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Ayre AX7e vs Hegel H160

Buying a small system for my daughter and son-in-law's house warming gift.  The both use Pono's which can be used in balanced mode with amps that have a balanced input.  The best integrateds I can find with a balanced input  in my price range are the above mentioned ones.  No tube amp recommendations-- too fussy for these folks.

Speakers are Dynaudio Focus 160's.  Room is 12 x 15 and they listen mostly to acoustic Americana music at moderate volumes. Both are well reviewed -- the Ayre particularly so.

Is the Ayre at 60 watts/8 ohms and 120 / 4 ohms  enough to drive the relative inefficient speakers? The Hegel at 150 watts is clearly more powerful but I am worried about the DAC becoming out of date. The Ayre is slightly cheaper but with a couple hundred of the Hegel. 

Help me decide please.  I need to pull the trigger tomorrow.
teeshot
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,371 posts
 
I own an all Ayre/Vandersteen system.   ....don't know your system but do know that Ayre has top level customer support...   Their stuff is built like a tank....you probably won't need it.....  but know that its there.
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drrsutliff
834 posts
 
The DAC in the Hegel will not be employed with the system you are proposing since the Pono includes its own high quality DAC.  The Pono DAC was designed by Ayre and is similar to the circuit used in the Ayre Codex.  Both my Pono and Codex sound excellent through my Ayre powered system especially in balanced mode.
teeshot OP
123 posts
 
Thanks for the reply.  I am aware that the Hegel DAC would not be used with the Pono...but it seems to me it is an useful extra if they want to play files from their laptops.  But given that streaming from iPhones and other mobile devices seems to be more of the current thing, I wonder if the DAC will sit idle while they opt for a bluetooth connective device like the Bluesound Node or its competitors. You could say "why don't you ask them?" and I could but it is to be a surprise.
joey54
431 posts
 
I did an extensive comparison between the Ayre AX7e and the Hegel H160 using its internal DAC. I used the Ayre Codex with the AX7e. In my system, Harbeth SHL5+, Aurender N100H and all Audioquest cabling, the Ayre system was a much better fit for me.

In my system the Hegel had a whitish, clinical sound that I could not warm up to. This surprised me because I have never heard anyone describe the Hegel in that way. I heard the Hegel again recently using one of their external DAC’s and it sounded much better, though it was not in my system and it was using B&W speakers.

this is just my experience and YMMV. Good Luck!
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,601 posts
 
Personally we think you can do better for not that much more money.

Look at the Micromega M100 which offers similar connectivity to the Hegel with an even wider feature set.

The Micromega has a better dac that supports all high res files, has a built in phono stage, offers room correction option, warm in tonality, Airplay.

The M100 is a class A/B amplifier and offers a very engaging sound that is very musical in a stunning form factor.,

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
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