"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.

kennymacc12-06-2025 7:26pm

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troutstreamnm Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 101 posts 12-11-2025 at 06:31pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @soix Just noting my experience with Hegel amps. Yes, the retail on the SimAudio is considerably more than the Hegel but it’s still a SS to SS amp comparison. Nothing against Hegels, the H20 just didn’t work for me..
jjss49 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 6,920 posts 12-11-2025 at 06:52pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete i still have my h20 ... to me it is a sweetheart ... it is an older gen feed forward implementation (h360 gen1 ’sound engine’) and i agree this amp exhibits an ever so slightly leaner quality to its sound in the midbass, while still delivering excellent clarity, absolutely zero ss sizzle, and iron grip on the speakers... interestingly, later, when they came out with the h390, they purposely tried to imbue a slight warmer hue to the sound with different parts selection in the pre stage, but achieved this at a slight loss of transparency, to my ear at least (i am speaking of using the 390 as an amp, not the digital section) -- this was not the case in the 590 which maintained its pristine clarity my understanding is that with the h600 they are trying again to find that goldilocks yin vs yang middle ground the current gen top rotels are very nice too, i have heard them in other systems, they are highly regarded, i have not been motivated to own one i think one of the issues here that many systems contend with, as streaming becomes more common place, is that many mid-upper tier streamer/dac implementations still have a residual digital leanness glassiness harshness, and the top hegels as amps do not cover this fault up ... and i would go so far as to say that some dealers and their demo/show systems also fail to adequately contend with this
bassbuyer Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 886 posts 12-12-2025 at 04:04am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Sounds like you heard what you want for Christmas. Make it happen. Dreams do come true.
kenm10759 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 44 posts 12-13-2025 at 04:09pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete There's a reason that KEF uses Hegel in many of the shows and dealer events that they do. I'm not sure what that reason is because at their Marlboro Township NJ USA headquarters their Music Lounge system of Reference in-wall and floorstanding Blade 1 Meta are powered by a rack of Parasound amps. In my own system of Blade 2 Meta I've chosen Luxman gear, and it sounds glorious.
slaw Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 26,495 posts 12-13-2025 at 04:35pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Hegel seemed to pair well with many speakers at Audio Advice Live this year.