HEGEL H190 Amplifier
A manufacturer’s representative recently dropped off a brand new Hegel H190 amplifier to Haas Entertainment. The goal was to power a pair of extremely exclusive, and large, Brodmann, VC7, concert-hall, loudspeakers.
The 2×150 watt error cancelling amplifier prevents distortion and preserves the details and dynamic range in the original music signal by engaging a proprietary technology called SoundEngine2. For those new to Hegel, SoundEngine2 is an enhanced version of Hegel’s “feed-forward” amplifier topology that, according to chief designer Bent Holter, provides increased dynamic range with a lower noise floor. SoundEngine2 has another benefit too. It raises the damping factor, a lot.
This amplifier has a ridiculously high damping factor of over 4000! What is damping factor you ask? Damping Factor is a ratio: load impedance (loudspeaker plus cables) divided by the amplifier output impedance. Damping Factor is very important for low frequency sound, especially between 10Hz to 400Hz. The Active Damping Control acts lowering the amplifier’s output impedance, compensating for the added resistance of the cable. The end result is you get an amplifier, rated at 150 Watts per channel, that is powerful enough to drive virtually any loudspeaker you can get your hands on, even the big ones.
This powerful piece of equipment features DLNA capabilities that allow it to stream music from any platform including Apple’s AirPlay. That makes setup simple. Just plug in your loudspeakers and start streaming music. Of course streaming music is worthless if you don’t have a high-end DAC. It has that. The high-end digital to analog converter ensures precision decoding of the sound file. This means you don’t need to spend a thousand-plus dollars on a CD player to get the best D to A conversion. It also means you can use ultra-high end audio formats like FLAC and actually hear a difference. There will be a software upgrade coming that will add MQA and Roon to the H190. For convenience there’s also a 6.3mm headphone jack on the front.
The amp is finished in beautiful, black, anodized, aluminium and the readout is displayed via OLED panel in the front. Power and beauty combined with high damping and precision decoding technology, make the H190 the perfect choice to power our Brodmann VC7 speakers. The H190 retails for $4000 but there’s a $2000 version called the H90 that boasts the same build quality, AirPlay & DAC. It has less power.
Both units are available now. You can listen to a Hegel at Haas Entertainment in Culver City.
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