H400 Integrated Amplifier

The first model we want to explore is the newer H400, affectionately nicknamed the “Streamliner” by Hegel. This amplifier is what many music lovers might call a “Goldilocks” product, offering the perfect balance of performance and features. We feel it’s one of Hegel's most impressive products in their lineup.

Packed with all the core technologies that have made Hegel famous, the H400 also introduces the improved SoundEngine 2 technology, enhancing its predecessor's performance. Replacing the popular H390, the H400 delivers 250 watts into 8 ohms and is stable down to 2 ohms—an impressive feat that ensures it can power virtually any speaker with ease, living up to Hegel’s reputation for robust amplification.

The front panel features only the essentials: volume control, input selection, a large, easy-to-see power button, a headphone jack, and a nice OLED display—all staying true to Hegel’s signature clean aesthetic.

H95 Integrated Amplifier

While the H400 is extremely impressive for it’s price, it may not be for everyone, especially if you are on a tighter budget. The good news is that Hegel has options at multiple price points, so you can find which one makes the most sense for your needs and your wallet. Let’s take a look at their entry point, the H95, which is priced at $1,925 (January 2025).

The H95 looks almost identical to the H400 but has a smaller footprint with a headphone jack on the front. It steps down in power and delivers 60 watts into 8 ohms. While that may not sound like a lot on paper, Hegel’s design philosophy ensures those watts pack more punch than you’d expect. Thanks to its robust power supply and ample filtering capacitance, the H95 can drive speakers typically reserved for high-powered amplifiers. With 2-ohm stability, it also offers greater flexibility in speaker selection, making it a versatile choice for a wide range of setups.

H120 Integrated Amplifier

Moving up the line, the H120 at $3,000 (January 2025) supports the same way to stream your music to it as the H95, which are Apple Airplay, Spotify Connect, and uPnP. Additionally, the H120 is Control4 ready and has IP control. It also raises the power level to 75 watts into 8-ohms. As with all other Hegel amplifiers, the H120 is 2-ohm stable. The H120 also adds a balanced input to the mix, improving compatibility with more components. This integrated amp is for folks who want the added streaming support and need slightly more power than the H95.

H190v Integrated Amplifier

Next up, at $4,200 (January 2025) is the H190v integrated amp. The original Hegel H190, nicknamed “More Music,” is Hegel’s best-selling product ever! The new H190v improves on this exciting model even more. The H190v adds a high-quality built-in moving magnet phono stage to the mix, bringing up the capability a notch or two.

This is the only integrated amplifier in Hegel’s lineup with a built-in phono stage. So, for avid turntable enthusiasts, the H190v doesn’t need a separate phono stage to enjoy your turntable! But remember, for moving coil cartridges, you will still need a step-up amplifier or transformer. This built-in phono stage is a scaled-down version of Hegel’s V10 phono stage, which we will cover below.

In our testing, we thought every turntable we used with the H190v sounded fantastic and we’d bet that you might decide that a separate phono stage is unnecessary. Power output is rated at 150 watts into 8-ohms with the same 2-ohm stability as the other Hegel amplifiers. This is more than enough power for most speakers. The H190v also has a 6.3mm headphone jack with its dedicated headphone amplifier. For many people, the H190v will be all you need. If you’re looking for something with a bit more power than the first two options and want a photostage built in, the H190v is a clear winning at this price point.

H600 Integrated Amplifier

The Hegel H600 is a true powerhouse reference-level integrated amplifier (we’re surprised they didn't nickname this one!). With 303 watts available at 8-ohms, 2-ohms stability, and a dampening factor over 4000, there isn’t a speaker on this planet that the H600 won’t power to more than satisfying levels.

It offers all of the streaming capabilities of the H400 but adds a new Hegel Bit-Perfect DAC specifically for the H600. This DAC offers pure audio fidelity without oversampling or resampling the digital stream. And the DAC section has its own separate power supply to isolate it from the rest of the circuitry completely. This is excellent news for music purists as your music will be reproduced precisely how it was recorded and mastered. The H600 is a true dual mono amplifier design, so the two channels work independently internally. Even the volume attenuator circuits come from the new P30A reference preamplifier. Trust us; this is about as close as one can get to the benefits of separate components while keeping everything in one chassis, all while keeping with the simple-to-use, clean-looking, and well-appointed look and feel that Hegel is known for. This is end game in one box!

P20 Preamplifier

For fans of separates, Hegel has you covered as well. The P20 preamp is classed as Hegel’s reference entry-level preamplifier. It gives you a significant taste of Hegel’s reference P30A at a price much more affordable for a high-level preamp. It features 1 XLR and 4 RCA inputs (one of them being a fixed home theater bypass) and has XLR and RCA outputs for power amplifier connection, plus a record fixed gain RCA output. The front panel is simple and clean with a power button, input dial, and volume dial. The P20 is just a great-sounding preamplifier at a great price!

H20 Power Amplifier

The H20 power amplifier is a scaled-down version of the reference H30 amplifier. It features the same SoundEngine technology as Hegel’s integrated amplifiers, meaning lower distortion. At 200 watts at 8 ohms and utilizing the DualAmp and DualPower circuits Hegel is famous for, the H20 delivers. With a dampening factor of over 1,000 and utilizing 20 bipolar transistors, the H20 is a true reference-level power amplifier. XLR, RCA inputs, and high-quality binding posts make the H20 easy to install and live with. The H20 is for those wanting the best Hegel can provide in a separate power amplifier but feel that your speakers and room don’t necessarily need the 1,100-watt behemoth that is the H30A!

