Hegel H160 and longevity


I had bought a Hegel in 2018 and recently had crackling noises in one of the channel. Had to send it over to the dealer who had mentioned that he had seen these issues across H160/H190 and seem to recur after few years again. He had also mentioned that there was an SMD that was replaced. However, if it happens again it would be difficult to replace the SMD and recommended that I upgrade the amp before it goes bad again in order to save myself from an entire motherboard replacement which is as expensive as getting a new amp entirely. Was curious if more hegel owners had similar issues for an amp costing 3.5K going bad in less than 5 years for less than moderate amount of usage is kind of baffling.

pkolakkar3

@jjss49  :) i agree just that i had bought it new for 3500 bucks almost double the price...also i remmeber digging them used back then in 2018 but couldnt find them. 
@61falcon @doni and all thanks for the assurance guys ...makes me feel bit better honestly.

I’ve had an h160 for over five years and never a problem.  Don’t worry, be happy!

I have the H160 and not experienced the issue you mention. Once, and only once when I switched it on, no music. I had to unplug it from the power source and reenergize it--music returned. That is the only issue experienced.

I absolutely love the amp but just petrified after they had mentioned that it might happen again in a span of another 3 years or so and hence petrified. 

don’t sweat it, just enjoy the music -- after all it is a <$2000 integrated amp... we aren't talking about flooding a million dollar home, right?  🤣

they have sold thousands and thousands of these units over the years... if it is a frequent, systemic problem there would be plenty of chatter about it on various boards

I did contact Hegel as well directly and they had mentioned that they have not heard of this issue. I did see a post on hegel's fb page where someone else had mentioned of a similar issue. the explanation that i was given was that since it's an SMD chip its hard to solder and doesnt have much space up on the circuit board that we can resolder again. I absolutely love the amp but just petrified after they had mentioned that it might happen again in a span of another 3 years or so and hence petrified. 

I’m not doubting what you say (the dealer is another matter though), but a couple things seem a little strange here. First, I don’t understand if the SMD was replaced why it would be any more difficult to replace it again (if needed). Second, since this seems pretty serious and the H160/190 are very popular models, why is this the first time I’m hearing of it? Frankly, I don’t recall seeing a post of anyone having a problem with any Hegel product ever. Maybe I’ve just missed it somehow, but it does leave me scratching my head a bit here. Something just doesn’t smell right, and I’d be contacting Hegel directly if it was me to get the straight poop directly from the source.

i have had hegel rost 160 190 over several years, never an issue as you described

in fact -- i have owned 7-8 hegel pieces over the past decade, never had a malfunction of any nature

who is your dealer and is he/she an authorized hegel dealer?