I've not heard your
Classic Mk 3, but a T.T., an Inpol Mk 1 and a Logos. All of them really, really nice amplifiers. I found them to sound much like many of the reviews claimed: a kind of hybrid between tubes and solid state. Not as sweet as many of the former persuasion, but with a more "romantic soul" than many of the latter and with a particularly divine mid-range.
As far as Hegel goes I've some experience with a good number of them, from the very first products up to the H160 and H360 that you mention. Still haven't heard anything from the new Hx90 series.
The early Hegel products were not at all to my taste: they were cold, sterile and had to be matched with great care in order to sound good. These days, however, Hegel makes some of the very best solid state amps I've ever laid ear to and the H160 and H360 are (or were, given they've now been superseded) among the very best in their class. The overly chilled presentation is long gone and they sound very smooth, very neutral, very detailed and just very, very good all-round. They also have oodles of power, higher damping factors than just about anything else and will wring every ounce of performance from the speakers they're mated with. Especially in the down-low.
I'm entirely unable to declare one brand better or worse than the other, as both are truly excellent. I found the Pathos amps ever so slightly warm, just as I like it, so that's what I'd choose for myself. However, if I wanted a neutral-sounding amp (as in truly neutral, rather than clinical, cold or sterile) I can't think of a better choice than a Hegel. Nothing I've heard so far anyway.
As far as Hegel goes I've some experience with a good number of them, from the very first products up to the H160 and H360 that you mention. Still haven't heard anything from the new Hx90 series.
The early Hegel products were not at all to my taste: they were cold, sterile and had to be matched with great care in order to sound good. These days, however, Hegel makes some of the very best solid state amps I've ever laid ear to and the H160 and H360 are (or were, given they've now been superseded) among the very best in their class. The overly chilled presentation is long gone and they sound very smooth, very neutral, very detailed and just very, very good all-round. They also have oodles of power, higher damping factors than just about anything else and will wring every ounce of performance from the speakers they're mated with. Especially in the down-low.
I'm entirely unable to declare one brand better or worse than the other, as both are truly excellent. I found the Pathos amps ever so slightly warm, just as I like it, so that's what I'd choose for myself. However, if I wanted a neutral-sounding amp (as in truly neutral, rather than clinical, cold or sterile) I can't think of a better choice than a Hegel. Nothing I've heard so far anyway.