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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
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,600 posts
 
Just move the SPDIF between external and onboard to compare the sound.
cd45123 OP
195 posts
 
Ok, was able to set this up the other day. Using coax out of the Bluesound to the coax in of the MX-DAC and then analog out from the DAC to the Hegel. 
Sound is...ok. Hegel is louder at a volume match. I imagine due to the internal streamer of the integrated only going through one set of cable vs 3 for the Node 2i. 
I ordered 2 audioquest cables - 1 coax, 1 rca to try and reduce that issue. Instruments seem tighter on with the MX-DAC, greater clarity to instruments and separation, so hoping a couple of quality cables can assist with this further.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
The increased sound level may be due to cables, but can also be caused by the higher gain of your Dac. Most Dacs these days have a gain over 2V.


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