Hegel H200 issues with volume levels

[Daneway]

Hi Members,

Just registered for the forum after being a passive viewer for months. Now I have an issue with an amp I figured I'd get myself sorted and register.

So - a bit about me:

I've been into hifi for around 45 years starting out with a Garrard SP25 MkIII vinyl spinner with Goldring G800 cartridge and a Rotel RA611 amp driving Celestion Ditton 15 speakers. Over the years, things have changed of course and following the trends and technologies have upgraded the gear (just a few times!) and recently I thought I'd add an aging Hegel H200 to my collection after auditioning one a few years back.

I've been using a beautiful Musical Fidelity A3CR pre/power combo for the last ten years and love them, but figured I'd try something with a bit more oomph after treating myself to a pair of ATC SCM11s. My system includes an Exposure 2010 CDP, a Michell Syncrodek with Tabriz arm and Goldring 1042 cartridge and a Bluesound Node 2i for streaming.

Volumes with the Musical Fidelity gear are fantastic (when needed) but since installing the Hegel, I have to crank the volume up to nearly max to get room filling volume. Hegel don't publish and won't divulge the input sensitivity of the amp, but suggest that with a standard CD input (2V) the volume levels would be speaker-exploding which it's not. So I am now stuck with a dilemma, do I really have an issue or is this just how the Hegel is or do I find a service agent and bite the bullet?

Anyone else out there with Hegel gear with similar experiences or pointers?

Many thanks.

Daneway.

 

[RoA]

Unfortunately I can't help. The amp probably needs checking. - 200 Watts a channel should be plenty even for a low sensitivity speaker like the small ATC. Ultimately loudness is limited by cone and cabinet size.

 

[Daneway]

Many thanks RoA.
Hegel said that at maximum volume the amp should "explode the SCMs" (I quote), which it certainly doesn't. Apparently the H200 at volume setting 85 is at max. The rest of the range 86-99 activates an additional 6dB gain stage apparently.
To help determine whether the amp has a fault or it has a lower input sensitivity, I setup the following amps to provide some kind of reference point.

A. Musical Fidelity A3C~R pre/power combo
B. McIntosh MA6300
C. Rega Elicit R
D. Roksan Blak
E. Hegel H200

Speakers in all cases were ATC SCM11s.

A reference track was played via my Exposure CD input for all amps, each in turn, at maximum volume setting but with an attentuator between CD player and the amp, to prevent speaker/ear/neighbour damage! All of the amps except my Hegel reached between 82 and 87db. The Hegel managed 72db. Of course it’s not a scientific exercise but the 10 db difference results in a perceived doubling of volume and concerns me that I have a less than optimum amp!

Cheers,
Daneway.

 

[Al ears]

Many thanks RoA.
Hegel said that at maximum volume the amp should "explode the SCMs" (I quote), which it certainly doesn't. Apparently the H200 at volume setting 85 is at max. The rest of the range 86-99 activates an additional 6dB gain stage apparently.
To help determine whether the amp has a fault or it has a lower input sensitivity, I setup the following amps to provide some kind of reference point.

A. Musical Fidelity A3C~R pre/power combo
B. McIntosh MA6300
C. Rega Elicit R
D. Roksan Blak
E. Hegel H200

Speakers in all cases were ATC SCM11s.

A reference track was played via my Exposure CD input for all amps, each in turn, at maximum volume setting but with an attentuator between CD player and the amp, to prevent speaker/ear/neighbour damage! All of the amps except my Hegel reached between 82 and 87db. The Hegel managed 72db. Of course it’s not a scientific exercise but the 10 db difference results in a perceived doubling of volume and concerns me that I have a less than optimum amp!

Cheers,
Daneway.

it certainly sounds like it, get it checked would be my suggestion

 

[Gray]

Am I right to say your Hegel has both XLR and RCA inputs?
And right to assume you're going into the RCAs?

 

[nopiano]

The rest of the range 86-99 activates an additional 6dB gain stage apparently.

That’s what it appears you need, in order to match the others. What happens when you turn it up?

Does the Hegel have an input level matching adjustment that might have previously been activated? Are all the line level inputs the same?