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Hegel H90 external DAC setup

Hi All, I’ve got a Hegel H90 and have been trying to experiment with upgrading to an external DAC.

I purchased a Musical Fidelity MX-DAC, but not entirely sure how to use this as the main converter and bypass the H90s internal D/A conversion. I mainly use the Hegel AirPlay network functionality to stream Qobuz, don’t want to use a laptop to stream. 
I noticed that higher level Hegels have a DAC loop function where the internal converter can be disabled to allow for an external converter. My model doesn’t have this, so hoping there might be a workaround.


cd45123
geof3
1,129 posts
 
Not sure if that particular DAC is a huge step above what is on board, but analog out (balanced or RCA) on the DAC to any of the analog inputs should get you there without issue. You would essentially have two DACs.
cd45123 OP
196 posts
 
Thanks, I did this actually - connecting to the analog input on the Hegel with the rca but couldn’t tell a difference...if I have two DACs, the external one is now handling all the conversion or it’s being converted again? Guess it’s a strange setup what I’m trying.

I’d have to check again. I keep hearing how the DAC in the H90 isn’t as good as the H120 and thought maybe a $900 external would make a difference.
cd45123 OP
196 posts
 
Talked to Hegel support and it seems like I’d need to connect the external DAC to an external streamer that goes into the Hegel. 
I just picked up a Bluesound Node 2i, but not sure if I can connect an external DAC to this since it only has outputs. I imagine that analog out on the DAC to analog out on the streamer won’t work.
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