Thinking of a used Hegel H160 integrated – thoughts and/or alternatives?


I have been using a very nice re-capped vintage Accuphase E-303x in my small apartment in Lisbon for a few years now, but will soon be moving to a larger home. I am thinking of upgrading to a more powerful and modern integrated, and am tempted (sound unheard, so to speak) by a used Hegel h160.

For context, I had and loved a Jeff Rowland Concentra I for a number of years in the U.S., but due to the electricity drain and costs, am not inclined to go that route again. Note that while the Hegel does apparently have good connectivity for streaming sources, I remain rather old school in that I use CDs almost exclusively.

In terms of speakers, I have been very happy with the Harbeth P3ESR in my small space, but expect, at least initially, to revert to my Green Mountain Audio Callistos (RIP Roy) for the larger space. I use an Electrocompaniet EMC-1UP CD player.

So, any feedback on the Hegel and/or other suggestions around that used price range would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Tony
whipsaw
Hegel H160 is good, and a used one under $2k is a no brainer.  But Luxman is better.  It all depends on your budget, but you can't go wrong with either.
Thanks guys. I can grab an H160 for under $1500, so probably worth a go.

I appreciate the input.
I am willing to bet if you put the Accuphase up against the Hegel, the Accuphase would win.
Interesting. Why do you say that? Not that I am underrating the Accuphase, as it is excellent.
A current Accuphase model with comparable specs would better the H160, but at a very, very different price. The performance gap, however, would be quite small. The E-303X launched in 1983 and although some don’t like to believe it, things have in fact moved on since then.

Any of the current Luxman integrateds would also better the H160, but again at a much greater difference in price than in performance. At or around its price point I’m frankly severely disinclined to believe that the Hegel can be bettered (except, I’m sure, by the new H190 which I’ve not heard).

I say that as someone who owns (and loves) a Luxman L-550AXII and not a single Hegel product.