Dude the way you describe the characteristics is phenomenal. Really gd job 👏

This review was fantastic and very helpful. I’ve been looking at the H120 for the same purpose, basically just an analog amp with my Denafrips Ares and WIIM streamer. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

Superb review. I appreciate your methodical and very articulate presentation of the gear. Timing is excellent and you don't race through the review, so I don't feel I'm missing anything.

Superb review! I did an incredible amount of due diligence considering everything from Zu Audio Dirty Weekend's paired with a Decware tube amp to PS Audio with LS50's. After seeing the Focal 1008 BE's on sale for $2999, I compared a Naim integrated with the Hegel and know right away the Hegel was the way to go for my taste. The pairing with the Focal's is astonishing with a beautiful sound stage and incredible bass. I have the speakers sitting on custom Sound Anchor stands. I stream Tidal to a Bluesound Node 2i connected to the Hegel via coaxial cable to take advantage of the superior DAC in the Hegel. I use Cardas Parsec speaker cables. Keep em coming!

You positively nailed the sound signature. I have the H300 and love it. Thanks

Excellent and detailed review! Kudos to your channel...subscribed.

Thanks to you from the bottom of my heart for this elaborate review dear. I took your word for it and went in for this amp almost blindfold since the chances for auditioning such premium equipment in my small town is as good as inexistent. Upgraded from Marantz PM8005 and all I can say about this whole expensive ordeal is that I’m smiling now 😊

Great review! I also purchased the H90 a year or so ago, when I saw that it was on sale. I also use it with an external DAC. The DAC is fed flac files from a MAC Mini, where I have ripped my CDs to.

The Cyrus is in your face, forward, and relentless and favours the upper mids and treble so it's on the lean side. I have the H95 and it ain't shy in the bass, nor is it laidback, it's dynamic, well balanced and twice as detailed as the Cyrus 8VS

Great review! I own a H90 and couldn't agree more with the conclusions. It is a superb and still modern amplifier, for a fraction of the cost of slightly better sounding systems (and that is always partially subjective).

Hegel amps are very smooth in their sound signature. It means you lose some punch and slam getting a great sound stage very clean and lively. More micro datails at the expense of some macro details of you prefer. Congrats for your purchase and enjoy. Great video.

More power to your channel. 👍🏻

Your description of the of the Hegel is exactly how I feel about the Marantz Model 30, its so dark and have so much gap between the instruments compared to my other amp, the Denon PMA-2500NE. Love that presentation. Thanks for the review.

H90 is a really really great combo with the LS50s. I have owned an H90 for about 4 years myself. It is hard to beat at it's price if you use the internal DAC and streamer.

Personal taste is important! I'm glad you included it in your vetting process.

I do like your honest style of reviewing. Really look forward to hearing many more of your reviews in the future.

The difference you may hear between the hegel dac and a $400+ dac is that standalone dacs add bass, midbass and/or try to increase slam and speed which can impact instrument separation. The Hegel dac is about clarity, accuracy and separation is typically better. Based on my experience between h160 vs Loxjie d30, Topping E30, d50s, D70S MQA (most competitive w/ hegel and I could have lived with either but hegel was even more clear, instruments better separated, less warm). I don't know about H90, but the Hegel h160 usb input is rather limited in comparison to other dacs. But for TV and CD playback, I like it. Detail, punch and without harshness.

Very nicely explained. I own a Hegel H80 which matches with your description of H90.

Soon as you mention in my last message I was looking forward for your thoughts about Hegel h90 thanks for sharing

Awesome review, I've been thinking about getting the h90 for a while and you may have helped solidify my decision.

Great work! I'm not in the market, but I'm still listening just to get some perspective :) Great to see a fellow European!

Very nice job! These amps have received a lot of praise from KZfaq outlets. It sounds like it is deserved. You did a great job describing its bass line. It appears you get a huge return on your money with this piece of gear.

Bravo !! after this review i will definitely look out for a HEGEL ,Thanks

Lovely review fella! Thankyou for that! Xx

Thank you for this analysis on Hegel integrated amplifiers.

Great review! I will combine this with Dali speakers. Looking forward!

Very interesting video. I like the way you describe the sound. Maybe you could review the 390 soon.

I have h190 a lot of details and very good baskontroll, its good value i bought it for €2800 brand new

I'm new to your channel.wow your a great reviewer I'm very impressed

Great review, sounds like you got it spot on as always. I also bought a used Hegel to pair with used Martin Logans esl's. Both at a great price too! Also I was told by Anders Ertzeid of Hegel (In a you tube video comment) that they use to pair them with Martin Logans for testing. So, yeah they compliment each other well. Just saying if anyone is interested, they can be both found on the used market in Europe at good prices. Guys, check out the website above, it's great, I was surprised.

Hegel is a well built amp and its' dac section sounds great, you'll need to spend hundreds on a dac to be competitive with the dac. Smooth sounding on the cool side of neutral because bass is tight and quick. You can buy the metal remote if desired.

