Which Hegel Amp with LRS+

@dcpillai 

 have not heard the LRS+ and Hegel.  I am not a fan of the sound of Hegel amplifiers- haven't heard a good one yet.  

I borrowed a set of Magepan MG-I’s with some low frequency distortions on higher volume and was very impressed. After a lot of research (never enough) on selection, placement, amplifier, etc. I ordered new LRS+ a month ago (3 month wait). By the way they will give you their honest opinion on selecting an amplifier.

I tried and returned the Peachtree Nova300, and decided on the Hegel H95 ’cause of cost. But found a 3 month old Hegel H190, and after talking with the owner and the authorized dealer that sold it, took a chance for $2700. I have it for 2 weeks now.

A Class A,B amplifier with 150/450W on 8/4 ohm speakers, very hi current output and over 4000 damping factor, will drive most high end speakers out there.

Love the fact the sound is mostly neutral (depends on speakers), reproduces the original source with no noise at the highest volume, thanks to their patented noise cancelling technology. Hegel is highly recommended for the LRS+ speakers.

My room is 18ft wide open on both sides, by 16ft deep, the maggies are 5ft from the 18ft wall, 9ft apart (center) and 9ft from the couch. The mg-i’s are set straight or 2" tilted (having decided) and straight up horizontal, nothing in the middle (removed low tables) or behind, the stage sound is incredible!

I most give credit to Jay’s iyagi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3IiH-SjhBE

All I need are the new LRS+ and with adjustments I should be all set!

As the owner of pass 250, Accuphase 380, mac ma 352,and hegal 390, I can tell you the 390 is very warm. In fact I would say you have to be  careful speaker matching with the hegal. I had my mac running wth my NHT c3’s and it was magic to my ears. Switch to the Hegal and it sounded like the tweeters were covered. Switch out the NHT for my Ls50 meta’s and sounded like an entirely  different amp. Very  lush mids, and very good sparkling highs. Not to mention the control with the hegal bass is very very good. If the LRS is warm sounding, Im not sure the hegal would be a good choice. 

@jjss49 

Thanks for your clarification regarding the nuances of the various Hegel integrateds. 

Thanks for your input @jjss49 

As I was researching the Hegel line up, I came to know of the fact that the H90 and H95 run very hot. As I live in a tropical climate, that could be a major issue. And then there's the fact that the H95 is not Roon ready, which is likely to be my main source for this setup.    

That's why I am looking at the H190 and H390. Will keep this thread posted as to my choice over the next 2 weeks. 

@stuartk

i have had all three (190, 390, 590), along with an h20 power amp, but that is an aside

to me, used as an amplifier only (no dac) through the rca or xlr inputs the 190 and 590 have a similar amount of high treble energy, the 390 is ever slightly smoothed over up top and in the upper mids -- overall i would say the 390 sounds the ’warmest’ even though they all obviously provide a close family resemblance in sonic presentation - the differences here are less than, for instance, plugging in a pass int-60, which provides even more midrange warmth and tube like 'wooliness'

depending on the speaker being driven the 190 may have a touch less low end grip and can sound a little leaner, but this is very speaker dependent and this would be heard on quite a difficult, reactive low impedance speaker (which the maggie is not)

i kept the 390 as it has the better internal dac than the 190, decodes mqa, and with my maggies i don’t need that touch of treble energy the 590 provides... and the 2 grand price difference is well applied elsewhere

Thanks @stuartk for raising the warm tonal nature of the 390. I was not aware of that the tonal nature of the amplifiers was that different.

As I am not a fan of warm sounding speakers / systems, looks like I will need to try out the 390 and 190 (together with Rel T5 and T7 subs) and see which I prefer.  You saved me from making an expensive mistake!

I will let my ears decide. Should be able to try it out in the next fortnight, and will definitely let you know of my choice. Thanks again.

@jjss49 

The A. Excellence guys were the ones who declared the 390 and 590 warmer than the rest of the line and the 390 the warmest. I don't claim to know which model would best suit the speakers in question or the OP's tastes in terms of tonal presentation. I only pointed this out in the context of comparing one Hegel vs. another and because, as far as I was aware, this distinction hadn't yet been mentioned. If there were no sonic differences between the 290, 390 and 590, then I'd agree the choice could be boiled down to power requirements alone or "need", as you put it. 

