Hegel Design Flaw?

08-24-15: Sabai
Almarg,

The REL was connected to the speaker binding posts via the Synergistic Research REL cable.

My system is fully balanced from wall to speakers.

Unless you initially tried the Hegel prior to ever connecting it to the REL and found the symptoms to occur at that time, it seems quite conceivable to me that connecting the ground wire from the REL to one of the negative output terminals of the amp could have caused the symptoms you described, or possibly even damage. As I said in my previous post, it depends on the internal grounding configuration of both the amp and the sub.

Do you happen to recall, btw, if the channel in which the problem appeared was the same channel to which the ground wire from the REL was connected?

And if, as it appears, you are presently doing the same with your fully balanced S-30, and that works well, it's one more reason for kudos to Ralph/Atmasphere.

Regards,
-- Al

I do not run ICs in series anymore. So that was not an issue.

So you FINALLY see (hear) the light? I guess there's hope for you afterall. LOL!

Nothing wrong with Atmasphere but now you need an amp that can drive your speakers to its potential.

Almarg,

I connected the REL and the H20 together. The ground wire was attached to the left channel. The problem was the sound coming out of the right speaker. So, the REL could not have caused this problem.

Even supposing the REL may have been the culprit in some hidden way, why would the dealer or Hegel not ask about sub connections and make appropriate suggestions instead of saying I needed to dismantle my system? Surely, this problem would have shown up earlier with thousands of Hegel products out there, some of which must surely be attached to REL subs. I think it is clear that the REL was a moot point.

08-25-15: Sabai
I connected the REL and the H20 together. The ground wire was attached to the left channel. The problem was the sound coming out of the right speaker. So, the REL could not have caused this problem.

Agreed.

Even supposing the REL may have been the culprit in some hidden way, why would the dealer or Hegel not ask about sub connections and make appropriate suggestions instead of saying I needed to dismantle my system?

Yes, the (non-)support they provided sounds like it was very poor, as I said earlier.

Surely, this problem would have shown up earlier with thousands of Hegel products out there, some of which must surely be attached to REL subs.

Several manuals I've seen for various REL subs state that when the sub is connected to the outputs of a fully balanced stereo amp, and if the amp does not provide a circuit ground terminal (such as some of the Pass amps do, for example), the ground wire should be connected to a chassis screw, not to a negative output terminal.

I would expect doing that to work well in at least most cases, and for that matter you may want to try it with your S-30, as it may provide better sonics than connecting the ground wire to a negative output terminal (that has a signal on it, and a signal which corresponds to just one channel). If and when you try that, keep in mind that you may have to re-tweak the level control on the sub.

Regards,
-- Al

Almarg,

Thank you very much for this helpful suggestion. I will give it a try.