If you are considering the purchase of the flagship Hegel H600 integrated amplifier ($12,500), there is a very high chance you already know what it is, what it can do, and how many published reviews already out there have raved about its prowess, sonic attributes, and phenomenal flexibility. A virtual Swiss Army knife of features and capabilities has been incorporated into Hegel’s top-tier integrated. Yes, this review is a bit late to the game. No, I have not read any of the other reviews. Yes, I do enjoy being the last to the podium; it worked well for Mark Anthony!

First off, let’s just say it: The H600 doesn’t have a phonostage. Something, somewhere had to give, and clearly someone at Hegel put his foot down and just said, “No!” But it does have an HT pass-through feature on all inputs to allow you to run a processor directly into its amplifier stage, bypassing its preamp features. It also won’t help you learn calculus or dry your dishes, but it will do pretty much every other thing you could desire from an integrated amp if you want to build a single-unit system or grow something wonderful with multiple sources and components. I spent the lion’s share of the review period just listening to the H600 and nothing but the H600, fed by its essentially limitless digital-source arsenal.

This is a very ergonomically simple unit with two large knobs upfront that control input and volume, with clever use of those same knobs to get to all the control software and setting adjustments. A big, easily readable monochromatic screen in between the knobs tells you what you need to know. The knobs have a very nice feel. (As many of you know, I am a knob snob!) And the software menus are easy to navigate. The remote makes navigation even easier. The aluminum-enclosure construction is elegant, simple, rigid, and well designed; and the oversized aluminum footers look good and provide the support one expects. The rear panel has an abundance of digital inputs (Ethernet, USB, optical, and both coaxial and BNC SPDIF) and a BNC SPIDF output, as well as two XLR and two RCA analog inputs and both a variable and fixed RCA line-level output. The inputs are of good quality and leave nothing to be desired. Well-built speaker binding posts straddle the extremes on either side. The top has dual-layer milled air vents, which look nice and allow plenty of ventilation. 

And why does it need all that ventilation? Because inside is a warp core (or a transformer, I always get them mixed up) feeding a dual-mono Class AB MOSFET amplifier producing 300 watts per channel into 8 ohms (doubling to 600Wpc into 4 ohms and stable to 2 ohms) with a damping factor of 4000. What this means is that this integrated can power and control any speaker you may decide to connect to it. The design is heavily based on principles implemented in Hegel’s well-respected H30A reference amplifier. The power and control this integrated offers cannot be understated or underappreciated. It is an incredible achievement, and proper kudos must be given to the engineers at Hegel.

The preamp section utilizes the volume-attenuation technology of Hegel’s reference P30A preamplifier and shares several of its circuit topologies. Hegel implements its proprietary SoundEngine 2 correction technology, described as using local and adaptive feed-forward technology to cancel crossover distortion and remove high-frequency distortion inherent in Class AB designs. The intended result is a much cleaner music signal with a larger dynamic range and reduced noise. Without the ability to turn SoundEngine 2 off and on, there is no real way to say how well it performs. But I had no complaints with what I heard, and I guess the proof is in the proverbial pudding.

If the 300Wpc amplifier is the heart of the system, then the DAC is clearly the brain. This is what one would describe as a feature-rich integrated. The built-in ESS 9038Q2M D/A converter is a bit-perfect design that can handle MQA 8x, 32/384 PCM, and DSD256, avoiding upsampling or resampling entirely (my personal preference). Utilizing a large dedicated power supply well shielded from the remainder of the internals, the DAC is fed by an internal server with built-in Spotify, Tidal Connect, UPnP, Qobuz Connect (pending), Chromecast, and Apple AirPlay; it will also soon be Roon ready. All are easy to set up and use via the associated tablet app. Of course, the digital inputs on the back also allow the use of any external source, and my Extreme music server fed it some sweet ones and zeroes to see what the H600 could really do. Playing this 300Wpc behemoth through my Wilson Alexx V loudspeakers let me see what a twelve thousand dollar integrated could deliver, and I was not disappointed. Which finally gets us to the creamy filling of this tasty treat.

Listening

You may not think you need 300 watts per channel or will ever use 300 watts per channel. But the absolutely effortless way in which music is conveyed and expressed by this integrated makes a convincing case for “more power is better.” While it was never overbearing or overly exuberant, there was always a presence of power and control, like drinking from a water fountain fed directly by the Hoover Dam. As a result, the power output combined with the massive damping factor gave the overall presentation a sense of gentle majesty that was there for both the quietest and most dynamic passages. With my Alexx Vs, the H600 controlled the woofers with ease and provided dynamics beyond my expectations, considering the price point. That damping factor cannot be under-credited. Hegel is known to make amplifiers and integrated amplifiers that can manhandle the most difficult speaker loads. That is why I have Hegel’s powering my Maggies at the office. The texture and inherent complexity of low-frequency reproduction impressed me. Mid- and upper-bass performance added resolution and refinement to the fray. As we enter the midrange zone, things get more interesting. The H600 is remarkably clean—not analytical or overly resolving, but very clean. Yet, it provided musical integration between the speakers and the room that I usually garner from more expensive tube equipment. I found it pleasant and engaging in a way that most other equipment in this price range simply isn’t. Is that the SoundEngine 2 filtering or just good engineering? No clue, and don’t care. I liked it—a lot! The high-frequency extension was very Hegel, if you know what that means. If not, the Hegel sound is neutral, airy, and refined without being overly dense or viscous. Staging and imaging were wide, deep, high, and well focused. No, H600 doesn’t create a holographic image, and no, it doesn’t go floor to ceiling and wall to wall. For $12k that’s a tall ask—and an unreasonable one. But what it delivers is excellent and enjoyable and more than you deserve to get for everything the H600 can do and do well.

