Hegel Audio, From Oslo, Norway
Founded, 1988
I’ve had my eye on Hegel Audio for several years. They’ve had monster separates, integrated amps and outboard DACs that have won praises throughout that time. The wave keeps getting higher and they have several new products that convinced me that NOW is the time to dive in. Built in Oslo with a three year warranty, Hegel products are now arriving at AE.
Integrated Amp & Power Amp Technology
Hegel has three new integrated amps that feature Hegel’s DualAmp Technology.
DualAmp Technology features two distinct gain stages. The first one is for voltage. The second one is for current. The result is a “feed forward” design and there is no global feedback.
SoundEngine Technology is Hegel’s patented error-cancelling circuit. By comparing input to output signals, SoundEngine corrects for distortion, yielding a smoother more musical result.
Hegel is getting high marks for its musicality and staying out of the road of the music. It is due to particular parts choices. They use AB topology, toroidal transformers, discrete circuitry and hand matched FETs. This culminates in very high damping factor. This control starts and stops your speakers quickly- with substantial bass impact.
Integrated Amps:
H-80 $2000: 80×2 with on board DAC
H-160 $3500: 150×2 with on board DAC, DLNA interface & Airplay
H-300 $5500: 250×2 with on board DAC
DAC:
Hegel’s new HD-12 DAC runs $1400 and features DSD64 conversion.
Preamps
P-20, $2900
P-30, $7500
Power Amps
H20, $5750: 200×2
H4SE, $10,000: 300×2
H-30, $15,000: 350×2 or 1100 mono