P30A Preamplifier

The P30A Preamplifier is Hegel's best design to date. It is a true reference design that takes the excellent P20 and turns it up to 11! The look has been updated to match the front panel logo of the H30A, but overall, the P30A and P20 look quite similar. The music signal only passes through two transistors and the volume attenuator. The transistors used are hand-picked matched pairs guaranteed to be as close to a matched pair as humanly possible. The volume attenuator is designed explicitly for the P30A and is of the highest quality.

SoundEngine, DualAmp, and DualPower are in full force, and the P30A is fully balanced from input to output. This means distortion is nonexistent with the Hegel circuitry in place and the dual differential design. The P30A also adds another XLR input to the rear panel for added component compatibility, as many very high-end components use XLR. We have heard the P30A preamplifier paired with the H30A several times at shows, and every time, we get the super black background and ultra-clean sound that makes music almost hauntingly real. Even if you are shopping for one of Hegel’s lower-priced integrated amplifiers, it is worth hearing the P30A with the H30A at least once in your life! It is that good.

H30A Power Amplifier

The H30A power amplifier is a true engineering marvel and a freak of nature! For one, it’s huge! It weighs well over 100 lbs, so bring friends to lift it. It is specified at a crazy 1,100 watts into 8 ohms in a mono load and well over 300 watts into two channels and is 1 ohm stable! This means fans of hard-to-drive Planar or low-sensitivity multi-driver speakers need not worry. It features 2000 VA dual mono transformers and 270,000 μF stiffening capacitors so that nothing will faze the H30A.

This is an extreme, end-game power amplifier with all the Hegel trimmings. SoundEngine, DualPower, DualAmp, and Organic Sound circuits and philosophies are all at their best here. The amplifier is large at 9.5” x 17” x 22” and uses 56 bipolar transistors in its design. XLR and RCA inputs are available for either stereo or mono operation with a switch to go between the modes. The binding posts are in a super high-quality twist lock style and are designed for today’s high-end speaker cables. Think of the Hegel H30A as an ultra-high-end amplifier that can hang with the best out there but is priced lower than many extreme reference class amplifiers on the market.

V10 Phono Preamplifier

The Hegel V10 phono preamplifier came from Hegel’s thinking that they were experts at amplification, and the phono stage is an amplification circuit. Hegel knew that with their knowledge, they could build a natural, neutral, and dynamic-sounding phono stage, so that is exactly what they did. At 2.4" x 8.3" x 11" and weighing some 5 lbs, the V10 is small and easy to live with. Hegel used JFETS for the circuits in the V10 which are renowned for their sound quality when used in a phono stage. The moving coil circuits use four JFET transistors in parallel to ensure very low noise. The power supply uses an E-core transformer housed in its own isolated chamber within the V10. All of the MM and MC adjustments are made with dip switches on the back panel of the V10. XLR and RCA outputs are supported. We wish Hegel had followed the trend of front-mounted controls for loading since that makes making quick changes much more effortless. But they do offer many gain, impedance, and MM capacitance settings to get the best sound out of your cartridge. There is a defeatable subsonic filter set at -3dB at 20Hz at -18 dB per octave. This will allow you to play either records with heavy low-level resonance or slightly warped without your speaker drivers pulsing with the resonance! This is very important for listeners who like to play their records close to real-life levels! For people who like their equipment to match in the rack, the V10 keeps with the Hegel simple and elegant looks.

Viking CD Player

For CD spinners who want to get the most from their CD player, the Hegel Viking is a godsend! Hegel named their CD player the Viking due to the Viking's ability to improve existing technology. Boats had been around for thousands of years before the Vikings. But the Vikings took the design of the boat and improved it, making boats capable of open sea travel from coast to coast! Like the Vikings Hegel took the existing CD player technology and threw their meticulous design team on it. The result is a CD player that combines a bit-perfect DAC optimized for Redbook CD playback. And a top-of-the-line CD drive and laser mechanism. You will hear CDs like they should have sounded the whole time. XLR, RCA, and BNC outputs are supported and are very well-marked. The back panel is clean and well laid out, allowing easy connection. The front panel uses a unique button style that closely resembles the P30A preamplifier so that they will look their best in the rack together. But the Viking looks great and will fit in with any gear you have.

C5 Multi-Channel Amplifier

For folks that want a Hegel multi-channel amplifier to complete an all-Hegel system, or they just want the technology and stout power that Hegel can provide, the C5 Series is for you. There are 3 flavors: the C53 3-channel, C54 4-channel, and the C55 5-channel amplifier. All three amplifiers are rated at 150/300/600 into 8/4/2 ohms, meaning that the massive power supply in these amplifiers should have no problems powering about any speaker you put on them. With SoundEngine 2 and over 2000 dampening factor onboard, the sound will be distortion-free and well-controlled. You can also change the gain and flip phase for each channel individually, making these some of the most versatile multi-channel amplifiers on the market. With the trigger inputs and outputs, you can daisy chain C5 Series amplifiers for as many channels as your system needs. The look of the C5 series is somewhat different from that of Hegel’s other products because Hegel wanted the C5 amplifiers to be able to rack mount. Other than that, the same logo and color scheme is used. We are excited to see multi-channel amplifiers that utilize Hegel’s build quality, technology, and the excellent sound quality.