Hegel H95 Review (Streaming Amplifier)

[V.b.]

There is no reason these days to accept less than cd red book transparency on any reasonable priced gear. That is 96db (16bit)

Of course you can spend your money on whatever you want.

 

[DanielT]

This would/could explain what you heard; lack of bass and really different sound.
When you tried it again you wired the speakers correctly later and voila 'normal' sound.

My . Piece of junk ? No.. I don't think so.

wired the speakers correctly.. Smart! Easy to make mistakes. I'm talking about myself now so I fully understand if this CAN be the explanation.

Piece of junk ? No.. I don't think so.
That does not explain another thing with Hegel, namely, what is the point of it? After all, there are other amplifiers and DACs.
Of course you like the look and or that you promptly want a Hegel (why?) then I understand that but otherwise?

 

[UzbcuRA]

I purchased a H95 about 3 months ago. Auditioned in store on the same speakers I have at home (PMC Twenty5.22) and across the 3 amplifiers I was comparing it was my preference. I brought it home, hooked it up and was disappointed. The bass (which was lovely and full in store) seemed absent. I hooked up a Marantz Slimline AVR and it sounded better. Decided to give it some time and it improved massively and reached a point where I was very happy with it. In fact I now love it. I was always skeptical about burn in, but in this case it made a big difference. Since then it's had a lot of use and I've spent many an evening chilling out and thoroughly enjoying it.

So then I saw this review and my first reaction was not good. It's now been several days and with time and continued use of the amplifier I've decided I simply don't care. I loved how the amp sounded before and I continue to love it now and prefer it to previous amplifiers I've owned (Marantz Pearl Lite and a Cambridge Audio CXA80).

With that in mind, if a reviewer such as Tarun, John Darko or anyone else review and like the sound and report it that way, then so be it. It's going to be their subjective opinion. Few YouTube reviewers do measurements, so unless are measuring and reporting on performance figures you will be getting a subjective review.

I want to make it clear that I'd have loved the measurements to be top shelf to back up my expectations and listening impressions, but they didn't. I also don't mind John Darko or Tarun generally, but I don't take anything that they or any other reviewer say as gospel (for a range of reasons I won't go into here for fear of starting an audiophile ethernet cable debate - although I think most people on this site would agree with me that it's BS).

Long story short I auditioned the H95 and made my own mind up before purchasing it. I will be happily keeping it. Enjoy the music folks.

I wish I had your piece of mind.

I also auditioned the H95, at dealer and at home, with several alternatives. Landed on the H95, used it, felt good about it. Convinced myself the DAC sounded good.

Now I can't get over the feeling of betrayal by Hegel, the YouTubers you mentioned, my dealer.

Ok, perhaps the subjective YouTube reviewers can be forgiven, but clearly Hegel has known all along about the poor measurements. Still they have the gall to spout PR nonsense on their product pages such as 'signal distortion to levels almost immeasurable'. I don't see them as a reputable company anymore.

As I said previously, already sold the H95. Back to square one trying to build a system.

On the upside, my speakers now perform perfectly with zero distortion / perfect off-axis response. (they are completely quiet, I have no amp).

 

[alpha_logic]

Hmm, well - I feel bad for Hegel, I planned to give their products some serious time at a later point not too far in the future. This review is a letdown - here is what Hegel says about the H95 on their own product webpage:

Add to this our patented SoundEngine2 technology and you really get something spectacular. The technology reduces signal distortion to levels almost immeasurable and makes certain you totally immerse yourself in your music or your movies.

Obviously, that's not true - 82db SINAD - clearly the distortion is very measurable. SoundEngine2 - being the claim to fame by Hegel - seems to perform subpar compared to other much cheaper designs without such feed-forward technology. I like Hegel the Company - particularly Anders, and this review won't change that. I look forward to a better performing H100 sometime in the future : )

Thanks @amirm as always - the work you do is truly important.

 

[UzbcuRA]

There could always be the slight possible chance the first time you connected the H95 you accidentally wired one of your speakers in counter phase.
This would/could explain what you heard; lack of bass and really different sound.
When you tried it again you wired the speakers correctly later and voila 'normal' sound.

My P.O.V. about this device:

I'll post it again... the DAC does not clip at all using the Hegel as it is supposed to be used. It is a bit noisy (as noisy as the Razer dongle) and not of great quality but the amplifier (which is the limiting factor) lands in the 'green zone' so perfectly usable.
Because of the high gain the device has it will amplify noise from the DAC when the volume is set to 96.
In practice you'll probably never go beyond 50.

Yes, the design isn't that great. DAC performance leaves to be desired. The distortion is consistent at 0.02% which with music is inaudible.
Yes, 100W in 4 ohm and 160W music power isn't particularly poor.

