Hegel Audio of Norway makes among the finest integrated amps in the world. They cost a bit more money than the highly advertised brands we all know, but they’re well worth it.
Hegel sounds better due to several specific design features. Let’s go!
Output Transistor Behavior
Amplifier design FOREVER has been based around output transistors. Your amp needs a minimum of 4 (L+, L-, R+, R-). Typically, a 50×2 amp will have four Ts. If you go 100×2 you probably have 8. If you go to 200×2 you probably have 12. The more the merrier, right?
Not really. With more transistors you get more power. The problem is, no two transistors are identical. They are all different from one another. Imagine playing a sustained piano tone. If the transistors aren’t in perfect alignment, the tone you hear will have a degree of distortion.
Think of having a graph on a sheet of paper. Then overlay another. And another. And another. Any tiny variances will add up to a smearing effect. It won’t be as precise as it should be. This is what happens with output transistors. The more you have, the more distorted and harsh they sound.
Hegel’s owner/designer, Bent Holter has a solution for these distortion artifacts.
SoundEngine 2
SE2 is Bent’s patented design to eliminate the harshness created by mismatched output transistors. He employs analog computers to deliver inverse signals to cancel out distortion. Think of noise canceling headphones in a very general comparison.
There are videos of Bent discussing the minutia of SE2. Some of these are deep dives. You’d better take a couple NoDoz if you want the full enchilada. Instead, if you want the Readers Digest version, see the video below: Bent Holter- Hegel’s Sound Engine. In just about two and a half minutes (vs two and a half HOURS!) you’ll understand what SE2 is accomplishing, and why Hegel sounds smoother and more musical than the other guys.
You’ll see in just a couple of minutes how serious design engineer attacks a problem. Bent is one impressive guy!
Discrete Preamp Design
Most preamp sections of integrateds are simply ICs. These ICs use the equivalent of hundreds of parts to deliver cost effective, easy to build electronics. If you don’t experience something better, you might be fine with them. But this isn’t good enough for Hegel.
Hegel takes the longer road. For example, they buy thousands of JFET transistors and take the time to hand match them. This painstaking work costs more than plugging in an IC. But the musical advantage is clear to hear. Discrete design yields superior musical character and personality. It improves leading edge transients and dynamic range to make your music breathe. The air and space around the music distinctly benefits from this extra effort that Hegel undertakes.
SynchroDACs
Hegel integrateds have DACs built in that push the state of the art! Hegel has some secret sauce in power supply and galvanic isolation technology that it keeps to itself. Hegel is very up front about one of its main differences from the main stream though.
Hegel employs synchronous, as opposed to asynchronous DACs. That is, Hegel shakes hands with your incoming native digital signal to convert it. Hegel doesn’t fiddle fudge or upsample, which they feel loses information.
Remember when your TV picture had annoying lines? Some companies created line doublers to eliminate the lines. In so doing they made the picture softer, losing precision edge detail and information. Hegel wants to reveal all the musical information your source contains.
Models:
Hegel H95 $1925 (60×2)
H95 is a distinct, musically revealing step above the main stream brands!
Hegel H190v $4200 (150×2)
H190v is over double the strength and damping of H95. Now with MM phono.
Hegel H390 $6500 (250×2)
H390 is almost double the strength of H190.
Hegel H600 $12,500 (303 x2)
Bent is joshing us with that 303 rating. H600 is a monster and more than half again stronger than H390.
Which Hegel integrated you should buy depends on your speakers, how loudly you listen, and of course your budget. This is where Audio Emporium comes in. We can help you make sense out of the puzzle!