Hegel H590 vs my current setup - help!

The 590 is terrific, more refined and powerful than the 390.

Also take a look at the Boulder 866 with optional Roon enabled DAC. It’s very very popular here in the store.


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Mike said:

The 590 is terrific, more refined and powerful than the 390.

Also take a look at the Boulder 866 with optional Roon enabled DAC. It’s very very popular here in the store.


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I will check out the Boulder. Any thoughts on the quality of the DAC in the 590 relative to standalone DAC's under $7,000? My Marantz SA-10 is $7,000 MSRP and I find it to be a very good performer.

The 590 will be quite different from what you are listening to now. The DAC in the 590 is better than the stand alone HD30 I had. The 590 has good control and plenty of detail it just isn't ggoing to be as warm or lush as you have now. I think the HD30 was around $5k, a stand alone DAC.

I think there is a 590 thread here somewhere.

I haven't heard the 866 but it seems to be a beauty, shame to put it in a closet

Have you considered the Diablo? It will be different as well but keep some of the meat on the bone for you.

That's the way I hear it, anyway

Mr Peabody said:

The 590 will be quite different from what you are listening to now. The DAC in the 590 is better than the stand alone HD30 I had. The 590 has good control and plenty of detail it just isn't ggoing to be as warm or lush as you have now. I think the HD30 was around $5k, a stand alone DAC.

I think there is a 590 thread here somewhere.

I haven't heard the 866 but it seems to be a beauty, shame to put it in a closet

Have you considered the Diablo? It will be different as well but keep some of the meat on the bone for you.

That's the way I hear it, anyway

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Thanks for the comments. I am OK giving up some “lushness“. In fact, I am looking forward to it.

Comparing the 3 previous versions er, the h160 vs the 190 and the h300 vs 360 the sound of the 160 and 300 were identical when I was using a dedicated bass amp on the salon’s then the 360 opened them up and made the big head todd and the monsters live cd really open up and bring the audience into the room, then with the 190 and while I can’t say that’s the same dac as the 590 the 190 did offer better top end resolution, not bright, just a bit more brush, cymbals so my 360 sounded a little plain after the comparison. If I didn’t need the 250 wpc of the h360 I would have bought the 190 and now that the h590 is out it would be the first integrated on my list at the price.

So, I’ll close the loop on this thread. I tried the Hegel H590. It really is a nice integrated. However, I was giving up way too much compared to my separates. I just couldn’t go down this path. Instead, I upgraded to the Pass X350.8 from the X250.8. The bigger amp really brings my KEF Blades to life and is exactly what my system needed. A little less “lush” and definitely more dynamic. Just what I was after. I didn’t accomplish my mission to downsize, but I did upgrade my sound. Pictures will eventually follow on my system thread after I get things tidied up.

Predictably, I'm going to recommend the Pass Labs int 250. Outstanding amp in every way. Also outstanding customer service. It was my first pick of seven different integrated amps that I auditioned at Suncoast Audio. Actually, the Pass Labs amp that made my decision was the int 60. Fantastic amp. I compared it to the Simaudio 340i, Hegel H590, Luxman 509x, VAC 170i, Naim Supernait 3, and Gryphon Diablo 300. I decided on the Pass Labs int 250 just to be sure to cover the transient peaks. Although I think I could get along just fine with the int 60. The synergy between the int 250 and Harbeth Super HL 5+ 40th Anniversary speakers is superb. I also have these speakers at home. I added a dual power supply MSB Discrete DAC.....audiophile heaven. Right now I'm streaming (Qobuz, Tidal, and Amazon HD). I may be looking at some analog components down the line. But for now I couldn't be more satisfied with my system.

Bump, I use a h590 to drive my blades and would appreciate hearing what the pass x350.8 brings in comparison. I've never owned any pass gear so you'll be helping.

I've not tried any Pass Labs components other than the int 60 and int 250. I'd love to hear a 350.8. I'll bet it's a sweet sounding amp. I've auditioned the H390. Great sounding amp.

steve59 said:

Bump, I use a h590 to drive my blades and would appreciate hearing what the pass x350.8 brings in comparison. I've never owned any pass gear so you'll be helping.

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Comparing and integrated to a behemoth 350.8 is a bit unfair. The 350.8 will have just effortless power and soundstaging. It will be warmer in tone, have more bass, but not necessarily tighter or more defined bass than the 590.

The Hegel 590 is the sleeper of all sleeper integrated’s IMO. It’s fully balanced and has loads of power, it’s got a smooth, sweet top end and big bass for its size, but it’s not a 150lb stereo amp with a massive transformer.

If your room is small to small/medium., stick with the 590. If you have something like a 16 x 20 room or bigger, go 350.8. But if you’re in a 14 x 18 room, stay with the 590 or go with an INT-60 or INT-250.

I love the sound of both, so that’s where it’s a tough one for me. But let’s just say, powerful separates are hard to beat with any integrated


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I totally agree with Mike here. I am in a very large room and the H590 simply could not fill the room adequately. It just sounded lifeless in comparison. If you are up for the cost and complexity of separates and have a decent sized room, try a Pass X350.8, a Hegel H30, or a Parasound JC5, JC1 or JC1+. With a nice preamp, this will bring the blades to the next level of performance.

My room is around 3500 cu/ft and the sound is pretty intense as is. Thanks for the feedback, sometimes a little positive reinforcement goes a long way.