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Moon by Simaudio, Arcam and Hegel: Quality of Customer and Technical Phone Support

Hi all.  I'm putting together a a 2.1 Channel Audio/Home Theater system where I can listen to “HiFi” quality 2.1 audio through streaming, vinyl and CD’s and where the left and right channel speakers and the subwoofer also provide the audio for TV and movies. 

These are the integrated amplifiers under serious consideration: 

- Arcam SA30 - https://www.arcam.co.uk/products,HDA,Integrated-Amplifier,SA30.htm
 
- Hegel H120 - https://www.hegel.com/products/integrated/h120

- Moon by Simaudio 240i - https://simaudio.com/en/product/240i-integrated-amplifier/?v=7516fd43adaa

It's likely I'll have to make the purchase from an online retailer given my location and thus do my own set-up and calibration of the amp and other components. Based on your experience which of these companies is likely to give me the best customer and technical phone support both in the initial set-up and calibration and in any potential issues going forward.

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated. 
kte642
9 responses Add your response
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cleeds
5,654 posts
 
kte642
Based on your experience which of these companies is likely to give me the best customer and technical phone support both in the initial set-up and calibration and in any potential issues going forward ...
Those are services your dealer should be primarily providing.
everest_audio
285 posts
 
Absolutely agree with cleeds. These are services to be provided by the dealer, not the manufacturer. 
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,756 posts
 
I can’t speak to Hegel or Arcam integrateds but I’ve owned three Simaudio integrateds, two DACs and a CD player. All sounded great, worked flawlessly and were a joy to use. The build quality and ergonomics were better than the Arcam CD player I owned for awhile. The 10-year warranty is reassuring, as well, though I never had to take advantage of it.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
Simaudio has very good telephone customer support should you ever need it.  But as said, setting up an integrated isn't nearly as complicated as some components.
hgeifman
2,113 posts
 
I own the Moon by SimAudio 700i V2 Integrated Amplifier in one system and the SimAudio 380D Streaming DAC with Mind in my 2nd system.

Both units were easy to set up and I had no problems. I agree with the above post that your retailer should be primarily source for services, etc.

I am not familiar with Arcam or Hegel audio products. Based on my research, I recommend you audition the SimAudio products.



wolf_garcia
6,623 posts
 
I've needed so little customer support over the years It's basically an irrelevant question for me...an Acurus amp years ago got buzzy and it was fixed twice for free by Mondial, but that was maybe 25 years ago...otherwise Jolida people spoke to me on the phone a while back about my impending amp purchase...otherwise I'm lucky I suppose...oh yeah...I had to return a Schiit Aegir after an initial one hadn't worked properly, and the one they replaced it with just wasn't "all that" so that one went back also...but the Schiit People were great...so I retract my opening comment.
everest_audio
285 posts
 
Sound quality and value for the money with the Hegel integrated amps is exceptional. However, feel free to take this with a grain of salt if you like as I'm a Hegel dealer in Canada. Depending on your speakers, the Hegel H120 could be a great fit. Note: it seems more powerful than its 75W rating would imply.
kte642 OP
7 posts
 
Thanks all. Your feedback is much appreciated!
vdj0793
2 posts
 
so what did you end up with?
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