I think that the responders have given you some great info. I don't know if it was mentioned but running in the speakers will help too. Don't forget that the speakers that you demoed were likely fully run in. Speaker placement is everything. I have a Hegel H590 paired with Focal's Sopra no2 and they play very well together, plenty of bass response. I find the be tweeters very powerful and therefore are very responsive to placement/toe in. Take some time and really move them around and see what sounds best to you after they are run in. I just did a quick measurement for you to use as a reference point. Measured to the middle of the tweeter they are 40" from the front wall and 35" from the side wall. Medium/Small size room. Our speakers are different animals but I hope this helps. I've found that Focal's sound better when they have room to "work".
Hegel H160 and Focal Electra 1008Be sounding bass-less
Hi -
When I had auditioned the H160 at the dealer with the same set of speakers it sounded gorgeous with meaty bass even on the bookshelves. When i received the new H160 6 years ago we thought it would open up eventually but its been 6 years and about 50 hours or so on it and yet it continues to remain dry. Any clues what might be going on. Also recently I had crackling in the left channel for which I had to drop it off at the service center to get it fixed. I have another Marantz built like a tank and have owned it for 15 years+ with no trouble. Not sure if there are any similar issues folks are seeing with Hegel in general.
Thx