I ran my KEF Reference 3 Meta’s with a Hegel H20 amp for a short time. The Hegel is a good amp and generally well respected within the KEF universe, but it seemed to be somewhat flat to me. Ended up replacing it with a SimAudio Moon 860A V2 amp which the Reference 3’s really like and, IMHO, is much more aesthetically pleasing to look at relative to the Hegel style. Chalk another one up to personal preference.
"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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@troutstreamnm Seriously?!? The Sim 860A v2 is almost 3x more expensive than the H20 and you think that’s a fair comparison? 🤪🙄 Be real man. |
Since I started this post expressing how much I was thoroughly and absolutely blown away by the wonderful sound I heard from a pair of KEF Blade One Meta speakers being driven by a Hegel H600 integrated amp (using it's internal DAC), it's been very interesting and insightful to hear of others experiences with various KEF speakers, and particularly Hegel amplification. Ultimately, we all have to find our own little piece of audio heaven in our own listing rooms during the coarse of our audiophile journeys. Incredibly, I have found that wonderful little piece of musical nirvana in my own listening room via a pair of Revel Salon 2 speakers, a Hegel H590 integrated amp, and an Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty Streaming DAC etc., which absolutely blows me away as well. I hope all of you have found yours. Happy listening. |
When I bought my H390, Hegel was using KEF speakers at all the shows. I ended up buying a pair of Reference 5’s and had issues from day one. No there is nothing wrong with either the amp or the speakers. The issue is with my ears. The H390 is a wonderful neutral sounding piece and the Reference 5’s are very accurate speakers. The problem for me is in the upper midrange. I couldn’t listen for more than a few minutes @ 65-70db, before Saxophone's, Xylophones, Electric Guitars were painfully drilling into my ears. Sadly the KEF’s didn’t work me. I’ve since replaced them with Sonus Farber Amati G5’s and most of my problems are gone. All the best. |
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