressed with the sound I decided to give it a try. I will be receiving it soon. Unfortunately, I have no experience with the Hegel H30 so I cannot comment. |
Sabai,
Will wait to read your review. Not that I am looking to change, but just curious. I was at one point interested in H20. But I could not audition it before buying. |
Milpai,
I found the H200 sound very remarkable. One of the things that impressed me was the balanced sound at very low volume levels. Many amplifiers lose the quality of fullness and balance when the volume is turned down, in my experience. There is that "fade-away" feeling. Details and dynamics start to drop off. This was not the case when I heard the Hegel H200. Everything was there at low volume that was there at high volume. So, I found the sound very satisfying rather than having the feeling that I was straining to hear what was no longer there.
For the record, I had my ears checked recently and both ears are in excellent shape. |
Sabai, you are right, and I do not know why Hegel is not known more. I guess it is up to us! |
I have the H100, now I just place an order for the H200 wih the hd11 DAC promotion ongoing now,
Can't wai to have it,
Hegel is hard to match money for quality watts, excellent gear. |
I guess I am one of few folks to own the H-30...it replaced Bryston 28ssts, I'm running it as a single amp; stereo mode. It has incredible depth, great sound stage; and lots of current. I found I've turned down the dial of my VAC preamp to get similar listening levels...its broken in; and I love it. Leave it on 24/7, no problems, has better detail, bass, and detail than the Bryston's... |
I have had many Hegel amps in my store. H70, H100, H200, H20, H30. They have never failed to impress me (and I'm not easily impressed). I was lucky enough to have a pair of H30 monoblocks for a couple of months and I couldn't stop listening to them: seeminly unlimited power and bass extension, but also delicate finesse in the critical upper midrange. I currently have the H20 and--though not as powerful as the H30--it still rivals anything else I have in its ability to produce beautifully detailed imaging, strikingly sudden (but natural) transients, and a deep soundstage. Even the H70 integrated is a personal favorite of mine: it sounds much better than a $2000 integrated should. It's hard to properly describe, but when auditioned side-by-side with other brands, Hegel amps just tend to sound more "compelling": that is, they grip you and make you listen... deeply. |
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I have heard on more than 1 occasion (and read) that the H30 actually sounds better as stereo amp, rather than with mono's. |
Magfan in 1-2010 makes the statement that peak amperes ratings are near-real-world meaningless. Completely false. Peak amperes has nothing to do with the amount of current going to the speaker. It is the internal power reserve thats available to achieve continuous output at all levels.
The Hegel H20 amp puts out 200 watts rms. Typical 200 watt amps normally have peak amperes around 50. When you turn the gain way up to play loud, the amp relies on the power reserve to draw from so the 200 watts output stays constant
at the full rate. If the peak amperes are higher, than the amp will have greater power reserve to meet the on demand current at at a 200 watt rms output so the amp will not clip and over heat when you play at high volume. The Hegel H20 has 130 amperes peak which is stunning for a 200 watt amp so you never have to worry about running out of gas no matter how hard you push the amp. A remarkable design. Bent Holter is an engineering genius. |
I just bought a stereo Hegel H30. Review to come. |
Talk2me, congratulations on a great choice!
After having hegel h200 in my system that bested many other brands I decided to buy Hegel H4ASE that should closer to H30. Since there is no stand by mode, do you leave hegel ON all the time? |
I'm very interested in hearing Talk2me's thoughts on the Hegel H30 amp, since he's had many of the best amps available to compare it to including the Burmester! |
Sorry to report the seller of the Hegel H30 was a fraud. Had to do a cc charge back. |
Was this the H30 that was offered for $9k? If so I was also interested but the seller did not offer Paypal accepted in the listing, yet asked buyer to cover Paypal fee in the narrative description. Maybe you should give some feedback to this seller to warn other buyers. |
Yes, I alerted Paypal and Audiogon. What a shame. |
I found a equal amp to the H30. I mean in all seriousness, it is, IMHO, the find of the century. It is the 600 wpc (4 ohm) Magnus CA-300 and 160 lbs!. I also tried the Magnus CA-200, but it was too "tubey" sounding with my ModWright Oppo 105. |
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. |
In my opinion the H80 is one of the best Hegel's product. The preamp section is from the H300, but it's much cheaper. The H80 sounds more gentle than the H70. The built-in DAC is almost identical to the one used in HD11. In a word, great amp.
Here you can read how it sounds with Triangle Signature Delta and Naim CD 5XS: http://www.stereolife.eu/archive/reviews-list/944-hegel-h80 |
Can anyone compare Hegel amps with Plinius? Both are on my short list and I have read very good reviews of both. Thanks! |
