Hegel H2 Power Amp Mini-Review

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by purr1n, Jan 25, 2017.

  1. tyan

    tyan Friend

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    Thank you for the review and the pictures Marvey! Luckily Hegel is cheaper here in Norway. I've heard the H80 on a pair of Canton Chrono SL floorstanders. Alu/manganese tweeter, alu woofers. No thin or particularly bright sound there. I think it's more down to speakers being all over the place frequency response wise and synergy like you said. (I've read a shitload of anechoic measurements of speakers out of interest and looking for neutral pairs for mixing). Midrange Klipsch speakers are very popular here btw. :rolleyes:
     
  2. Nbees

    Nbees Acquaintance

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    That's a lot of amps u r sampling. I think Hegel has gotten pretty good press, but one thing that puts me off on them is that they represent and price as Norway and R actually China. Of course a lot of stuff is China, and that's no bad thing. Only that most people perceive it as a Norway designed and made brand.
     
  3. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    Hegel is a little bit like the Schiit of Europe. They are trying hard to make solid no-nonsense products but with a fresh approach and all the money spent on the inside. I don't like all their products but I dare say some of them can be compared to gear costing 5x as much. If you have the chance give them an audition, their DACs are very nice as well.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Disappointing to hear they are made in China considering the price of an H20.
     
  5. Nbees

    Nbees Acquaintance

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    IExcept schitt is way cheaper and US factory. I have heard Hegel is pretty good, although not exactly in my range. I anticipate that the new schitt vidar will show that solid old school principles on power amp design can produce very good results, and that the new amps coming soon from PS audio and CIA audio will do same but with newer technology class D power stages. All can be had with 30 day trial and r USA built. I've been a big Rega fan for a long time. I like their sources a lot, their amps r good too but I don't think on the same level as their tables and players.
     
  6. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @Nbees

    Not everyone on SBAF is a US citizen or sees US built as an advantage. But I have nothing against Schiit either for that matter.
     
  7. Nbees

    Nbees Acquaintance

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    Agree, my point was mainly Hegel is mid to high level sector price wise, whereas schitt is much lower priced. Price wise hegel bears comparison to the better uk firms. There is no designator for quality in sound or build based on geographies, its more about honesty. Hegel did not want a buyer to know, putting the company name and Norway on the gear when it is made in China, whereas some other companies have transparency regarding where they build stuff.
     
  8. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @Nbees

    They are designed and engineered in Norway but manufactured in China, I don't think there's any great scam or dishonesty from Hegel's part there. It's very common and to be expected these days, there is no sticker that says "Made in Norway" on Hegel either. If people in the US have somehow come to believe that Hegel actually was assembled in Norway and are now surprised to find that they aren't I think that's a pretty US specific issue. I think very few people in Europe believe that Hegel are assembled in Norway. Norway is a tiny country, only about 5 million people. Doing international manufacturing and shipping in Norway is hard, they're not even part of the EU. As for quality... I think I would trust a good China assembled amp over a Norwegian assembled one. :rolleyes:

    I think when you bring a new brand to the US the US press tends to go a bit bonkers and pick up on what they can, so in the case of Hegel they start waxing lyrically about Norway and Fjords and Arctic Lights and what not because it sounds good and probably sell magazines. In the EU people are a bit more mellow and realize that a tiny company like Hegel probably didn't assemble all those electronics themselves in an apartment in central Oslo.

    But by all means, if you're in the US give your money to Schiit. I get that and they do make nice stuff. If you're based in the EU companies like Hegel, Metrum, Aqua HiFi etc can make more sense. They're all good products really, it's more about system synergy and taste.
     
  9. Nbees

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    Yea the press here did play it up and a lot of buzz was generated. I read today a list of the ten Happiest nations Almost all of them were scandanavian!
    I only have schitt headphone gear, my stereo proper is mostly rega, I might get a separate pre/power which Rega doesn't make anymore. Looking at Ice and hypex based amps, or possibly a solid class AB design. Tubes and class A, already done it. The issues I ran into were the current production tubes aren't all that great sounding or reliable, and good old ones r pricey, plus performance changes over life of tube or anytime u re-tube, with class A it was like having a space heater in the room and you had to "warm them up", but do like the sound. These days I want something that sounds good straight away and does so consistently and reliably.
     
