Nad M33 vs Hegel H390... old question with a bit of a twist (ethernet and headphones)

a very big part of this hobby/pursuit is to try things that are of interest, that to a user promises a level of performance that is enticing

you can post here and other forums, read and research, watch youtube videos, till the cows come home -- there are characters on this board, and others, that seem to do just this, and only this - maybe they listen to an ipod or a boombox, but they post here, hundreds, thousands of posts to their name... ad nauseum... it is absurd

you won’t know how good something is, how good it is for you, if A is better than B, to your ears, till you try it in a well sorted system you know very well, in a well sorted room you know very well -- if you really want to know, you have to own it, hear it at length -- spend the money and make the effort and be honest about what you hear and what you like (and don’t)

I agree with this except I think it's really difficult for some folks to spend the money just to find out.  Given the decline of Audiogon over the years (as far as number and quality of listings), it's just not as easy to flip equipment at a fair price as it once was.  So if folks use videos and reviews (and I would add advice from a good dealer) to come up with a shortlist to audition that makes a lot of sense.  But as you say, nothing is going to be a substitute for time in your system working towards your sonic goals.

@atanarjuat99 I have the same issue with my wired integrated amp which is the amazing sounding KRELL K-300i. It is wired streamed using CAT5. I am thinking of getting the ETHERegen to help out with the wired streaming or maybe just sell the unit since it is really redundant for me now.

Whatever the case I need a headphone amp in the same room as the KRELL for my Meze Empy. This is not a demanding headphone and I have used the $400 Topping A90 with good results. I gave that away so I am now looking at the Headamp GS-X mini ($1700) or the Broadway S ($1500) or the Broadway ($2300). You can get some excellent headphone amps for around $500. I may go back to the Topping A90.

The way I will get around the integrated not having a headphone amp is to use both the RCA and XLR outputs from my sources at the same time to connect to the headphone amp and also to my KRELL K-300i integrated. You cannot do this with all components, such as my AudioMirror Tubadour DAC but I can with my Magnum Dynalab tuner, Gustard X26 Pro Dac, and Benchmark DAC3B. I also need 15 foot XLR cables to connect to my integrated which is far from my rack. I use the very good Benchmark XLR that are low cost. I keep the RCA short.

You will get better headphone sound with the dedicated headphone amp instead of a throw-in headphone amp in an integrated.

@yyzsantabarbara Thanks for this. If you don’t mind, I have a follow up question. Our problem is that my partner needs to be able to use the headphones (while I am asleep 😂) with the TV. The TV could connect to the H390 via optical and use Home Theatre bypass. And we could use SPDIF to connect my IFI micro black label to the Hegel H390 BUT then the audio would come out through the speakers as well as the headphone jack. Defeating the purpose of using headphones at. Night.
Alternatively, if I hook up the TV to the Hegel and do not use HT bypass, then we will have to use the manual volume control on the headphone amp. Which is inconvenient as the TV and equipment are about 15’  from the sofa. 
I am totally happy to buy a new headphone amp at this point (already over budget anyway) but just need one in which I can connect it to the H390 and have a separate volume control remote for the headphone amp. 
Maybe I am missing something..... Thanks in advance.
p.s. Am going to re-run Cat 8 cables to the media room as they are better shielded.

@jjss49 and @badgerms Thanks again for all of your advice. This is what happened during my visit to the dealer in Vancouver. We started with the Hegel H390 hooked up to JBL classic speakers (in the $3300 CDN price range, same as my KLH m5). Sound was amazing, but it was the timing that struck me most. The music was controlled but with an underlying tension and restraint. Then we listened to the H190s with $20K speakers. Good but different and I was still torn. So I asked him to move the H190 to the same rack as the H390 and we alternated between the two with the same songs (would play half a song on the H390 and the other half on the H190). The dealer was very patient as he changed the speaker connection between the two units for 2 hours. He said that he had never done this before with the H190 and the H390 because usually customers are looking at one or the other. The differences were profound.
Here is what I noticed each time. The H390 had completely different timing, it was fuller and richer and felt like the music was immersive drawing me in. We would change back to the H190 and suddenly the same music was lively, faster but thinner in depth (don’t have the right vocab here). Every time.
The H390 felt like something I could never go back from. If I had not heard the H390, I would have been happy with the H190. But that door was closed. 
Luckily for the dealer, I had to catch my flight back to my small town so bought the H390. 
I am waiting for him to ship the unit after we figure out the headphone jack strategy (see post above in response to @yyzsantabarbara ). No way would the little coastal propeller plane allow me to travel with the Hegel 390 anyway ... Probably heavier than most passengers...
Thanks again.