You got the sound of the Hegel right. Uncolored midrange, smooth highs, black background and great control. The build quality don't reflect the asking price but they are good value second hand. They also limit the usb input to 96khz for no good reason IMHO.

I love my H120.

Excellent review. Thanks

Thankyou for your excellent review Mr iiWi. I wonder if the lack of 'slam' in the base is due to the high damping factor of Hegel amps? It adds control but diminishes that 'slam' factor at the same time. It is a certain compromise in the sound spectrum? Keep up the good work and reviews!

Nice review. I've never listened to any Hegel product, but I find them interesting. From a value standpoint, I find the Hegel H90 lacking. For $1600 USD, you can buy a Rogue Audio Sphinx V3 with higher output thanks to the Nord Class D amp modules. It also includes a Phono input. The "Not invented Here" Hegel way of doing their own network stack shows up by limiting bit rate of streaming files. Also, lack of Roon support is a real let down. DLNA support doesn't support gapless playback. I really find Hegel's ideas about amplification interesting, but I think they price themselves above the competition and are a bit idiosyncratic with their digital stratey.

Thanks for the detailed review. Great work as usual. Also thanks for your comments on the comparison between Pi+digiOne and Hegel streamer. I am eyeing for H95, for the transparency and resolution as you described it. (but the upcoming CA Evo seems a good one too - and expensive).

Very clear cut explanation ... easy to understand even for a new comer ... Thanks a lot for your systematic review.

Nice review 👌

just subscribed to your channel excellent review. 😊😊😊

And the digital section is even better in the 95. I think that's a best buy from Hegel at the moment. If you use Audirvana+USB the 96KHz USB is just perfect for MQA 1st unfold. If you want to use qobuz and 96+ files, mconnect is the way to go :)

If you can't afford a hegel and/or want something smaller, lighter but less power, I suggest a Keces E40, which I also have. To me, it sounds like a mini hegel. That would make a nice review too, hint, hint.

Nice job, well done!

I really enjoy your reviews, thank you! (: What do you think of the Hegels headphone amp?

I bought and use it like you do with the 3000 $ DAC: Audio Alchemy DDP 1 and PS 5 Power Supply and the TRITON TWO + which takes over the bass with its 1200 watt bass amp down to 24 hz - so I get the best of all worlds. I got it 2.th. hand for only 932 $ §;-)

Thanks for your review. I own a H120. I compared the built-in DAC to the Denafrips Ares II and I do not think that the Ares II sounds better than the built-in DAC...

Thanks for the review. Appreciate it. However, for those considering buying, careful about Hegel. My experience has been nightmarish. Hegel may be the most hyped and overrated amplifier. I bought a brand new H190 for USD 4000 and was shocked at how underwhelming it was compared to even my Marantz PM 6006 which cost a thirteenth of the Hegel ! There was no base, no body, no weight, no fullness to the sound. For a 150 watt per channel amplifier it sounded shockingly underwhelming and under powered for the price. To make sure there are no 'weak links' in the chain, I spent an additional 6000 USD on accompanying equipment - Audioquest Niagra power conditioner, KEF LS 50 Meta speakers, 10 AWG OFC pure copper speaker cables, Audioquest banana plugs, Audioquest NRG Z3 power cable - all brand new (I don't buy used stuff ever) - to give the Hegel the best possible partnering equipment -but even with all this it sounded worse than a 300 USD amplifier. Even my SVS Soundbase amplifier at 500 USD sounded so much punchier, fuller and better. I tried the Hegel with 4 different speakers - KEF LS 50 Meta, Elac Debut F5, Wharfedale Diamond 10.2, Mission LX-2 - the last 3 of which I have been using for several years and that all sounded fantastic with my other amplifiers - and most importantly that are broken in. For streamer I used the ifi Zen Stream, Bluesound Node 2021 and H190's internal streamer - all with CAT 7 ethernet cable as well as wireless (for the ifi Zen Dac and Bluesound - just to compare). ALL digital and analog interconnects were Audioquest. The Hegel at half of it's full volume was hardly powerful enough with a stated power of 150 watts per channel ! Consider this - I never need to turn the 45 watts per channel Marantz PM 6006 up more than one fourth of it's full volume - and it produces beautiful warm, full, punchy sound - a joy to listen to - and the Marantz cost 1/13th - yes - one thirteenth of the Hegel H190. I can't believe the experience. I could not wait to return the Hegel and get my money back! It definitely seemed like a quality control issue since it is just not possible that this brand is so raved by all with this kind of sound - but - at this price such quality control issues is unacceptable and I do not trust the Hegel brand after this experience. This is because I have read people having the same issue with the Hegel H 190 even with multiple replacement new units. Please note - before you talk about room dimensions, power line and all the other variables - whatever I stated above is with all of these factors the same and just changing and comparing the amplifiers - so with everything the same there is no excuse of a 4000 dollar amp sounding the way it did and a 300 dollar amp being way better than it in all respects. I have seen reports of the exact same issue online.