Yes, the headphone section is good enough for high impedance headphones. The output resistance is a bit high because the power amp (attenuated by 2 resistors) is far from ideal when using low impedance headphones but it reaches 87 SINAD (0.005% THD) at full power which also isn't really poor.

No.. its not a great performing device and pricey at that. One can find better devices at that price. Piece of junk ? No.. I don't think so.
The take-away is... don't use the H95 as a DAC and when you do want to use it that way and you really need to only use the mediocre DAC and use the device to feed other power amps... use the headphone out connector and you'll have 5V available.

Good summary, thanks.

I would also add to your summary that you shouldn't use H95 with external DACs or any other analog sources.

The fall from grace with quite steep for a company of Hegel's stature. Its especially surprising given the way Hegel has been positioning their products of the years. It's a good thing they've been found out.

 

[abdo123]

(which is the limiting factor)

No it's not you can literally see a degradation of performance when the digital inputs were used even at 5W. This amplifier is an engineering disaster, doing 'just enough' for it to work and optimizing nothing.

 

[solderdude]

wired the speakers correctly.. Smart! Easy to make mistakes. I'm talking about myself now so I fully understand if this CAN be the explanation.

Piece of junk ? No.. I don't think so.
That does not explain another thing with Hegel, namely, what is the point of it? After all, there are other amplifiers and DACs.
Of course you like the look and or that you promptly want a Hegel (why?) then I understand that but otherwise?

Hegel is in the business to make money. All manufacturers are in the business to make money.
To stand out and electronics being good enough not to sound poor there are but few ways to make people buy the stuff you make as a manufacturer.
Advertising, get stuff reviewed subjectively, fanboys, looks, functionality, price point.
Just like any other brand Hegel just does it their way.

I don't see the harm in producing similar things to what's already out there.
I believe that is called free market (as long as one isn't infringing on copyrights)

 

[DanielT]

Hmm, well - I feel bad for Hegel, I planned to give their products some serious time at a later point not too far in the future. This review is a letdown - here is what Hegel says about the H95 on their own product webpage:



Obviously, that's not true - 82db SINAD - clearly the distortion is very measurable. SoundEngine2 - being the claim to fame by Hegel - seems to perform subpar compared to other much cheaper designs without such feed-forward technology. I like Hegel the Company - particularly Anders, and this review won't change that. I look forward to a better performing H100 sometime in the future : )

Thanks @amirm as always - the work you do is truly important.

But Hegel is absolutely right when they say something spectacular ... Spectacular high price for that performance, that is.

 

[PierreV]

The fall from grace with quite steep for a company of Hegel's stature.

The stature is only the consequence of a well-executed long-term brand image building and marketing campaign. Most Hi-Fi brands operate on that basis more than they do on technical merits.

 

[solderdude]

I would also add to your summary that you shouldn't use H95 with external DACs or any other analog sources.

Why ? I see no reason not to. If anything using another external DAC will only bring improvements at least in noise floor and linearity.

 

[DanielT]

Hegel is in the business to make money. All manufacturers are in the business to make money.
To stand out and electronics being good enough not to sound poor there are but few ways to make people buy the stuff you make as a manufacturer.
Advertising, get stuff reviewed subjectively, fanboys, looks, functionality, price point.
Just like any other brand Hegel just does it their way.

I don't see the harm in producing similar things to what's already out there.
I believe that is called free market (as long as one isn't infringing on copyrights)

It would actually be a very boring world if supply and demand did not apply. We all know what can happen then, but for God's sake let us not discuss political systems in this thread.

 

[solderdude]

No it's not you can literally see a degradation of performance when the digital inputs were used even at 5W. This amplifier is an engineering disaster, doing 'just enough' for it to work and optimizing nothing.

You will have to take into consideration that:
A: Coax input was used
B: the volume is turned almost all the way up
C: digital input level was attenuated by 24dB (which is a LOT) meaning the noise floor of the DAC is also amplified which normally would not be the case

This means that when used 'normally' (no digital attenuation) the S/N ratio would improve by at least 20dB as at 5W output level the volume control would be set much lower.

That said... the noise floor of the DAC section is higher than most other DACs.

b.t.w. let me be clear... I would never buy a combo (DAC/preamp/poweramp) anyway and am not a Hegel fan either nor would I fork out $ 2k just for different looks or the idea that a brand is doing something 'special'.
Just viewing Amirs measurements in the way I think they should be looked at given the entire thread.

 

[DanielT]

Incidentally, there is no reason at all to feel sorry for Hegel. If you (Hegel) have no or poor knowledge of what the competitors offer, you can only blame yourself.

