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Post by MartinT on Nov 14, 2019 11:51:50 GMT
Does it have enough drive for some of your 'difficult' headphones, Jerry?
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 14, 2019 11:57:28 GMT
Well, I've got rid of my inefficient planar and isodynamic cans on sq grounds, but with the cans I still have it seems to have loads of power and gain to spare.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 14, 2019 12:43:55 GMT
... I wonder what an H190 sounds like. You can't put an inveterate box-swapper down
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 14, 2019 14:15:01 GMT
According to the Hifi Plus review the H90 is the best sounding of the current Hegel line up, but hoo nose. '... the H90, and it represents the best sounding amplifier in the standard Hegel line at this time.' www.hifiplus.com/articles/hegel-h90-integrated-amplifier/It certainly is a very entertaining amp.
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Post by John on Nov 15, 2019 8:18:45 GMT
I never heard one Jerry I seen a few reviews that have always been positive
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 15, 2019 8:47:11 GMT
Yes, all the reviews of Hegel amps I have seen (and I've looked at a lot in advance of this purchase!) have been psoitive.
But there does seem to be a Hegel sound; very taut and well defined, deep powerful bass (I've had to reinsert the plugs I made up into the MBLs bass ports to get it under control - it seems to want to fill a small hall rather than a living room!) and a bit on the brightly lit side.
So, great amps, absolutely - but you have to expect to 'tune them in' to your system and room to a fair degree. I did, for sure. But the results are excellent.
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 15, 2019 12:32:58 GMT
Well, what with all the talk of buffers I thought I'd investigate myself in the context of my current system. A mega-upgraded MF X10D V3. According to the seller ... Upgrades: 1) High grade 'Little Pinkie SE' power supply (this replaces the original MF wall-wart). www.rock-grotto.co.uk/musical-fidelity-vcan-vdac-vlps-power-supply.html2) Matched pair of brand new and original Mu-Vista Valves/JAN 6112 Philips. [The replaced ones are also ok! and included in the sale]. 3) Complete X-10 v3 Upgrade Kit fitted. www.rock-grotto.co.uk/x10v3mods.htm4) 4x matched npn and pnp output transistors. 5) Heat sinks for new transistors. Heat transfer via Bergquist Thermal Pad, correctly torqued up. [The temperature after a 3hr blast, measured an average 22C, well below the 150C max]. 6) Strategically placed Sorbothane Domes beneath and on the pcb board, to absorb component vibration. 7) Vibration deadening pads inside the casework to minimise vibration. 8) Replaced standard signal output wires with stranded Kimber Cable.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 15, 2019 13:40:36 GMT
I'll be interested in your results, Jerry. It does rather depend on whether your system needs one. If you're using a passive preamp, I dare say the answer is 'yes'.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 15, 2019 15:47:30 GMT
My passive and power amp seem perfectly matched to me - can't see why I would need one.
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 15, 2019 17:22:57 GMT
Well, mine needed one apparently. It sits between DAC and integrated amp. It's done what I might call a 'mikemusic' on my system ... I was really happy with things and finding it hard to imagine what useful benefits might accrue. And POW, it's 5 strides closer to actually being at the musical event - the improvement is by no means subtle. More vibrancy, more palpable presence. It seems to have accessed a whole new layer of detail in some recordings and sounds like it's opened a window onto the actual event. I'm in the hall listening to these Mozart piano quartets. open.qobuz.com/album/0190374667142And the bass, did I mention the bass? So much more present and vibrant and controlled. Gavin Bryar's Farewell to Philosophy makes so much more sense and is actually enjoyable now. open.qobuz.com/album/0002894830429Lots more listening to do. Which will be a pleasure. This does seem like a major upgrade.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 15, 2019 17:48:04 GMT
Great result Jerry!
So seeing it has made such a difference with your integrated, doesn't seem to be a passive 'thing' which begs the question how could you know if one of these might be beneficial, without trying one?
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Post by MartinT on Nov 15, 2019 17:56:50 GMT
Yep, that's usually the result when a passive is fed through a buffer. You realise all that you were missing!
You will not be surprised to hear that a passive preamp plus buffer is effectively an active preamp.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 15, 2019 18:23:50 GMT
But Jerry isn't using a passive - he is using the buffer with his Hegel active integrated I am assuming!
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Post by MartinT on Nov 15, 2019 20:54:58 GMT
I know, but the point remains.
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 16, 2019 6:44:13 GMT
Listening last night to my UTT - Ultimate Test Track. I must have listened to it literally hundreds of times on all sorts of systems, many times just for the pleasure of it but also for its ability to become a diagnostic for what is most important to me in music reproduction. Rez, speed, space, focus, low level dynamic articulation. A complete revelation, jaw drop time, for the first time ever the way Robert Barto is playing his lute is revealed. Two separate and distinct independent lines interweaving together. Also noticed for the first time are a couple of momentary fluffs as his fingers stumble a little over the cascade of notes! The little MF box has taken my system's ability to a totally new level. There is a tonality issue to be sorted, it's a little feisty at the top end on some material, but I'm sure that can be sorted with some cable shenanigans that I have in mind.
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Post by John on Nov 16, 2019 9:02:47 GMT
This is really good to hear. Its great when you get that oh I did not know that was in the mix
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 16, 2019 12:44:13 GMT
I know, but the point remains. I would still like to know how a buffer can improve an active amp.
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 16, 2019 16:14:40 GMT
I know, but the point remains. I would still like to know how a buffer can improve an active amp. From what I have read, it presents adjacent components, whatever they are, with an ideal impedance load so they can perform at their best.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 16, 2019 17:49:34 GMT
Also, Jules, the pre-out of an integrated is often not like a full-blown preamp designed to drive anything out there. It might even be taken straight off the volume control. A buffer, therefore, stands a chance of greatly improving drive into the power amp section.
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 16, 2019 20:13:10 GMT
That's an interesting thought - I hadn't considered that some integrateds could be made this way.
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