Hi Kennymac, I've been using the Blades(non meta) for 4-5 years now and one source I tried was the H590. As impressive as the piece was my system sounded much better to me with the Mac mc611’s driving the speakers. The H590 had a very tight controlled presentation with an almost lean tone to it. The mac system has unlimited headroom and bass came alive and while the soundstage did give up a bit of that precise edge the hegel held overall I found the mac more musical in this system. Don’t get me wrong I’m a big hegel fan and still use a H360 with a pair of ns5000’s in my tv room, but a different perspective from a different room and slightly different components sometimes helps add context to reviews.
"Blown away by KEF/Hegel combo!!!!"
The other day, I visited my local Magnolia Home Theater at Best Buy. At the far end of a large room, was a very simplified audio system, which consisted of only one component and a pair of speakers. The speakers were KEF Blade One Meta, and the lone component was the newer Hegel H600 integrated amp. I have owned a Hegel H590 integrated for several years now (I us an outboard DAC with it), which drives an incredible pair of Revel Salon 2 speakers, with phenomenal effect, so I was fully aware of how wonderful Hegel products are capable of sounding. But now, I got the chance to hear the H600 (as an all-in-one using it’s internal DAC) with a pair of the world-class, IMHO, KEF Blade One Meta speakers, and I was extremely excited about it. The source was Roon/Tidal. As I sat there and the music of my choosing began to play, all I can tell you is that this was one of the most incredible sounding audio systems I’ve ever heard, and I've heard quite a few in my day!!!! The sound was super dynamic, wonderfully detailed and transparent, the bass was phenomenal, the soundstage was tall and wide with much depth and separation and coherency, beautifully natural, smooth, lush and full sounding, and it was also easy on the ears, and not in any way bright sounding. For me, it was pure heaven!!! I could’ve sat there all day long and listened to that incredible system. I was absolutely blown away by that simple (but expensive) audio system!!!! Happy listening.
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Thanks for sharing a positive experience in your high-end audio journey. You know what they say, different strokes for different folks Lol!!! What works for some, certainly may not be the best option for others. That’s the way is works in this wonderful hobby of ours. I’m glad to hear you found something that works for you. Happy Holidays! Happy listening. |
It's understood that no component in high-end audio, on matter the brand or it's price tag, will be universally liked by all, and Hegel products are no exception. But what's all this strange, weird talk about "Snake Oil," and marketing, and such Lol!!!!? The reality is, Hegel has (as you stated) "Survived And Even Flourished," because they make great products that many, many audiophiles desire (including myself Lol!!!). Just that simple. Happy Holidays. Happy listening. |
@dayglow That’s just uninformed silliness. Hegel has garnered many glowing reviews and awards, and more significantly several reviewers bought the review samples to use in their reference system. As a former long-time reviewer that just doesn’t happen unless a reviewer is genuinely thrilled with a product. Alon Wolf of Magico told me in person he holds Hegel amps in very high regard and actually uses them when voicing their speakers. And I’ve heard Hegel electronics sound fantastic in a Joseph Audio demo, so to dismiss them as “snake oil” is fairly ridiculous in my book. If you’ve heard them and don’t like them fine, but to trash them like you did is really just silly talk. |
@kennymacc @soix I appreciate you taken time to respond. I did mention they have the ability to drive difficult loads which is why dealers carry them they probably have a very high profit margin compared to Bryston/Musical Fidelity or even Quad power amplifiers. IMO all 3 competing brands(can drive difficult speakers) deliver a more realistic SQ without the over the top vice grip/mechanical sounding control that impairs the strengths of many loudspeakers. The "Snake Oil" comment was directed at the marketing... 4000 damping factor, no nonsense aesthetics, the anonymity of who/where its manufactured. All this mysterious marketing hype is fine until you take the thin cover off the top and you have a replica of GNR’s The Spaghetti Incident album cover, build quality must be a cost cutting afterthought for Hegel. The "Bull in the China Shop" sound works well for Home Theater applications and maybe even some speakers but most Audiophiles/music lovers want refinement, a natural organic musical flow, and a cohesiveness of sound that Hegel amplifiers that I have heard do not excel at. |
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