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Some Strange Behavior From a Hegel 360

OK, here’s a strange one- please jump in. Just purchased a Hegel 360 to power my Revel 228s. Upper bass was excellent. Lower bass strangely lacking.   With the same recordings a good friend was getting much better bass with his Kinke Studio EX-M1 and 1.7 Maggies which aren’t known for their deep low end.  We ran his amp through my system and the bass was robust but clearly defined as it should have been- so no problem with cables, other components or speakers. Double checked all connections with the 360- everything was fine. My friend suggested we switch polarity via a speaker connection. The difference was rather amazing. Bass was now there and overall sound improved significantly- almost the opposite of what you’d expect. Any thoughts? On a related note, I’ve contacted Hegel a number of times about this issue- no response. The only support link I can find is the general info@Hegel link on the Hegel website. Any thoughts on Hegel tech support or ideas on reaching them? Thanks for your thoughts...


easterna
chrshanl37
835 posts
 
Strange, I had an H160 and thought it sounded thin, an outlaw 2160 was better in that regard. The gentleman I sold it to told me he accidentally hooked it up out of phase and said it sounded better. 
easterna OP
3 posts
 
Definitely strange that you had a similar experience with your 160- reversing polarity usually means a much diminished, sound thin reproduction- which is what I'm hearing with correct polarity.  Seems the gentleman who bought your amp discovered what I've discovered.  With polarity reversed my bass increased significantly,  imaging became a bit more diffuse but not unacceptably so and the soundstage broadened to a more concert-like tapestry that your might hear if your closed your eyes during a live performance at really good venue.  A bit of brightness vanished from the top end and there was a much greater balance between top and bottom. Right now the amp is sounding great.  Go figure.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 

Glad to hear the situation was improved.

sorry to hear Hegel support was ineffective or unattainable... so far.

from these pages I've read time and again, exchanging polarities on speaker cables off an amp may resolve things. Conrad Johnson was a prominent player in this sort of seeming aberration some time back.

why something like this happens at all mystifies me, especially given the costs of some of these amps.

likely though the amp guys will blame it on the speaker guys. lol
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