Hegel H90 , compare to Naim : how about sound character?

Somewhat the same experience here with a H390. Neutral, powerful as in relaxing on high volume. Lots of good stuff. But in the end I felt it was bit boring. Not sure what makes an amp more fun or boring but having compared some amps including Hegel to Naim I always prioritised music presentation above all even though I’d love some more power and headroom at times. You never get it all do you.

I think ‘boring’ is actually quite fair, but as always it depends on the other bits in the chain. Maybe my ears changed as I got older, but I like the more refined presentation. You can’t have it all, quite.

To have in mind many claims 590 is a different beast compared to 390. More “analogue” is wha’t I’ve heard so I’d probably like it better :slightly_smiling_face: I’m glad we all like different things. World would be super boring otherwise.

There’s plenty of people who like listening to their kit. I suppose, Hegel fans too. Not to mention the tin enclosure with open vent and careless manufacturing which isn’t worth the high asking price

Naim on the other hand tends to be (for me at least) for getting closer to the music and for the hi fi to get out of the way

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for built quality, I choose Naim

Er… Haven’t we been through that before?

image

Deja vu.

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So is this thread

Build Quality secondary, sound quality first.

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does Hegel have forum like Naim ?

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Certainly.

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That is a true ‘subjective view’… :sunglasses:

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What? Do you mean other people make amplifiers too? Well, I never!

Joking aside, as always in terms of comparison, there is no substitute for your ears and comparison demos.

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Those who make it to the transcendal stage can be found in the Music Room.

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I auditioned a SN3 against the Hegel H390 at home one after the other. I was extremely close to pulling the trigger on a H390. Its a very good amplifier and the convenience of a one box solution with DAC and streaming capability adds to the appeal. But I found the sound so refined and linear to the point of being lacklustre and a little boring, mirroring others comments in this thread. Also, the DAC in the H390, IMO was just getting pipped by my Mojo which was a bit of a let down overall. Knowing that to upgrade I’d need to add another box which defeated the whole ‘one box’ concept. The PRaT from SN3, musical engagement, speed and bass control never fails to get my foot tapping and put a smile on my face. I just didn’t get that with H390.

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I’ll look at both internals and external (aesthetics, build quality and material) before I consider owning an expensive hifi equipment. I won’t bother listening to the piece although it may be reported to sound stellar if it doesn’t look good to me. To me, the Hegel looks cheap with its plasticky build quality on the exterior, interior is another matter. I understand that sound quality is the priority, and there are other options that provide this as well but with higher build quality and elegant looks. Some differently better as well as what Joy_Boy has found in the above post.

To each his own.

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You are asking to thousands of people to express a personal taste on something which is really measured only from their souls and not from their ears.
In personal point of you I can say that In my life I found a lot of system which are, IMHO, better than naim, but I never thought to change my direction because none of them sounded lively and “crunchy” as naim is sounding. I never searched bell and whistle and I didn’t search the last detail in the record, I always wanted direct music connection with an articulated rythmic low end and a concrete realism. This is for me naim amps. I auditioned Hegel more than once and I have never been tempted to sell my naim.

now I know it is huge differences between Naim and Hegel, so I still prefer Naim

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