H190 is amazing to my ears sounds more clear and dynamic, and bass control is insane

I liked the sound of the Hegel Rost on my ZU Omen Dirty Weekends so much, that I went out and bought a 190 for them. Now I am using my Rost with my Quad S-2’s. Sold off my separates. Happy man here.

Same difficulty regarding Air Play with my H90. It doesn’t bother me however because I stream through a BlueSound Node 2i from Tidal with great results, especially with MQA files. The H90 drives my Focal Electra 1008 BE’s flawlessly. Thanks for your post.

Cool setups, thank you for sharing this review on the Hegel units. I currently own a 2502 as well and I'm actually interested in getting a Hegel H90 to pair with my KEF Q150/B&W 606. Would you be able to do a back to back sound demo between the H90 and 2502 with your LS50s? I know it's not ideal to compare sound characteristics over youtube, but it's usually enough to tell a difference. Thanks again!

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

Hi there, unfortunately I don’t have the time or necessary equipment to do a proper sound demo🙁

@j0hnbo0

4 жыл бұрын

@@techjourney5383 No worries, your video is helpful enough. Thanks!

You said you now have an appreciation and a understanding of the Hegel sound, could you clarify what this means to you, what you like and do not like. I am also considering one of these to match with my LS50s, the 2502s are definitely a cheaper option. Sound quality is number 1. For me ! Thank you !!

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

I’m not great with describing sound but to my ears...Hegel = deep background, deep bass. Mostly non fatiguing highs. Slightly recessed mids. Pretty dry sounding to my ears but I understand why people like it. Just got a schiit Ragnarok 2 and super impressed so far. Will post a video within the next couple of weeks.

@billystack

4 жыл бұрын

@@techjourney5383 I'll be very interested in your review, especially as compared to the H90. I'm auditioning one now and am very impressed! Anything you can share?

@philipgardiner2003

4 жыл бұрын

The Hegel 90 is both a magician and a chameleon. I am 100% happy with my decision to drive my Focal Electra BE speakers with this integrated amp. It plays every kind of music beautifully. I was very close to getting a Line Magnetic but in the end I didn’t want to add tube rolling to my obsession...at least not yet. I bought custom made Sound Anchor stands. They are not inexpensive, but I am astounded at the bass and believe that the quality of the stands contributes to that. I have absolutely no need for a sub-woofer or more power.

@buttonman1831

4 жыл бұрын

The H90 and H190 need to be auditioned with your speakers. I have owned dozens of speakers since owning these amps and when they match, they sound near perfect. On the flip side, they can sound terrible with the wrong speaker. They work well with metal drivers and generally match well with slightly cool to neutral sounding speakers. I don't think they love warm sounding speakers very much. My Monitor Audios Silver 8s sound very neutral, natural, exciting, dynamic, image well, and throw a wide deep sound stage. The matching is incredible. I have a speaker which cost 3X the price of my MA which sounds awful in comparison so I am selling them after 3 months of ownership. I don't think the speakers are inferior, I just don't think they match very well with Hegel.

Good review. I am looking at the H90 for my LS50 - I use Tidal for my streaming music, so hearing the Airplay issues is concerning - were you able to connect your phone to BT on the Hegel at all?

@billystack

4 жыл бұрын

I'm in the middle of an H90 audition. No problem using airplay with my MBP, but can't get my Iphone Xr to connect. H90 needs to be connected to the wifi router before it will work. Headphones cancel speakers when plugging in and resets vol to 20. Very impressed with the amp so far...wondering how it compares to the Ragnarok.

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

FYI I just posted a video about the Ragnarok 2 😊

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

Hi Andrew, I don’t think H90 offers Bluetooth. Based on my understanding AirPlay uses WiFi from your Apple device. Couldn’t get it to work at all after contacting Hegel support it seems that they are hearing reports of compatibility issues with ASUS routers which is what I have. I’m not willing to change my network so will live without Airplay to H90. Strange thing is airplay works reasonably well on other devices on the same network.

