Excellent Review for the Hegel H70:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/hegel4/2.htmlThe Hegel H70 has won HighFidelity.com’s Red Fingerprint"Prospective mates. This is why I clearly envision the type of loudspeaker the H70 should work best with (I wrote ‘should’ since everything will depend on a given room acoustics, personal tastes and expectations). On one hand these will be speakers like
Xavian, which most formal presentations ought to be conducted with. These Czech loudspeakers with the Italian heart are very precise and splendidly balanced but sometimes simply scream out for something like the H70. I am sure that their creator Roberto Barletta listens to them and tunes them using this type of electronics. Or that this is the result he cares about.
On the other hand it is hard for me not to mention
Harbeth with which the Hegel amplifier, just like Lavardin earlier, interfaced with ease. I would start with the tiny
P3ESR. Here a strong bass foundation from the amplifier will inject new life which the speakers shall reward with precision and refinement. The H70 has very good pace, is very rhythmic and never loses color temperature even from pale club versions of, say Depeche Mode’s double maxi-single Fragile Tension & Hole to Feed. What I would avoid are clearly warm speakers as for example the previously reviewed Castle. This combination might get too syrupy.
I know exactly who won’t like this amplifier. When somebody wants to know everything very precisely to prefer transient contours and detail above saturation, this is not the amplifier. When we fancy the sound of strong cymbals; or the complete lighting of the soundstage is more important to us than its continuity (unfortunately and as always, we need to choose as compromises are inevitable); we need to search elsewhere. But when we like fullness, smoothness, naturalness and above all when our music collection is dominated by rock and electronica which we want to hear in their full glory, this Hegel becomes a mandatory audition. And, we get a good DAC for free as well as an USB input with it. "
Technical data (according to manufacturer):
Output power: 2x70W/8Ω
Volume, inputs and muting controlled by (optional) Hegel RC3 remote
Inputs: 3 x RCA, 1 x XLR
Digital inputs: 1 x USB + 2 x S/PDIF (coaxial or Toslink with hard switch on the back)
USB resolution: 16bit/48kHz, plug & play, no drivers needed
S/PDIF resolution: 24bit/192kHz
Analog frequency response: 1Hz - 100.000Hz
Signal to noise ratio: >100dB
Crosstalk: < -100dB
Distortion (THD): < 0.005% /50W/8Ω
Intermodulation: < 0.01% (19kHz + 20kHz)
Damping factor: > 1000
Output stage: four x 15A/150W high-speed bipolar transistors
Power consumption: 30W idle
Dimensions: 80 x 430 x 415mm (HxWxD)
Weight: 12kg