For shure not the hegel h90 or 95.

lets not lose perspective... the guys at audio excellence canada in their lrs demo room used a last gen entry level hegel h90, which drove them satisfyingly to loud levels, did not shut down or distort... these guys (adrian and vilip) listen *loud*...

https://youtu.be/6evL9n0gcNs

h190 drive bigger maggies very well... nothing wrong with anyone wanting an h390... but need vs want are different things

Definitely Hegel 390. Lots of praises and many user experience with LRS/+ and Hegel 390. 

@dcpillai

One factor you may wish to to consider when deliberating between various Hegel integrateds: the 390 and 590 are voiced more warmly than the 190. 

Here's a video with Steve Guttenberg using the Hegel H95 with the LRS speakers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0TGT9Yhzbk 

When I had my 200-watt Peachtree GAN1 unit on the LRS+, I thought it was excellent and a super bargain system. In the last couple of days using the 150-watt CODA #16 on the LRS+ sounds like a totally different speaker, way more bass.

I even put my RAAL SR1a and CA-1a phones on the CODA last night and I have never heard that much bass and detail from those phones. Moreso, than the amazing RAAL VM-1a headphone amp.

Whatever second amp I get for the LRS+ will have to have a lot of power. I need 1 more amp and a small form factor is a huge driver, as is high-power, I am thinking the CODA #8 v3 or the SPL s1200 (never heard this one). Just need to sell the VM-1a to buy the second amp.

It is not so much of how many watts but an amp with high current. I found my small Mark Levinson (only 50 watts in 8 ohm, 100 in 4 ohm) is enough to drive my 1.7 in my small 13x19 room. 

I got my LRS+ in 2 days of ordering from Shelley's Stereo in Woodside, CA. Another person that I am DM'ing with also got his within a week from a Sacramento dealer. Can get lucky with the order of an LRS+.

The 190 or the 390 but the 590 to take is grazy.

Look also at the musical fidelity the m6 500 or a second hand m8.

Depending upon when you placed your LRS+ order you may have quite a while to shop for your new amp!

depends on size of room and how loud you want to play the lrs’s

h190 under most normal use cases will be quite sufficient, but h390 obviously provides a greater (but perhaps unnecessary) degree of headroom on transients

in my own case, i found the h190 worked just fine with my 1.7i’s in a 19x23x10 room, speakers 3.5 ft up from front wall, 10 ft equilateral listening triangle, 85-88 db peaks, no strain, no foreshortening of the soundstage when pushed (a typical sign of lack of headroom)

My responses were not about getting a CODA amp or Peachtree amp. It was how my amps sounded at specific power levels with the LRS+. My conclusion was the more power (or current) the better the sound. So, in the Hegel lineup I would go for the 590.

Audio Excellence did a video on the LRS which identified Hegel as a good match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJdKld_2bCc

I would suggest that, if money isn't a consideration, get the most powerful amp you can afford the 390 or 590. However, the 190 is probably fine.

It's amusing that when someone asks which Hegel amp would be best, you get responses about other amps. There are lots of other amps that would work. Heck, I drove the LRS well with an ancient HK SS amp. 

Now that I have heard the LRS+ with my very powerful CODA #16 and KC62 sub. I recommend as much power for the LRS+. The CODA #16 is great with the LRS+.

Thanks @audiojan & @yyzsantabarbara  for the input.

That's certainly interesting @avanti1960 ​​​​​. Have you heard the LRS with the Hegel by any chance?

Thanks very much for your feedback @jjss49 ​​​. My room is slightly smaller than yours. Given the chance, would you upgrade your Hegel to the H390 or rather spend the money on additional sub woofers, a better set of power / speaker cables (only applicable to believers 😁) or a better source?

 ​​@audiotroy that would be great but I am not in the US. Sorry. 

we are a hegel peachtree and coda dealer perhasps we can help

Dave and Troy

audiointellect.com

For the last 2 weeks, I put a 200-watt modded Peachtree GAN1 amp on the LRS+ and it was more than enough for my small room. Evern in a mid-size room the 200 watts would be enough.

Yesterday, I put my CODA #16 on the LRS+. It is ’only’ 150 watts but is way more powerful than the GAN1 amp (it’s the bigger current). The CODA is a bit better on the bass but there is only so much bass out of the LRS+.

Note: the CODA is 300 watts at 4 Ohm and the GAN1 is 200 into both 8 and 4. So maybe that is another reason the CODA sounds stronger.

I would seriously consider the Rogue Audio Pharaoh 2.  400 WPC at 4-ohms and a tube front end.  

I heard a similar Rogue Audio setup with the LRS+ and the sound was full, smooth and amazing.  

390 at least or if you stretch the budget, the 590. The LRS+ are power hogs