Best stereo amplifiers 2019: budget and premium

[What Hi-Fi?]

If you want great sound from a separates hi-fi system, you need to choose a top quality stereo amplifier.

Best stereo amplifiers 2019: budget and premium : Read more

 

[davidf]

Massive lack of Hegel amps (particularly as one reviewer rated the H390 above two more expensive amps on that list), as well as YBA and Norma Audio which would easily compete with most on that list.

 

[Dadas]

Massive lack of Hegel amps (particularly as one reviewer rated the H390 above two more expensive amps on that list), as well as YBA and Norma Audio which would easily compete with most on that list.

Davidf,

I wanted to thank you very much for your post. Thanks to it, I did some research on Hegel and now I am a very happy owner of Hegel H390 to match with my B&W 804 D3s. That is a match made in heaven and it would not have happened hadn't I read your post.

Having done all my research and demo sessions, I am indeed surprised this amp is not on What HiFi list.

Adam

 

[davidf]

Davidf,

I wanted to thank you very much for your post. Thanks to it, I did some research on Hegel and now I am a very happy owner of Hegel H390 to match with my B&W 804 D3s. That is a match made in heaven and it would not have happened if I didn't read your post.

Having done all my research and demo sessions, I am indeed surprised this amp is not on What HiFi list.

Adam

No problem Adam. One of my regulars is about to add one to his LS50s.

I don’t know if Hegel have been supplying to WHF for reviews, but they certainly should be on everyone’s shortlist, even if the onboard DAC isn’t going to get any use! The new H120 (replaced the Rost) is a corker for the money.

 

[Dadas]

The DACs in both H590 and H390 get a lot of praise in reviews. I tried it with Qobuz and Tidal. It is a bit of a hassle to get it connected to get the full resolution, one needs to use USB connection, but once you do, it works really well. I also have a Chromecast Audio and this supports MQA and FLAC up to 96kHz, which is fine for some convenient music consumption when I do not want to get my laptop connected.
Not only this Hegel sounds good, it is also compact and elegant. I really recommend it.

 

[Kestutis]

To correct a mistake (I was very disappointed to find out it is a mistake): the NAD D3020 V2 should not be described as "USB: Yes", as it is not an USB input, just a service port to update the firmware. I would go for it in a heartbeat should it have an USB input, and the NAD D 3045 is not as recommended. Sad.

[And yes, I did register just to point this out.]

 

[bobdupuy]

If you want great sound from a separates hi-fi system, you need to choose a top quality stereo amplifier.

Best stereo amplifiers 2019: budget and premium : Read more
I was also surprised that the IOTAVX SA3 amp was not mentioned. It has received rave reviews in the US and Canada and it is made in ENGLAND.

 

[OldHand]

The Norma Audio 70 amp has had some fantastic reviews recently