So I have recently spent time with the Hegel H600 integrated amp and DAC. This has been an interesting test as it is a replacement for the old H590 I had. I want to focus on the DAC first.
After some testing, my feeling is the DAC is very much in-line with DACs that are in the ~$5K range. In fact, I find that the internal DAC sounds a lot like an Audiobyte HydraVox which I think is pretty high praise.
The image may not have the raw scale of the Audiobyte but tonally it is very similar and has a little bit better depth. Instrument separation is strong in "In a Sentimental Mood". Image is big and deep on "Be Still My Beating Heart." I heard no sibilance in Sting's voice. Effects were place correctly in "Liberty" and the background was exceptionally dark. Good separation with the opening in "Duende" and the Berg piece was lovely and sized well.
What struck me most is the improvement in the amplifier. The 590 was a smidge analytic though it never drifted bright. It sounded analytic and less musical than other amps I have here. The H600 is noticeably more musical and engaging compared to the 590.
This H600 is a lifestyle oriented item that doesn't sound like one. Single box with streamer built in but not really compromising in terms of sound. This is not an inexpensive device at $12,500 and we should expect exceptional performance at this price.
No unit works with every speaker. You would never put this with klipsch or something like Cube Audio which thrives on amps with a low damping factor. For mainstream speakers: Dynaudio, Wilson Benesch, Spendor, Harbeth, Perlisten, Q Acoustics, etc... this is a brilliant unit.