@speedbump6
You misinterpreted my post. I'm not saying Hegel can't hang, they very well might be able to. The most glowing review of the Hegel 590 (I think it was soundstage but I dont remember) I saw came from a reviewer who already owned a 390 and also had a Hegel dac. I remember thinking to myself that that was probably the right guy for Hegel to get to review the 590 amp so he could communicate the differences. I also remember thinking to myself that I hoped he wasn't a "captive" reviewer...natural jump to a conclusion. Likely unfair on my part.
Listen, I hope the Hegel is great. I too was trying to answer the OP's question and was trying to do it from a position of this is what I've personally experienced. I have heard the McIntosh and summarily dismissed it. It was not very good and the dac section is, well, just meh. I made an incorrect assumption that you had heard the Hegel and the McIntosh because you were listing them as alternatives and since I had heard the McIntosh and it sounded mid-fi, I unfairly lumped in the Hegel. My bad.
Peace.
You misinterpreted my post. I'm not saying Hegel can't hang, they very well might be able to. The most glowing review of the Hegel 590 (I think it was soundstage but I dont remember) I saw came from a reviewer who already owned a 390 and also had a Hegel dac. I remember thinking to myself that that was probably the right guy for Hegel to get to review the 590 amp so he could communicate the differences. I also remember thinking to myself that I hoped he wasn't a "captive" reviewer...natural jump to a conclusion. Likely unfair on my part.
Listen, I hope the Hegel is great. I too was trying to answer the OP's question and was trying to do it from a position of this is what I've personally experienced. I have heard the McIntosh and summarily dismissed it. It was not very good and the dac section is, well, just meh. I made an incorrect assumption that you had heard the Hegel and the McIntosh because you were listing them as alternatives and since I had heard the McIntosh and it sounded mid-fi, I unfairly lumped in the Hegel. My bad.
Peace.