I will say that the unit performance depends on how much effort you bring to the table. Without question, it sounds best when asked to behave as a pure integrated amplifier fed an analog signal from my reference Taiko Extreme music server via my Pilium DAC (close to $80k worth of front-end gear). But this is not what one would buy an H600 for. When I fed the internal DAC via USB directly from the Extreme, I lost a layer of wow, but it was not an offensive difference. The Extreme was able to convey the subtlety and refinement that has led it to be regarded as one of the best servers on the planet. The Hegel’s internal digital could take what the Extreme offers and deliver the goods but lost the superior timbre and imaging cues you gain from a top-tier DAC. However, most of you aren’t going to use the H600 for that, either. What the H600 exists for and excels at is doing it all. With a pair of speakers, the H600, and my phone, I spent hours learning what the Hegel can do. Because during that time I was busy listening to music and not worrying about what wasn’t there. The Hegel is an iPhone on audiophile steroids. It works. It’s easy. It never gets in the way of listening by glitching or asking for setting adjustments or in any way removing you from just going from song to song and album to album. The H600 is a superstar at keeping you focused on listening and delivering a performance that keeps you invested and intrigued.

As an example, I was sitting in my listening chair running through Tidal Connect one auditioning evening. I snuggled into my chair with an overpoured glass of Woodford Reserve around 8:30pm and connected with Jack Sparrow’s (I mean Hans Zimmer’s) Pirates of the Caribbean, Part 2. Truly a great soundtrack. Well, that turned into a Hans marathon and then into a John Powell marathon. And then a Hans Zimmer/John Powell combo with Kung Fu Panda. By the time I got to Master “Oogway Ascends,” it was 3am. Poof.… Was it the best DAC on the planet or a top-tier music server that drifted me off to musical Happy Land? Nope. It was a Hegel H600 audiophile Swiss Army knife!

As an “all-in-one solution,” the unit is remarkably silent, considering how many parts make up its whole. With multiple power supplies, mono amplifier sections, a preamp section, DAC, and streamer, it is quite impressive that the unit is not as noisy as a New York City subway station. I believe at least a part of that midrange engagement results from its impressively low noise floor. My notes circled “demure” several times. The closest I can come to an analogy to a person is Queen Elizabeth. Hear me out…. She was one of the most powerful people on the planet yet always carried herself with a sense of sincerity, honesty, humility, and confidence. Her most powerful and memorable moments are captured not with her words, but with a silent look or subtle smile that could move mountains. This describes the Hegel H600 almost exactly. Power and grace that demands respect but knows it deserves that respect.

The performance of most $10k–$14k equipment simply cannot compete with much more costly gear, based on obvious limitations in parts, engineering, and materials. The Hegel H600 is a true high-end component. It never faltered for a moment while running my very expensive Wilson Audio Alexx Vs and yet sang equally well when running much more affordable transducers. 

The H600 isn’t the type of component you rave about. Not because it doesn’t deserve it, but because it is above that. I respect the fact that it knows what it is and what it is supposed to do. I admire the absolutely incredible value it represents. I appreciate all that it can do and the fact that nothing seems to suffer to get it all done. I recognize that it may be the only product of its type in the price class it is in and that it represents a truly high-end component while sitting at a mid-level price point (compared to the $25k–$45k integrateds now filling the market). And, most importantly, I truly enjoyed my time with it.

Bravo Hegel. Bravo.

Specs & Pricing

Type: Integrated streaming amplifier
Power output: 300Wpc (8 ohms), 600Wpc (4 ohms); dual-mono
Frequency response: 5Hz–100kHz
THD: Less than 0.005% @ 50W into 8 ohms, 1kHz
Damping factor: 4000 (8 ohms)
Analog inputs: XLR (x2), RCA (x2)
Analog line-level outputs: XLR (x1), RCA (x1)
Digital inputs: Coaxial (BNC), coaxial (RCA), USB, TosLink optical (x3), network
Compatible formats: MQA, DSD up to DSD256, PCM up to 384/32 (depending on input type), Spotify Connect, AirPlay, Chromecast, Roon Ready, Tidal Connect, UpnP
Dimensions: 16.93″ x 6.74″ x 17.52″
Weight: 28.5 lbs.
Price: $12,500

HEGEL MUSIC SYSTEMS USA
Fairfield, IA
(413) 224-2480
hegel.com
usa@hegel.com