Hegel H390 vs Krell Vanguard digital integrates amps

Hegel. Very difficult to beat at its price point.

i have not heard the newest krell stuff

earlier krell integrateds were poor sounding to my ear, classic solid state sizzle boom with little subtlely or tact... hegel h390 would clearly and significantly outperform, it is one of the best sounding units in its price category and successfully takes on many 2-3x its price with its substantial power and sonic completeness

There was a review by HifiCritic pitting the H390 against the Krell K-300i and the Mark Levinson 5805. Both are much more expensive than the Hegel, but in the review the Hegel easily came out on top. 

Disclosure: we're a Canadian Hegel dealer and I don't have experience with either the Krell or the Levinson in the review, but just relaying the info from the review.

Scratch the Vanguard.

Then see these threads.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-or-most-interesting-speakers/post?highlight=krell%2Bcoda&postid=2112460#2112460 go to end of thread

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/coda-vs-hegel?highlight=hegel%2Bcoda

I own the Krell K-300i. It is a very smooth sounding unit with a bit of bass thump. I own the CODA CSiB (again) and it is not as smooth sounding as the Krell but an overall superb sounding unit. I would not say 1 is better than the other. It is hard for me to describe the CODA other than a lot of listening pleasure.

I have the Krell with the digital board. It is only OK. My $750 Matrix Mini-i 3 Pro seems a bit better to me. However, I would always get the Krell with the digital board for the HDMI features.

I was considering the Hegel 390 because I have heard several Hegel's extensively (such as the 360)  and liked them. The Hegel's also have features that I value. I think they are very good gear but I like the Coda and Krell better because they have some additional warmth. Maybe it is the 90 watts in Class A for the Krell and the 18 watts in Class A for the CODA. The Hegel reminds me of a smoother or slightly warmer Bryston.

I thought the Mark Levinson 585 (the old one for $12K) was a excellent integrated. Better than the Hegel and in the same class as the CODA and Krell.

Now if you want to try something totally different. I have 2 Benchmark units that combined are the same physical volume of the Krell or the CODA. They are the HPA4 (or LA4) preamp and AHB2 amp. Put those 2 together and you have the cleanest sounding most neutral sound I have ever heard. The Hegel is trying to be neutral, unlike the CODA or Krell, however, the Benchmark pair are the kings of neutral.