Which Hegel Amp with LRS+
Hi there. I am updating my system for watching TV, movies and other video content. I am taking the opportunity of moving away from an AV receiver and my 18 year old Acoustic Energy system. Replacing it will be a LRS+ (which I have already purchased) and a Hegel amplifier. The question is which Hegel amplifier?
I understand from comments by others that the H95 runs very hot when driving the LRS+. The H190 seems up to the job, but then again there is the H390 which can handle the power requirements of the LRS+ in its stride. As it is quite a jump (price wise) between the H190 and the H390, I am wondering whether it would be worth spending the extra money for the H390? 🤔
Can I check with those that have a pair of LRS speakers and Hegel amplifiers as to your experience, and which Hegel amplifier that you would recommend and the rationale for the same?
FYI apart from watching video content, I will be connecting the Hegel to my Roon Nucleus as well.
Thanks in advance for your input.
lets not lose perspective... the guys at audio excellence canada in their lrs demo room used a last gen entry level hegel h90, which drove them satisfyingly to loud levels, did not shut down or distort... these guys (adrian and vilip) listen *loud*... h190 drive bigger maggies very well... nothing wrong with anyone wanting an h390... but need vs want are different things |
The A. Excellence guys were the ones who declared the 390 and 590 warmer than the rest of the line and the 390 the warmest. I don't claim to know which model would best suit the speakers in question or the OP's tastes in terms of tonal presentation. I only pointed this out in the context of comparing one Hegel vs. another and because, as far as I was aware, this distinction hadn't yet been mentioned. If there were no sonic differences between the 290, 390 and 590, then I'd agree the choice could be boiled down to power requirements alone or "need", as you put it.
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Thanks @stuartk for raising the warm tonal nature of the 390. I was not aware of that the tonal nature of the amplifiers was that different. As I am not a fan of warm sounding speakers / systems, looks like I will need to try out the 390 and 190 (together with Rel T5 and T7 subs) and see which I prefer. You saved me from making an expensive mistake! I will let my ears decide. Should be able to try it out in the next fortnight, and will definitely let you know of my choice. Thanks again. |
i have had all three (190, 390, 590), along with an h20 power amp, but that is an aside to me, used as an amplifier only (no dac) through the rca or xlr inputs the 190 and 590 have a similar amount of high treble energy, the 390 is ever slightly smoothed over up top and in the upper mids -- overall i would say the 390 sounds the ’warmest’ even though they all obviously provide a close family resemblance in sonic presentation - the differences here are less than, for instance, plugging in a pass int-60, which provides even more midrange warmth and tube like 'wooliness' depending on the speaker being driven the 190 may have a touch less low end grip and can sound a little leaner, but this is very speaker dependent and this would be heard on quite a difficult, reactive low impedance speaker (which the maggie is not) i kept the 390 as it has the better internal dac than the 190, decodes mqa, and with my maggies i don’t need that touch of treble energy the 590 provides... and the 2 grand price difference is well applied elsewhere |
