Hegel H160 and Focal Electra 1008Be sounding bass-less


Hi - 

When I had auditioned the H160 at the dealer with the same set of speakers it sounded gorgeous with meaty bass even on the bookshelves. When i received the new H160 6 years ago we thought it would open up eventually but its been 6 years and about 50 hours or so on it and yet it continues to remain dry. Any clues what might be going on. Also recently I had crackling in the left channel for which I had to drop it off at the service center to get it fixed. I have another Marantz built like a tank and have owned it for 15 years+ with no trouble. Not sure if there are any similar issues folks are seeing with Hegel in general.
Thx

pkolakkar3

Hegel amps have a high damping factor which will lean towards tight fast bass. I brought home the Kanta 3 and that big flpoorstander had a 10 db peak at 100 hz and was -20 db at 80 hz. so placement is critical and subs might be necessary. 

The first thing I would do is try to borrow a different  with similar power ratings and compare, That will give you a starting point.

Sounds like it could be a room/speaker placement issue assuming there’s nothing wrong with the amp or speakers.  

You put 50hrs on the amp in 6 years? Usually amps and most other components need about 200hrs to sound their best. 

Anyways as to your bass issues, you may be sitting in the bass null point. To test it, set it all up in another room. With small speakers and small integrated it’s a quick test.