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Yet another Integrated vs Separates advice post

Hey Audiogon! Help me spend my money.

I've recently upgraded my speakers and analog rig and it now has me wondering if I could be getting more out of my amplification section. I've had a trusty Hegel H200 integrated amp for about 6 years and it's to its testament that until now I haven't thought about upgrading it. But the upgraditis is getting to me, especially after my analog section has taken me into a different tier on the source side.

My questions:

If my goal is to move into the "reference" quality tier (and by that I guess I mean, at least providing a sniff of the creme de la creme; Stereophile Class A-quality for lack of a better way to put it), should I take this opportunity to move back into separates? 

Second question: if my budget is around $7k, what should I consider that would be a significant upgrade over the giant-killing Hegel? Some components I'm considering:

For separates, PS Audio BHK preamp + PS Audio Stellar Monoblocks (though I'm hesitant about class D amps)
For integrated, Aesthetix Mimas, or a Luxman integrated
Someone in the running: integrateds from Krell, Mark Levinson, and Ayre

My requirements: my rack limits me to standard-sized 17"-wide components. I need at least 2 balanced inputs unless there's a built-in DAC. I mainly seek a "warm" tonality with rich midrange, and greatly value components that image exceptionally well.

My system: Hegel H200, Doge 7 DAC, Avid Volvere turntable, PS Audio Stellar phono preamp, Egglestonworks Emma speaker
hudsonhawk
hudsonhawk OP
137 posts
 
@three_easy_payments Thanks for the thoughtful post. Exactly the problems I’m weighing! I recognize the value to be had from integrateds... but the flexibility of separates both tempts me and might be a rabbit hole.

If I were to go separates, I’d be heavily leaning towards the BHK (or the Pass Labs preamp my local dealer has). That would leave me $3-4K for a 2-channel amp - what would people recommend in that price range? I mentioned the Stellar Monos but my anti-Class D bias has me too scared to pull the trigger on those. Plus that’s 2 more components instead of just one more component to fit into my limited rack space and buy power cables for...
rbstehno
1,510 posts
 
I had the hegel h100, tried the h200, Then bought The h300. The h300/h360 are a big step up in sq vs. the h200.
When I moved up the speaker chain to the larger Ushers, the h300 just didn’t have the power for the 11” woofer. I went back to separates, now using the ps audio bhk 250 amp with a Mcintosh c47 preamp and a ps audio ds dac. Separates are the way to go if you have the $$$ because if something changes, you can swap out a single piece instead of the whole integrated
hudsonhawk OP
137 posts
 
@rbstehno thanks for your perspective - that’s interesting to hear how the H200 compares even within the Hegel line, I’d always assumed that it would have performed similarly to the H300/360. Definitely confirms there’s room for me to get a lot of improvement, just a matter of picking my lane. The C47 + BHK must sound incredible.
jafant's avatar
jafant
20,167 posts
 
hudsonhawk

another +vote for Aesthetix or Ayre.  Have fun!

Happy Listening!
rbstehno
1,510 posts
 
Not sure about how your dac would compare with the dac built into either the h300 or h360. The h360 had the better dac between the 2. You might be able to sell your dac if the hegel built in dac is better. I never used the hegel dac because I had a ps audio ds jr or the ds sr dac at the time and these were far superior.
Another consideration is if you are using Roon because neither of these 2 hegels are supported by Roon unless something has changed recently. You can overcome this by getting a Roon endpoint device like an Apple TV or a little pi computer. For a few grand hegel makes a damn good product
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