Streaming with the Hegel H390

The 120 and 190 got the Roon ready update early March, but unfortunately nothing yet for the 390 or 590. Hopefully soon. 

I had and enjoyed the H390, and currently have Wilson Tunetots, though not both at the same time.  If I had put to a $ figure on the performance of the DAC and streamer sections of the H390 I'd say about $1k and $500, respectively.  They are pretty good as part of an all-in-one solution but you can certainly do better.  The nice thing about the H390/590 is the DAC loop feature, so you can upgrade just the DAC for now and feed it from the H390's streamer via BNC, then have the option to upgrade to an external streamer later.  Don't skimp on the digital cable though.

It's a wide world of digital out there.  On the "lower" end of upgrades for the H390 I like the MHDT Orchid DAC and SOtM sMS-200ultra streamer.  I also used it with a dCS Paganini DAC and Network Bridge, which was better overall to my ears, though not as rich sounding.  I think your speakers can really take advantage of what a higher end DAC has to offer, namely soundstage depth and inner detail, and the H390 will deliver those attributes.

I'm currently streaming Tidal via UPnP.

Thanks for the input folks.

Generally, based on my extensive experience, stand alone DACs always seem to out perform integrated DACs.  I use an Ayre Acoustic QX-5 Twenty DAC with my Hegel H390 with stunning results.  Using the internal DAC that came with a component is usually, as with you, a cost saving measure.       

I also have the H390 and used the USB input from my Innuos Zenith/PhoenixUSB source quite happily for a year or so.

However, I had the itch to upgrade, so took a risk on the Denafrips Pontus 12th DAC, plus Cardas Clear Reflection XLR and an old Ecosse power cable.  

Having thoroughly allowed the DAC to settle I have been doing a little AB comparison, and can confirm that the Denafips is a step-up from the Hegel's internal DAC.  Deeper bass, more resolution and detail without fatigue are the most obvious benefits.

Of course, the combined cost of the Pontus and Cardas is not insignificant, and I could quite happily have lived with the H390 by itself.   

Another consideration here is the new big brother, the H600 which early reviews indicate it has a much improved DAC.  Comparing the H390 and DAC with the H600 without external DAC would be interesting