Krell S300i vs Hegel H100 vs Parasound

I second everything that Soix said above. If your serious
about music, you want an integrated to drive your speakers.
Not HT gear.

The stereo preamp sections in HT processors are an
afterthought. Your Rotel was not designed with 2 channel
music in mind. It was designed for digital multi-channel.

After a ten plus year affair with the HT mistress, only to
constantly be left unsatisfied, I went back to a quality 2
channel integrated and have never been happier!

But decide upon the speakers first and then select the amp
that will properly drive those speakers.

Congrats on the Dyns. I think you made a good choice. They are great sounding speakers and I am sure you will not find them fatiguing with their soft dome tweeters.

Either amp you're considering will do a more than adequate job driving the Dyns as the power output between the two is negligible. My preference would be the Hegel H100. Hope you hear from others who actually own these units and comment from experience. Good luck and enjoy the new system!

FWIW, I considered the Mac MA5200 too but could not find a 4 Ohm rating for its amp section anywhere on the internet and on Macs own website. In fact the back panel of the 5200 clearly states 8 Ohm by the speaker terminals. The Dyns you ordered are 4 Ohm and do love current, so you may want to rethink this one. Unless some 5200 owners can give assurances that it can properly drive your Dyns.

The title of your thread is asking about the Hegel H100. Now you state you need a DAC so you're looking at the H80? Have your needs changed since your original post?

If so, here's one to consider that may meet all your needs - the new Parasound Halo Integrated. More powerful than the H100 or Krell and with a built in Wolfson DAC. At $2500 its right in your budget.

@Ricred1...The Halo integrated is brand new with a power output somewhere between the A23 and the A21. It appears to be full featured too with a built-in DAC amd bass management. Here's a link:

http://parasound.com/halo/integrated.php

Looks good at $2500 for those wanting a one box solution due to space constraints.