"Blown away by KEF/Hegel combo!!!!"

Sounds like you heard what you want for Christmas.  Make it happen.  Dreams do come true. 

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.

Hegel seemed to pair well with many speakers at Audio Advice Live this year.

I don't have much against the Hegel but it's not my preferred brand for sure. It sounds great but it has its own sound, "high" on clarity, low on detail. It's like vanilla extract, it makes everything taste good, but there is that taste. If Apple was a hifi brand, it would be Hegel.

That’s a good description of my experience with the H190. It wasn’t bad, but not great. Reminded me of the two-dimensional sound of most <$1000 integrateds. I did however feel that its onboard DAC was surprisingly good, when the H190 was used as a pre/DAC into the Benchmark AHB2 I owned at the time. 

Hegel’s entry and mid-tier products tend to measure poorly, but their separates measure pretty well. Have to wonder if that’s intentional. 
 

"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."

Yesterday, I visited my local Best Buy and briefly heard the KEF Blade One Metas connected to a Hegel integrated amp.  

It was a very 'crisp' sound and I was immediately impressed with the clarity and soundstage.  I did feel that it lacked some warmth - or perhaps that it was a bit shy in the bass.   I attributed that to the Hegel but of course, I don't really know.  I've heard these very same speakers once before - in the very same room - driven by huge McIntosh monos (MC1.2ks) and I don't remember thinking it was bass shy.

That said, both times were very casual and brief visits.

I did ask the salesperson to play the KEF LS60s which were on the opposite end of the room and even without a sub it presented a more full/weighted presentation with OK instrument separation but nowhere near the same clarity as the Blade/Hegel combo.

I am interested in acquiring the Blade 2 Metas but the choice of electronics is giving me pause.