@andrewrae50

4 жыл бұрын

Tech Journey Thanks for the reply, yes I learned the same. Ultimately I do listen to a lot of Master Recordings on Tidal via BT. I ultimately went with the Cambridge CXA-81 last week as it accepts APTX-HD Codec / so I stream that off of a capable android - happy with the results!

So if I am hearing you write the H190 is just ok with LS50's. Do you have a few recommendations for integrated amplifiers that might fill out the middle.

@buttonman1831

4 жыл бұрын

I used both my H90 and 190 with my LS50s and they are a good match.

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

I also think the H190 is a good match with LS50’s but if your room isn’t too large and you are OK with adding a separate streamer and DAC, then I’d recommend taking a serious look at the Schiit Ragnarok 2. It is more expensive when you add the components together but listened to my Directstream Jr with the Ragnarok and LS50’s again last night and I can’t imagine anything sounding better for music listening in my bedroom. What’s interesting to me is that the magic isn’t quite there when I use my Cambridge CXN V2 as DAC and streamer with the Rag and LS50’s. If you don’t want to pull your hair out trying to find the perfect match then I think the Hegel H190 is a great choice but now that I’ve heard the pairings that I have I don’t think I can settle for anything else😊 one other thing to mention is that I would not like my two different LS50 systems nearly as much if I didn’t have fast musical subs in the mix. Good luck on your journey!

I have owned the H90, the H190, and the crown XLS 2502. The crown to my ears is the worst amp I have ever owned. There was a sheen and harshness to the sound I couldn't resolve, even my wife hated it. The Hegels are funny amps in the sense they respond dramatically to speaker matching. They seem to love metal driver speakers such as Monitor Audio and Kef but I have had excellent matching with none metallic drivers as well. I few months ago I purchased a pair of speakers that had rave reviews for 6k Cdn to go with my H190. After living with them for two months I have decided to sell them because my 1800 Cdn Monitor Audio sound vastly better. Tonally, it is the most neutral sound I have ever had yet they are incredibly dynamic, image exceptionally well, and are very holographic. The pairing is so good it makes my 6k speakers sound like trash I hate to say it. I highly recommend looking at Monitor Audio Silvers to anyone who has a Hegel, they may possibly be the one of the best matching speakers for those amps. I also heard Manapan LRSs match crazy good as well. I stream Tidal and my music library using bubbleUPNP which works well with Hegel. Why you Apple people continue to buy limiting Apple products is beyond me. My wife made the switch to Android after many years and she doesn't miss Apple at all. My advice to anyone who is looking at Hegel, if it doesn't sound spectacular on your speakers then look at other brands.

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experience! I too have found that equipment matching is critically important. I went through several DAC and preamp combinations with the Crown and LS50’s before landing on a setup that sounds great to my ears. I even found that the interconnects could tip the scales. I think about the many components that I’ve tried over the years and how I’ve passed judgment on each based on what I heard but likely just had the wrong pairings. That’s one of the great benefits of the Hegel units in that they have eliminated a lot of the guess work by selecting a great amp, good DAC, streamer, preamp all in one box. All that’s left to do is find the right speakers that pair well. Thanks again for sharing as I’m sure your comments will help others!

@buttonman1831

4 жыл бұрын

@@techjourney5383 exactly, buying a Hegel saves so much hassle in one elegant, simple little box.

@supremeboy

3 жыл бұрын

Nice info. I ordered H190 today. Should get end of this week. I was thinking H95 or H120 but after lots of readings and tests the 190 soundstage and image is just way better. I have Elac Unifi 2.0 speaker that also have metal cones (aluminium) and they should pair really well with H190. Kef's are similar to Elac. These Elacs are neutral and REALLY amazing stage image sound. I cant wait to make them sing with Hegel soon.

Jeez, went with the H90 due to my temporary setup for just headphones and airplay...why didn’t I watch this sooner?

@techjourney5383

4 жыл бұрын

Have you tried it yet or are you waiting for it to be delivered? Many users report not having any issues with AirPlay...just didn’t work well for me. Other than that the H90 is a great device!

@mattmarceau8156

4 жыл бұрын

Just received the other day and AirPlay seems to be fine with extended use, so knock on wood.