The Computer Audiophile Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 You can view the page at http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content.php?r=680-Hegel-Music-Systems-HD30-DAC-Review Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
Ran Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks for the review. Please keep up up to date if and when yo get a response from Hegel regarding the UPnP issues. Link to comment
esimms86 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Chris, thanks for a very enjoyable review. I'm a bit older than you so I had to laugh and also envy you for having missed the Eagles Hotel California radio onslaught(a fine performance but if I doubt that I could stand to listen to it even one more time). If you like the Eagles I'd highly recommend their album On the Border. The Schiit Yggdrasil aside, it looks like the 5-6k US pricepoint is the sweet spot for high resolution DACs(think the Metrum Pavane, PS Audio Directstream, La Scala's flagship whose name escape at the moment and now, of course, the Hegel HD30). It would be a slam dunk for many DSD listeners if Hegel were to come up with a firmware upgrade to make the HD30 DSD128 compatible. Esau Link to comment
matthias Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 The Hegel HD30 uses two AK4490 chips in dual-mono configuration. This chip is DSD256 compatible. Matt "I want to know why the musicians are on stage, not where". (John Farlowe) Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 The Hegel HD30 uses two AK4490 chips in dual-mono configuration. This chip is DSD256 compatible. Matt Yes, the chip is, so maybe Hegel will release an update. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
ChrisG Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Chris, Since you are using a SOtM sMS-1000SQ Windows Edition, is a review forthcoming? BTW, I hear the same things that you hear on that Tim Ries track using my Yggy. ChrisG Bend, OR Link to comment
mkrzych Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Yes, this is their flagship, but -150dB noise floor, well, c'mon it is getting to the thermal noise which AFAIK really hard to avoid and this value is rather the PR use case. -- Krzysztof Maj http://mkrzych.wordpress.com/ "Music is the highest form of art. It is also the most noble. It is human emotion, captured, crystallised, encased… and then passed on to others." - By Ken Ishiwata Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Chris, Since you are using a SOtM sMS-1000SQ Windows Edition, is a review forthcoming? BTW, I hear the same things that you hear on that Tim Ries track using my Yggy. Most likely a review is coming. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
jacquesr Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Hello Chris, I am surprised I am the first one asking the question... How does it compare with Yggdrasil? Mac Mini Late 2014 (16G/SSD) w Uptone JS-2 w OWC Thunderbay 4 Mini RAID (JS-2) / Roon Aqua LinQ w EtherCon cable (Ghent) w Uptone EtherRegen w Uptone JS-2 Aqua Formula xHD w Ocellia RCA Interconnect & Shunyata Delta NR Kora TB 200 Integrated Amplifier w Audio Art Power Cable Magico V2 w Ocellia speaker cables w Shunyata Dark Field Elevator & JL Audio E-Sub e110 X 2 All equipment, including subwoofer on Modulum platforms (modulumaudio.com) Link to comment
audio.bill Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I wouldn't attempt to speak for Chris, but what I glean from reading both of his reviews is that the Hegel may be a bit more ultimately revealing of subtle detail allowing you to hear further into the recording, and the Yggy may tend towards a warmer balance. Just my two cents, please only take it for what it's worth. Link to comment
ChrisG Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 My takeaway is one of omission - since Chris did mention Yggy being in the same company as EMM Labs' DAC and Berkeley's Reference DAC but didn't mention these two DACs in his Hegel review, my conclusion is Yggy is better. ChrisG Bend, OR Link to comment
Doak Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Nearly $5K and does not manage to work with truly hi-res sampling rates? IMO a "non-starter" and "non-recommendable" right out of the box. Makes me wonder why they bothered releasing such a ham-strung product - particularly as their "flagship." Seems they've shot themselves in the foot. Doak's Audio System Link to comment
ecwl Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Nearly $5K and does not manage to work with truly hi-res sampling rates? IMO a "non-starter" and "non-recommendable" right out of the box. Makes me wonder why they bothered releasing such a ham-strung product - particularly as their "flagship." Seems they've shot themselves in the foot. I don't really understand why new products need to support 768/384kHz PCM. There are very few recordings available. So unless people are using their PCs to upsample and run sophisticated filters and sending the hi-res signal into the DAC, I just don't fully comprehend the use case. Link to comment
ecwl Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Nearly $5K and does not manage to work with truly hi-res sampling rates? IMO a "non-starter" and "non-recommendable" right out of the box. Makes me wonder why they bothered releasing such a ham-strung product - particularly as their "flagship." Seems they've shot themselves in the foot. Sorry. I got what you mean now. You meant uPNP Ethernet streaming at 24/192. Yeah. That's a reasonable expectation. Link to comment
skatbelt Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Nearly $5K and does not manage to work with truly hi-res sampling rates? IMO a "non-starter" and "non-recommendable" right out of the box. Makes me wonder why they bothered releasing such a ham-strung product - particularly as their "flagship." Seems they've shot themselves in the foot. A typical reaction for someone who is spec oriented. To make it more colourful, DSD is only adopted by the market because it sells and I have to meet the first person who is really able to hear the difference between 24/192 and something higher in resolution... Streamer dCS Network Bridge DAC Chord DAVE Amplifier / DRC Lyngdorf TDAI-3400 Speakers Lindemann BL-10 | JL audio E-sub e110 Head-fi and reference Bakoon HPA-21 | Audeze LCD-3 (f) Power and isolation Dedicated power line | Xentek extreme isolation transformer (1KVA, balanced) | Uptone Audio EtherREGEN + Ferrum Hypsos | Sonore OpticalModule + Uptone Audio UltraCap LPS-1.2 | Jensen CI-1RR Cables Jorma Digital XLR (digital), Grimm Audio SQM RCA (analog), Kimber 8TC + WBT (speakers), custom star-quad with Oyaide connectors (AC), Ferrum (DC) and Ghent (ethernet) Software dCS Mosaic | Tidal | Qobuz Link to comment
