Hegel H95 review

[RoA]

Guttenbergs review of the above

View: https://youtu.be/Y0TGT9Yhzbk

I previously owned the H90 and H120 before going the active route and then buying the H95. A lovely amplifier that seems to play equally well with different speakers so it is easy to build a modest system around it

 

[robdmarsh]

I previously owned the H90 and H120 before going the active route and then buying the H95.

That's a bit of circuitous journey to say the least. So you went bottom of the range Hegel to middle Hegel to actives and then second bottom of the Hegel range

 

[RoA]

That's a bit of circuitous journey to say the least. So you went bottom of the range Hegel to middle Hegel to actives and then second bottom of the Hegel range

No. I went bottom of range to the 120 which is 2nd tier (if you leave the Roest out which is not available anymore). I then changed to actives and a year or so later bought the H95 which does 90% of the H120 at about 30% less cost. Diminishing returns.

To give more perspective, the LS50 Meta Wireless probably rated at 80% of what the Hegel H95 can do with a speaker like the Quad S2's I had at a similar total cost.

The B&W Formation Duo's I would rate slightly lower but at nearly twice the cost of the Meta's (and the Hegel/Quad's) when I bought them they fared rather badly other than outright loudness which wasn't useful for me.

I could have gone higher up the Hegel range and listened to the 190 but for me it wasn't sensible the extra.

If I had a much bigger room then yes.

 

[plastic penguin]

They always seem to get good reviews. Yet to hear one.

 

[robdmarsh]

How did you find Quad S2? I heard some Quad S4 on the end of Atoll 200 se, a highly rated amp. The ribbon tweeter was too dominant for my taste and sounded detached from the rest of the frequency range.

 

[RoA]

How did you find Quad S2? I heard some Quad S4 on the end of Atoll 200 se, a highly rated amp. The ribbon tweeter was too dominant for my taste and sounded detached from the rest of the frequency range.

I personally think it's an absolutely superb standmount for the money and it is built gorgeously too. - There is, as you say, a very slight lift up top but never to a degree that was intrusive for me, certainly not to the extent JJyagi portrayed on his YouTube channel (also a Hegel fan). I am very sensitive to bad or disjointed high frequencies by the way. One of the best speakers imho unless spending more. Bass is super tuneful too.

 

[plastic penguin]

I personally think it's an absolutely superb standmount for the money and it is built gorgeously too. - There is, as you say, a very slight lift up top but never to a degree that was intrusive for me, certainly not to the extent JJyagi portrayed on his YouTube channel (also a Hegel fan). I am very sensitive to bad or disjointed high frequencies by the way. One of the best speakers imho unless spending more. Bass is super tuneful too.

I would love to hear Quad speakers but there's no retailers of Quad nearby.

Quad generally get overlooked by suppliers and prospective owners.

 

[davidf]

Just a reminder that the H95, H120, and H190 are essentially the same quality, using the same digital and streaming boards - the difference is their power output.

The biggest quality jump is between any two Hegels is between the H190 and H390, as the H390 is based on the H590. So the best way to look at the Hegel amplifier range is in three stages - the H95/H120/H190 as one stage, the H390 as a midrange Hegel, and the H590 as the top tier.

Choosing between the 95/120/190 is about matching to the needs of the speaker being used.

 

[Al ears]

I would love to hear Quad speakers but there's no retailers of Quad nearby.

Quad generally get overlooked by suppliers and prospective owners.

Not me, my whole AV speaker package is Quad...

 

[plastic penguin]

Not me, my whole AV speaker package is Quad...

Nice one.