You should get your hands on the Schiit Aegir. A friend has one as well as the H120 and much prefers the Aegir. Another post on a popular forum compared the Aegir to his H360 and says they are in the same league, sometimes still preferring the Aegir. Its ridiculously high VFM that is worth a look.

I like this model and the price. I just wish it had dac out. So I can use it as a source from time to time with my headphone amplifier. I would imagine it would sound even better with high-sensitivity speakers, like Klipsch.

19:07 - it is not surprise - coaxial is much worse than USB ;-) to complete this device: if you could install on the streamer i.e. Logitech Media Server and use the player directly on it.... otherwise Raspberry streamer with LMS is still the winner ;-) high resolution files require good CPU so probably Hegel simply "saved" some $ on this DAC btw 1600 GBP for this amp - it is NOT any bargain by any means get Rega Elex-R for half of this, add nice DAC (that will be way above this built in Hegel) and you have much better combo

Have you reviewed the Hegel H120? Would love to hear your ideas about it! Best regards!

Thanks a lot for this wonderful review! Is the headphone amplifier section as good as the rest of this amplifier? Trying to buy a H90 or H95. Thanks!

Great work My friend ! I was wanting to change My old Pioneer amplifier, i cassually own Also The smsl su9, so this review is just for me . Greetings from Argentina. Where are You from ?

I wonder if there’s an update to address the high- res choppiness. Doesn’t sound like Hegel would allow that.

Great review....kind of pricey, though, but worth it...

Great review for an unexpected piece of gear. Very detailed as always. However I would have to repeat myself. I bet there are many of us who would like you to tell us what music, artists, tracks you listened in order to come up with your analysis on sound. For example you talked about chesty vocals. We've no idea who you consider such a singer on what track. I wish you changed that.

Wondering if the Hegel H90 is adequate power for the KEF ls50's..... Enjoyed your in depth review

Hello and thank you...i agree with most of your review but what do you think of the headphone input? i find it over average but quite noisy...overall i second what you said, + convenient for occasional streaming listen (like i do) because it saves you the dac and streamer hardware space...and pretty strong analog section. SC

Sorry- I'm curious. Does damping factor become a villain with certain types of speakers?

Can you connect a Bluesound Node to it and hook the tv up to the Bluesound Node via HDMI eArc? Does that make it possible to control the volume with just 1 remote control (the one of the tv) and will you see the volume go up and/or down on the display of the Hegel amplifier?

Great review as usual:-) I was wondering how long you'd keep the Cyrus... But: Why no non-digital version of Hegel amps? Seems a waste to buy features I'd use my external streamer and DACs for. Digital gets outdated. The analog amps are good for 20 year service, especially since it's already has problems with high resolution Qobuz streams!

Just bought a H90 to my CSS Criton TDx 1 speakers, i also have a topping E50 with ifi ipower. What do you think about that dac comparison? havet gotten the H90 yet.

You are right on point my man. I also have the hegal h90 and I have been wondering if adding a power amp from a different brand is a good idea. I am thinking of the iota P3. What do you suggest?.

I'm still using a Pana receiver SA HE200 130 wpc and it is much more powerful than $600 receivers today. I just need a BT device t ocontrol music from my phone...maybe a SMSL DAC...do you think I need a DAC? The Pana does 24/192...

With the USB being limited to 24 bit 96hz (on H95, H120 and H190) and other Inputs being bale to receive 24 bit 192 Hz: which inout is the best to use when connecting to PC and other digital sources?

Does anyone else here find an audible difference between tidal and qobuz 16/44khz files?

Great review! Do you use it with the KEF LS50? Is it ok? It is enough power? Thanks!

is the sound involving and enjoyable?

Can you please give us your opinion on the pairing of the H90 with your KEF LS50's?

Does it have electronic or resistance potentiometer?

Just out of interest... what is the amplifier circuit topology? ClassA / classAB? Xx

The Hegel is a very good piece of electronic, but I cannot recommend it to any of my friend simply because it has no App interface nor Roon integration (other than Airplay). For an average consumer, a NAD M10 or Unity Atom will be a better choice because they have seamless software and hardware integration an Roon support.

How would a h90 pair with Kef R3s?

Kako uspijevate slušati Qobuz? Meni neće ni preko VPN-a...

Why people sale it? Not really fits in requirements?

Too bad it is way too expensive.

Very very poor streamer IMHO. No App, No Roon. Using Bubble UpnP no Radio full "data" like Radio Paradise, for example. With M-Connect that Hegel push as "the only APP you can use", no HD file with Qobuz, for another example. Well, if you have some "tips" I will be glad to hear it but do not talk me about PC and "minimerver" because this is a "one4all" device and should be ready in 2021 to stream and to be associated with an APP, even one not Hegel like "Primare" (ROON compatible) or "Peachtree" or "Dali" etc. Good amp, "basic DAC for the money" and very very poor streamer.