To Hans Wetzel,
I just came across “The Lonely Audiophile” and can certainly relate to my wife’s tolerance of my hobby and the overall rejuvenation a session can provide. I appreciated your advice in the past and am hoping I can again elicit an opinion if possible. I am considering replacing my Hegel Music Systems H200 with the H300. My question is will I notice much improvement in my setup? The amp is connected to an Oppo UDP-205 via XLR [analog interconnects] and Dynaudio Focus 260 [loudspeakers] via a Nordost Frey loom. [I have a] 20’ x 20’ listening area. Any insights would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Hans.
Charles Brehm
United States
I have never heard the H200 integrated amp, unfortunately. After reviewing an H300, owning an H360, and having recently completed the review of Hegel’s new flagship integrated, the H590, which will be published on SoundStage! Hi-Fi on October 15, I will say that Hegel’s integrated amps have definitely improved over the years. However, if you plan to keep using the Oppo as your digital source, I’m not sure how much improvement you’ll see from swapping out your H200 for an H300, since you’ll be foregoing the H300’s built-in DAC. I can really only recommend making the jump up to the H360, as it uses Hegel’s SoundEngine2 error-correction circuit, as compared to the H200 and H300, which each have the original SoundEngine circuitry. That, combined with its improved built-in DAC -- which may well better the performance of your Oppo -- and secondary power supply (which the H300 does not benefit from) make the H360 a bigger jump up in performance, to my thinking. . . . Hans Wetzel
