To Michael Wright,
I recently discovered Hegel gear by accident and just read your March 1, 2011, review on the H20 amp. Wow! Is this company blazing trails! They picked up over two dozen retailers in the states in 36 months -- unheard of in the economic times we are in. I listened to their H30 monos with their P30 preamp and Amphion speakers on YouTube at the Montreal show. That's not the best format to hear but Anders did a great recording job on the sound. My God! The sound swept me away. It sounded like the very best tube gear on the planet: rich, full, warm, smooth, and very organic with outstanding detail.
I'm surprised you used Klyne and Herron preamps and not the Hegel P30. I recently spoke to Goodwin's High End in New England who just picked up Hegel, and the store manager said the P30 will equal any preamp in their store up to $20,000. I'm in the process of retiring and putting together my final system, which will be the Hegel P30 and H20, the Cary 306 Pro SACD player, and the Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers. A deadly combination.
Your review was outstanding, and if I were Boulder, Rowland, Krell, McIntosh, Ayre or Levinson, I'd be sweatin' my pants over Hegel. It is perhaps the best-value/best-performing high-end gear ever to come along in the past 30 years.
Regards,
Glen Bridges
Thanks for the kind words regarding my Hegel H20 review. Hegel makes some very well made, high-performing audio equipment that presents consumers with great value for the money. When I reviewed the H20, the P30 was not available to me to use during the review period. There had been talk, between the manufacturer and myself, to do the review with a Hegel preamp, or even a review of a Hegel preamp on its own, but it did not happen. You appear to be putting together a very nice-sounding system. You won’t go wrong with the Hegel pieces. Let me know how it goes. Good hunting and good listening. Thanks. . . . Michael Wright
