Hegel H120 or H190

@boozendormi 

I am no expert at all as i am looking at a new amp as the initial set up was not well thought out as i knew no better.  Way too much research into this but.....ultimately know what direction you want to go with the speakers and what their requirements are to drive their best sound and get the amp that will pair with them as well as your ears, well.

I am leaning 190v as they should pair real nice with my MA silver 300's.  Mind you i have been at this for months.  No, i have no heard them with my speakers but have spoken to two who have as i have paired selections down. 

I am running 100w at these speaker now and you can hear they want more as they have so much more to give, and i have heard it from them when i tested and bought them and can hear i am not getting that at home.

And..... still not 100% positive on the amp selection, but close (90%) as this offers a great headphone amp (which i use a lot) and a pretty good DAC that means i do not need to work on upgrades there for the short term and can focus on other upgrades and whn the time comes (if it does) i can upgrade the DAC and/or headphone amp..

I have no knowledge about the speakers you have but again, if you are upgrading in the future, and that upgrade gets you into a speaker needing more power that 75 wpc,, I would go 190V or an equivalent....otherwise 120

Oh, i looked at 390 (now 400)....and no need for me to have that 30%+ increase in cost for power i do not need now, and likely ever and that goes with a few other integrated amps i have been looking at.

Hmmm...so....i would say make sure you know what you will power in the future so you do not need to upgrade again for need.  One can always upgrade for want.

I had several Hegels, currently 390 and 95. as many posters, plan to change the speakers asap. I had B&W 805s, but like the combination with Sterling (like Harbeth but better) and Dynaudio much more.  

Hegel 90 and 95 are mighty machines for small rooms. they can run a good size speaker. 

Well I am late to the show here.  That said, considering the fact that you don't listen at high volumes and have a smallish listening room I agree that you are not in need of more power than that provided by the Hegel 120. You should have no trouble finding speakers that play well with that amp in your room. 

The price differential between the 120 and the 190 could be used towards speakers. 

I have the Hegel h160 and found it to be a very good performer.  The h190 made changes to the pre section I believe adding an additional power supply, supposedly tweaked bass response for listening at lower SPLs but I can't definitively say which I would prefer. I never found the h160 to sound thin in the lows or mids.

Either way, both the h160 and the h190 can be found at good discounts used.  These amps are known to be reliable so I wouldn't hesitate from a used model.

I will be listing mine shortly as I have decided to downsize and seek speakers that respond well to lower power at lower SPLs where I listen.  I also don't want heavy equipment anymore, I'm over 60 and want smaller and lighter.

That limits alot of stuff I have looked at such as some audiophile standmounts that purportedly need a higher powered, higher current capable amp to sound good justifying their higher prices, even at lower volumes, especially if they dip well below 4 ohms.  That's a lot of constraints to put together a system that works well for me.

I could keep the Hegel as it has worked with everything well enough and has a good sounding dac that's still hard to beat unless you spend about a grand or more IMO, and then it could be more a match with a different coloration/flavor.  The h190 has the so called improvements however incremental more or less they may be and its a newer model.  Starting to see prices a bit under $2K used.  So an h160 will have to be substantially less. 

Either will give a taste of Hegel.  If 40 lbs and higher boxes are not an issue, I would go for the power.  Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.  If lower power is sufficient, then there are alot of other options as well. 

I preferred Hegel over Parasound for what its worth.  There's so many others around 100 to 150 watts as well, Creek, Outlaw, etc.  I would stay away from those with reliability issues or outdated parts.  Not that any can't be repaired, it just adds to the cost.  A good amp can sound good for many many years and not require repairs/maint.  At least Hegel is known for reliability and most say a neutral, smooth but powerful sound.  There are livelier amps, some darker, pick your preference.

@agwca I would be interested in your Hegel, if you post where you would list it. Probably would still be outside my budget.