![]() ![]() The only other analog (RCA) input is for home theater, which bypasses the volume control. I have at least 10 phono stages and three turntables, but none has symmetrical circuits or XLR outputs. But the H160 does not include a phono stage or an option for one, and its "broader set of connections" includes only one analog (RCA) input and one balanced (XLR) analog input. This had me scratching my head, because the first thing I wanted to do was connect two turntables. "We designed an integrated with a broader set of connections than any other amplifier on the market," Hegel states on their website. While trying to be a good host and connect wires at the same time, I discovered the Hegel H160's unusual selection of inputs. I kept them all busy with nervous Herbchat, organic grapes, and Jarlsberg cheese as I hooked up their very solid-feeling integrated. I became so intrigued by my evolving Hegel experiences that I contacted Eileen Gosvig, the charming and knowledgeable national sales manager for Hegel Music Systems USA, to obtain a review sample of the new H160 integrated amplifier ($3500).Ī few weeks later, Gosvig brought to my steampunk Bed-Stuy man cave a Hegel H160, the also-knowledgeable Anders Ertzeid (global sales manager), and the suave Harry Bromer (Bach Sales Group). The Hegels appeared to have a way of "fixing" somethingsomething I hadn't even realized had been wrong with most other amps I've enjoyed. But recently, whenever I heard speakers powered by a Hegel, I noticed something elsesomething almost indescribable that I'd never experienced before. Every combination feels, to some degree, harder or softer, or denser or leaner, or darker or lighter, or stronger or weaker than some other combo. In my experience, every amp-speaker combination imposes a unique character on the music. Each seemed to describe what I'd heard in those Hegel-equipped rooms at audio shows: Hegel amplifiers make music sound more visceral and well proportioned than other amps in their price range. I went online and read every Hegel review I could find. Clearly, more than a few speaker designers and show exhibitors think these Norwegian-made amps sound different enough to give them an advantage over their competitors. Lately, I've met a few designers who at first say exactly thatbut who then, when pressed, look me in the eye, lean close, and whisper, "But we mainly used a Hegel! " I've also been noticing, at audio shows, a lot of excellent-sounding rooms sporting Hegel amps. ![]() Mostly, I'd get dodgy, Julian Hirschtype answers: "Well, my speaker will work with any amp of sufficiently high power and current capability." Thereafter, every time I met a loudspeaker designer, I was compelled to ask: "What amplifiers did you use to voice your speakers? What power amps do you recommend to your customers?" When I noticed this, I would shout, "Julian! Can't you hear this? Stop listening with your oscillograph!"Įventually, I realized that each of us could hear only what we know to listen for. Power Biggs and Jascha Heifetz records changed in unsubtle and unmistakable ways. Every time I swapped amps, the sound of my E. While Stereo Review was making such claims, I owned Dynaco A50 loudspeakers and several appropriately powered tubed and solid-state amplifiers. The magazine seemed committed to stamping out all forms of individualized audio connoisseurship. Stereo Review's arrogance came off as duplicitous and self-serving. I learned a lot from the magazine's reviews of recordings and loudspeakers, but every time senior editor Julian Hirsch wrote that any amp with sufficiently high power, low measured distortion, and high damping factor would sound the same as any other with similar qualifications, I felt estranged from my favorite hobby. The equipment reviews published in Stereo Review had an off-puttingly disingenuous quality. ![]() For decades, I read all the British and American audio magazines, and I pretty much believed everything written thereinwith one exception. ![]()
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