firedog Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Nearly $5K and does not manage to work with truly hi-res sampling rates? IMO a "non-starter" and "non-recommendable" right out of the box. Makes me wonder why they bothered releasing such a ham-strung product - particularly as their "flagship." Seems they've shot themselves in the foot. Bit of an overreaction? The problem streaming 24/192 UPNP is an issue; what other problem do you have with it? In any case if you use USB, even that isn't an issue. I'd guess they do a firmware update to fix the streaming issue in the near future. The unit has gotten universally sterling reviews so far, for both the preamp and DAC sections. Chris preferred it with a preamp, I"ve seen other reviews where the reviewer said it outperformed and expensive pre. You are free to call it a non-starter for you, but I don't think they have shot themselves in the foot. Main listening (small home office): Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments. Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three . Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup. Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. All absolute statements about audio are false Link to comment
Rexp Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Which mastering of Hotel California did you use Chris, been trying to find a good version for years? Link to comment
mkrzych Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 We are trying to test high resolution by using Hotel California album!!! When it was recorded, C'mon :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk -- Krzysztof Maj http://mkrzych.wordpress.com/ "Music is the highest form of art. It is also the most noble. It is human emotion, captured, crystallised, encased… and then passed on to others." - By Ken Ishiwata Link to comment
Jud Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 We are trying to test high resolution by using Hotel California album!!! When it was recorded, C'mon :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I've never thought the SQ of Hotel California was great, but OTOH there are many older recordings with great SQ in hi res, having been carefully converted from the analog tapes. (DSD download of Sam Cooke's hits is a personal favorite.) One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
mkrzych Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I've never thought the SQ of Hotel California was great, but OTOH there are many older recordings with great SQ in hi res, having been carefully converted from the analog tapes. (DSD download of Sam Cooke's hits is a personal favorite.) Sure, it can sound good, but it wasn't recorded in high resolution. For me to test latest, greatest DACs we have to use modern recording which were done throughout the audio chain in high resolution. Of course, you can use oldies to test the tonal balance etc. but not the performance of the DAC IMHO. -- Krzysztof Maj http://mkrzych.wordpress.com/ "Music is the highest form of art. It is also the most noble. It is human emotion, captured, crystallised, encased… and then passed on to others." - By Ken Ishiwata Link to comment
Jud Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Sure, it can sound good, but it wasn't recorded in high resolution. For me to test latest, greatest DACs we have to use modern recording which were done throughout the audio chain in high resolution. Of course, you can use oldies to test the tonal balance etc. but not the performance of the DAC IMHO. Whereas for me, The Beatles' "I'll Follow the Sun," recorded in mono over 50 years ago, which I have in just RedBook resolution, is one of my test tracks for how various sample rate conversion filters/modulators/algorithms work. One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
skatbelt Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Sure, it can sound good, but it wasn't recorded in high resolution. For me to test latest, greatest DACs we have to use modern recording which were done throughout the audio chain in high resolution. Of course, you can use oldies to test the tonal balance etc. but not the performance of the DAC IMHO. To me a great DAC is one that does magic with RedBook. More than 90 percent of my music collection is in this format. Streamer dCS Network Bridge DAC Chord DAVE Amplifier / DRC Lyngdorf TDAI-3400 Speakers Lindemann BL-10 | JL audio E-sub e110 Head-fi and reference Bakoon HPA-21 | Audeze LCD-3 (f) Power and isolation Dedicated power line | Xentek extreme isolation transformer (1KVA, balanced) | Uptone Audio EtherREGEN + Ferrum Hypsos | Sonore OpticalModule + Uptone Audio UltraCap LPS-1.2 | Jensen CI-1RR Cables Jorma Digital XLR (digital), Grimm Audio SQM RCA (analog), Kimber 8TC + WBT (speakers), custom star-quad with Oyaide connectors (AC), Ferrum (DC) and Ghent (ethernet) Software dCS Mosaic | Tidal | Qobuz Link to comment
mkrzych Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Whereas for me, The Beatles' "I'll Follow the Sun," recorded in mono over 50 years ago, which I have in just RedBook resolution, is one of my test tracks for how various sample rate conversion filters/modulators/algorithms work. Interesting, maybe because you really know the sound of this tracks and think that's the reference somewho. Jud you know that's tricky and subjective. -- Krzysztof Maj http://mkrzych.wordpress.com/ "Music is the highest form of art. It is also the most noble. It is human emotion, captured, crystallised, encased… and then passed on to others." - By Ken Ishiwata Link to comment
Jud Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Interesting, maybe because you really know the sound of this tracks and think that's the reference somehow. Jud you know that's tricky and subjective. Very much so. It does have the advantage of being just the harmony vocal with two extremely familiar voices and very simple backing instrumentation, which makes it easier for me to pick out little things. The backing instrumentation, in fact, is a little unique, as Ringo is slapping his pant legs for the "drums." You know how that is supposed to sound in real life, and it is interesting to hear how close various DACs, filters, and other aspects of the setup can get to it. (There is another one where his percussion consists of shaking a box of matches - I forget the specific song right now, but it isn't "Matchbox." ) One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
Rexp Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Most likely a review is coming. Hi Chris, what was the mastering of Hotel California, was it a CD rip, Tidal, hi res version? Thanks! Link to comment
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