 

[Everett T]

you are not serious, right? did you take a look at the many amps on that list that are "subpar"? Apple Dongle will not solve all your (and many others on this group as I can see) problems.

Why, there's a bunch of esoteric gear that has measured poorly over the years. Price and Name doesn't guarantee anything in this world.

 

[capitanharlock]

Why, there's a bunch of esoteric gear that has measured poorly over the years. Price and Name doesn't guarantee anything in this world.

That’s for sure. Audio it’s the only consumer electronics branch where this is tolerated and encouraged. The worst it measures the better it sounds.

 

[Deleted member 40010]

If you experience it that way, you experience it that way. I do not take this experience away from you. However, I am a little skeptical that this would be the case. I think it's more about what I mentioned in my previous post.

Please note I do not mock you. I mock no one's personal experiences, of course.

I didn’t take it as mocking. I never thought I’d experience it - but back to back against the same AVR in the same setting was markedly different. Totally understand the scepticism.

 

[Deleted member 40010]

I wish I had your piece of mind.

I also auditioned the H95, at dealer and at home, with several alternatives. Landed on the H95, used it, felt good about it. Convinced myself the DAC sounded good.

Now I can't get over the feeling of betrayal by Hegel, the YouTubers you mentioned, my dealer.

Ok, perhaps the subjective YouTube reviewers can be forgiven, but clearly Hegel has known all along about the poor measurements. Still they have the gall to spout PR nonsense on their product pages such as 'signal distortion to levels almost immeasurable'. I don't see them as a reputable company anymore.

As I said previously, already sold the H95. Back to square one trying to build a system.

On the upside, my speakers now perform perfectly with zero distortion / perfect off-axis response. (they are completely quiet, I have no amp).

Also, unless I’ve totally misunderstood the measurements taken here are from the line out. Based on the block diagram Hegel provided the signal being fed from the DAC directly to the amplifier would not be affected by the downstream changes impacting the line out.

Anyway as I said my unit sounds great to my ears - it’s got a quiet background, is full bodied and smooth in the midrange and a top end with a non fatiguing sparkle. It’s why I selected it over the other options in store. That assessment and decision for me hasn’t changed.

 

[UzbcuRA]

Also, unless I’ve totally misunderstood the measurements taken here are from the line out. Based on the block diagram Hegel provided the signal being fed from the DAC directly to the amplifier would not be affected by the downstream changes impacting the line out.

From Hegel's own block diagram the DAC signal goes straight to pre-out, so I still don't get their clipping argument.

 

[voodooless]

From Hegel's own block diagram the DAC signal goes straight to pre-out, so I still don't get their clipping argument.

It doesn't. The pre-amp is in between.

 

[DSJR]

May I jump in again and explain why I like9d) this brand? i first got to know of it via the Harbeth group as a larger model was used in shows. basic research showed the brand's larger models appeared to perform well.

Come the day to try one. Personally, I love the matt/crackle black looks and the clear display and a mere two controls (one for input and one for volume) would 'speak volumes' to my wife for example, who won't go near my current stuff as to her, it's 'Boys Toys Tat!.

Now, I realise that one or two here may feel that one's partner should have no say whatsoever, but that's not how it works in this and many other households. back in my single days I intensely disliked B&O gear (the 80's and 90's lifestyle models), but now I kind-of see the light as to why this make presented their products so (to wealthy professionals in non UK markets and self-made business owners wanting to show their success where I worked). What I'm trying to say is that with a busy lifestyle and a desire to play some music, an 'audiophile sound system' with piles of often unmatched boxes set up as a shrine to audio and bulky rats nests of cables and wires behind just isn't the way to go for many successful and maybe slightly more mature couples.

I apologise if the above is clumsily put across, but I just loved the simple 'Hegel' way of doing things. Hidden switch underneath to turn on, great! One knob for input and t'other for volume, even better and a lovely clear display to actually clearly see what's playing and relative volume setting (I asked owners what volume 'number' they used and the answer was around '50' typically!). I spent time with the 120 and 190 and loved them from a perspective of an older chap who wants a good sound but not the complexity!

I think Hegel currently have the previous 'Schiit mindset' where 'good enough is good enough' for most people. Schiit have now shown they have the chops to make great sounding gear which also performs seriously well, so proving to me it CAN be done (sadly, deliveries to the UK are currently fraught with issues, but hopefully that will improve and the prices aren't hugely higher than in the US home market it seems). I do hope they can sort out the tech shortcomings in this baseline model as I think the visuals are fine.

As for attacking Amir, I think that many reviewers often like to give the benefit of the doubt and will compromise with all the senses involved. If they feel good about the brand and its marketing, they'll be more disposed to a review product's personality (visually as well as any other consideration). Not sure that happens here as I feel impartiality is better.