  10. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    US built doesn't really present me with any sort of advantage, I mean look at US built cars. Ford managed to up their QC problems a bit over the years at least.

    The easiest way to know if Hegel has QC problems would be to find out their warranty/return rate and comparing an American company like Schiit - Information likely none of us are going to have. I know Schiit handles any warranty issues with ease but it's not like their build track record is 100% perfect. People all around the world make mistakes, it just happens.
     
  11. jelt2359

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    Personally, I assume everything is built in China. Certainly it's probably true that almost everything has parts or raw materials that passes through China at some point. My iPhone is certainly built there and it is one fine piece of kit. Doesn't mean Apple is any less of an American company since just like Hegel they handle their own design and engineering.

    I don't understand why this is still a negative- the Chinese have now basically become the world's factory, with cost and quality options to meet all levels of needs. They are well-trained, have good processes, and are well-disciplined. All these things tend to come about when you run a successful business with years of learning and iteration and improvement regardless of country.

    Toyota manufactures in South East Asia as well, and they are the gold standard for manufacturing. What does this mean? Are they "cheating" somehow? Does this make them a non-Japanese company? All I know is that they make great cars- whereever it is manufactured.
     
  12. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    They manufactured cars in UK as well which were horrible (by Toyota's standards). Whether a piece of gear is made in China or in some other country usually does not matter in terms of quality.
    With the exception of made in Japan. Japan made stuff is simply of better quality. Period.
     
  13. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I am afraid that if you don't want to buy anything manufactured in China, well, you won't be buying much, audio or otherwise.
     
  14. Daveheart

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    While I don't have any problem with goods manufactured in China, I generally prefer that companies are clear about where their products are manufactured (wherever that may be).
     
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yup. It's being straight up about things. Hegel seems to imply everything Norwegian, seemingly taking advantage of the fact that many high-end audio companies assemble their stuff in their respective home countries.

    Apple is different from Hegel in two respects: 1) They are transparent where the iPhone is manufactured; 2) The iPhone is arguably much more cutting edge than the Hegel H20, but it doesn't cost $5750. There is the expectation that companies who make stuff in China are able to make things for less and pass those savings on to the consumer. I am appreciative of the fact that Apple makes iPhone in China. I am not appreciative of the fact that Hegel makes their overpriced amp in China and isn't upfront about it.

    As for negatives and positives, these are consumer decisions, a matter of personal choice. Some may wish to support jobs at home (heck, the Germans and Japanese have always been very much like this), others may be concerned about the environment, or wanting China to play fair (allowing foreign investment, products, and ideas into China without restrictions and with protections), or not wanting China to get strong for fear of them taking over the rest of the Pacific Rim and rewriting history that all of it belonged to them centuries ago. And so on.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2017
  16. TwoEars

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    Absolutely fantastic but overpriced? This is getting a bit weird.
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Said same thing about Focal Utopia (price is stupid).. Not weird at all.

    Also, take into account context of statement: recent realization that Hegel amps were made in China and comparison to iPhone's relatively low price.

    I'm more willing to pay more for Hegel if I knew Norwegian dudes assembled it. Probably not fair for me to think this way, but It is what it is.
     
  18. TwoEars

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    Do you have any references for calling the H20 overpriced based on sound quality? In the case of Utopia I can relate because of the way a modded HD800 performs for instance.

    Also - please don't compare Hegel to Apple. It's apples and oranges. One is a tiny, tiny company. The other is one of the biggest electronic brands around.
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    OK, I'll compare Hegel to EC. We thought about having China build the Black Widow. If we went down this route, the BW would have been priced at $850 down from $1289, with the words put on the chassis, "Designed in Calabasas CA, Assembled in China". We decided not to because it would tarnish the EC brand as known for being made in USA. We didn't want to be all sneaky about shit.

    If EC made stuff in China, EC wouldn't charge the same, we'd pass down the savings to the customer.

    Hope this comparison is Apples to Apples enough for you.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2017
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes. This:

    20170327_093123.jpg

    or @ohhgourami's Krell

    Keep in mind that "overpriced" doesn't mean it will stop me personally from buying it. I don't have a problem calling stuff as it is, even for gear that I think is really good. Heck, my TT is stupidly overpriced, and so are my MC carts. Don't take the term "overpriced" personally.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2017

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