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Hegel H390 DAC

I hesitate to add yet another DAC related thread but I haven't seen this particular question asked before, so....

After owing an H390 for a year, I just got around to listening to it's onboard DAC. What?  Huh? Why? I was biased -- convinced I wouldn't like because it wasn't described by reviewers as overtly"warm", like my Aqua La Voce S2.

As someone who always advocates making buying decisions based on listening, I feel quite sheepish making this confession but as this is an audio forum, not group therapy, I'll move on to the main point.  

I was shocked to discover I actually prefer the Hegel's DAC to the Aqua. In my system, in my room, it is more transparent, smoother and more effortless. And, to my surprise, it conveys more emotion. 

The only downside is that the Hegel's DAC is somewhat leaner in the mids than I'd prefer.

Question: which outboard DACs have a similar but more fleshed-out sonic profile under 7K, new? 

 

 

 

 

stuartk
stuartk OP
2,890 posts
 

@audphile1

I didn’t expect the Jolida to beat the Aqua in terms of SQ. That would be absurd. Attempting to isolate the noise source was the rationale for trying the Jolida.

Next step : trying Aqua and Jay’s in Hegel’s dac loop.

If that doesn’t work, I will have to try a different dac and a different transport, in order to rule out one or both. Or, try a power conditioner.

I hope the dac loop works. It would be much simpler.

eugene81
270 posts
 

I had the H390.  If you like its DAC, I think you would love a Lumin.

stuartk OP
2,890 posts
 

@eugene81 

Thanks for your suggestion.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,180 posts
 

Interesting. So you are planning on feeding a digital signal to Hegel then Hegel digital out to Aqua and XLR from Aqua to Hegel XLR in?

If I am not mistaking, the clock in Jays CDT2MkIII is supposed to be insanely good. The digital signal that comes out of that transport is as good as you can get for the money. You’re passing that to Hegel for its most likely subpar clock to pass it over to Aqua. I’m probably misunderstanding this but I’m struggling with the objective of this test. What problem are you trying to solve? What noise is there with Aqua??

If you don’t like the sound of Aqua, nothing will change it.
 

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