Hegel’s upper streaming integrated amplifiers, side by side. Here is the flagship H600 alongside the H400 and H200 and their specifications, showing what your money buys at each step.

he H600 is Hegel’s reference integrated amplifier, the top of the range and the heir to the acclaimed H590. It is a genuine flagship: 303 watts per channel of dual-mono power, a bit-perfect DAC, and a superior streaming engine, all in one chassis, so it drives the most demanding speakers with authority while serving as a complete streaming and digital hub. Like the H400 beneath it, it is a digital-first design without a phono stage, built for the streaming listener who wants close to the ultimate in one-box performance, with vinyl added through an external phono stage. For many systems it is an endgame amplifier.

Brief product overview

A reference streaming integrated amplifier, DAC and network player of dual-mono construction, delivering 303 watts per channel into 8 ohms from a Class A/B output stage, stable into 2-ohm loads, with a damping factor of 4000 for a vice-like grip on any speaker. The DAC is a bit-perfect design that deliberately does not upsample or resample, with its own dedicated power supply and thick steel shielding to isolate it from the amplifier circuits, giving high resolution and smoothness. The streaming platform covers Roon Ready, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Google Cast and UPnP, handling up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256. Connectivity includes two balanced XLR and two unbalanced RCA line inputs, two coaxial (BNC and RCA), three optical and USB digital inputs, network, and fixed and variable line outputs. There is no phono input and no headphone output. The chassis is a rigid aluminium design with two-level milled venting, and it is made in Norway.

How it sounds

The H600 has Hegel’s clean, neutral, honest character delivered with reference-level authority: 303 dual-mono watts, 2-ohm stability and a damping factor of 4000 give it total command of any speaker, so it drives the most demanding loads without strain and keeps an iron grip on the bass at any level. The bit-perfect DAC, with its dedicated supply and shielding, is exceptionally resolving and smooth, and the dual-mono construction gives wide, precisely placed imaging and a very low noise floor. Reviewers have described it as covering all audiophile needs in one box, and for many an endgame purchase. It is a digital-first flagship, which is why the digital system below is complete on its own and the analogue system adds a turntable and phono stage as an extension.

What we’d partner it with

The H600 has streaming and a reference DAC built in, so a complete system needs only speakers. For speakers, we suggest the Dynaudio Contour Legacy, a limited-edition Heritage-Collection floorstander with Dynaudio’s flagship Esotar 3 tweeter and Evidence-derived woofers; it is a resolving 4-ohm speaker that rewards a powerful, controlled amplifier, exactly what the H600’s 303 dual-mono watts and damping factor of 4000 provide. Good alternatives from brands we carry are flagship floorstanders from Sonus faber, Focal and KEF.

For digital sources, nothing more is needed: the H600 streams over your network via Roon, Tidal, Spotify Connect, AirPlay and Google Cast, and its digital inputs take a TV or CD transport. To add vinyl, note the H600 has no phono stage, so a turntable connects through an external phono stage into one of its line inputs, an extension to the core system. We suggest the Rega Planar 10, a flagship deck usually fitted with a moving-coil cartridge, through the Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2, a fully adjustable moving-magnet and moving-coil stage that suits the Rega’s cartridge exactly; another Rega or a Clearaudio deck and phono stage partner equally well.

On cabling, run the streamer and phono stage to the H600 on balanced cables where you can, and use a well-made speaker cable of appropriate gauge for the run; AudioQuest and Chord are the cable brands we stock.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you do not need the flagship’s power and ultimate performance, the H400 offers much of it, with the same H600-derived DAC platform, for considerably less. If a phono stage built into the amplifier matters to you, the H200, H190V and H150 include one, where the H600 leaves phono to an external stage. And if you need a headphone output, the H600 does without one, where Hegel’s lesser models provide it.

Setup notes: The H600 is a heavy dual-mono flagship and wants ventilation above and around it, through its milled top vents. For streaming, a wired network connection is more robust than wi-fi where you can run one, and software updates arrive over the air, so keep it connected. Place the Dynaudio Contour Legacy clear of the rear wall to suit its rear ports; its 4-ohm load is an easy case for the H600’s power and control. To add vinyl, connect the turntable to the Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2 and the RS2 to one of the H600’s line inputs, since the H600 has no phono input; the Planar 10’s moving-coil cartridge is set on the RS2’s adjustable moving-coil input. The variable pre-out can feed a subwoofer.

Warranty & service: Hegel products carry a manufacturer’s warranty when bought from an authorised dealer; service is handled through the UK distributor.