CS93 said:
Seems we are going off topic.
i feel a home audition is the only way to test a component especially in my case because I want to try the Hegel and Naim kit with my Proac D20R ( coming in a few weeks
). These components cost upwards of £3000 so I feel taking my time is essential.
I originally heard the D20r with Sugden but I want more of a all in one which Naim and Hegel can offer.
My original advice to home audition is still valid even if i never did it myself. There is no one on this forum that can disagree and no amount of discredit can change it because its true. Im sorry if my advice does not suit everyones agenda but heres my run down for you.
If you can still find my original review of my then new hegel h160 i mentioned how different it sounded at home. My h360 also sounded different in shop testing atc scm40s. I found the bass not very good in shop compared to my house. Every room is different. Ive been lucky in that regard.
Having lived with hegel amps over a year i am in a very strong position to give you some solid advice.
Hegel h160/360
You will get very good bass control and low distortion with a very good dac. Infact at first it may even sound like somethings missing from your test tracks. I promise nothing is missing but what your hearing is a total lack of distortion that is present in some other amps. Once you have acclimatized to this you will be able to really appreciate all the hidden details and subtle stuff going on. You do really need time with the amp to get to grips with this trust me.
There is not much difference in sound quality between the h360 and the h160 on first listen except 360 has little more top and bottom. But over longer periods the strengths of 360 become more apparent. If you like to listen at party volume for longer periods then the h360 will be the better option.
The qualities will only become apparent over longer
Period and this is why I say you need a home demo.
When i demod the hegel.h160 all i wanted was a better amp than roksan kandy with an in built dac which i could easy hear it was in the shop demo. BUT when i got the amp at home it was a revelation in sound quality compared to the shop demo - THIS is why i say you need to have a home demo -especially since you are going to compare 2 different makes of amps.
Amps are hard to hear the differences over short time and normally the one with higher colour/distortion sounds better on first listen. Its only over longer periods that true strengths and weakness are appreciated. So again this is why i said you need a home demo over weekend at least. So this way you can listen in a relaxed atmosphere with no pressure.
Imo hegel are the best (or one of the best)makes of amp to go for if you are driving passive speakers (because of the sound engine tech)but you can get even better sound quality by going active set up and save money in the process.
Any speaker manufacturer that makes passive and active will openly admit the higher sound quality over the passive version.
So if not active, id choose a hegel
This is my opinion though and noone can tell you - only you will know when you hear it and compare them.
Let us know how it goes.