Integrated with built-in accessible DAC bad move?

Personally I'd be more concerned about if the H300 as an integrated has the sonic characteristics your friend is looking for. If the DAC's pretty good too, bonus. Buy used -- there's one for sale here now -- and you won't have to sweat resale too much. I'd spend more time worrying about if Sim Audio, Rogue, Pass Labs, etc. make an integrated that sounds better to your friend. Best of luck.

You are right about how fast digital technology changes.

One reason to not buy an expensive integrated with dac. But there may be other good reasons to buy one as well. Just one useful factor to consider when buying. In my case I would tend to shy away from expensive digital integrates but would go with many more modest ones that already sound great if needed.

Hegel claims that the digital components in the 300 are upgradeable...

What types of digital inputs does the Hegel 300 have? I believe the USB interface is changing faster than DAC technology.

I think it may depend on how often your friend likes to upgrade their gear. I agree that digital technology is not changing anywhere near as fast as manufacturers, retailers, and magazines would like us to believe.

Everything I've heard from Hegel at the shows I've attended
has been very musical.....I think their DAC is probably
very high spec......
The thought that seperates are needed from the standpoint
of power supply isolation etc, would also negate the argument
for an integrated and there are plenty of integrateds out there
that compete head to head with high end seperates and I think
Hegel would be included in that......I would look at whether 250W is
really needed for your application, the lower power Hegels I think are a bit more musical, but if you need the muscle, then you need it......
and they offer it.....

I would buy one without a second thought, in the PCM over USB
realm, everything current today will still be current in a decade
and it will sound great on that unit....

I don't know that dacs are really improving by large amounts. A 5 year old dac that sounded good 5 years ago still sounds good today. I think the dac technology is starting to slow down a bit, perhaps aside from dsd.

That hegel unit looks to be very nice and if your friend should feelthe need to upgrade from that dac in a few years time, that is completely possible as the hegel has plenty of analog inputs.

Another thing to remember is that specs of dac chips aren't the whole story. Implementation is also very important.

I'm not an expert here, so this is of course just my oppinion :)