Hegel’s preamplifiers and their closest relatives, side by side. Here is the P20 alongside the flagship P30A and the integrated route, showing what your money buys and where the designs differ.

The P20 is Hegel’s entry into its Reference line, and a pure analogue preamplifier: no DAC, no streaming, no phono stage, just a line-level control centre built to do the most delicate job in a system as cleanly as possible. Hegel considers the preamplifier the most critical component in any system, because the signal levels are so low that the smallest noise or distortion obscures fine detail, and the P20 is engineered around that belief, inheriting circuitry and thinking from the flagship P30A. It is a preamplifier for a considered separates system, paired with a power amplifier, speakers, and the sources of your choice.

Brief product overview

A pure line-level analogue preamplifier built on silicon-germanium transistor circuitry and high-frequency components not originally designed for audio, achieving a signal-to-noise ratio above 130dB in balanced mode and total harmonic distortion below 0.005%, a reference-grade figure shared with the P30A. It uses Hegel’s DualAmp and DualPower topologies and Organic Sound design. Connectivity runs to one balanced XLR and four unbalanced RCA inputs, plus a home-theatre bypass input that lets the P20 and a power amplifier serve as the front stage of a surround system without disturbing two-channel volume. Outputs are balanced XLR, unbalanced RCA and a fixed recording output, all available at once for a power amplifier, a subwoofer and a recorder. There is no DAC and no phono stage; digital and vinyl sources are added separately. The chassis is bead-blasted and anodised aluminium matching the P30A aesthetic, with the solid-aluminium RC8 remote, and it is made in Norway.

How it sounds

The P20’s whole purpose is to add nothing and take nothing away, and it succeeds: an extremely low noise floor and very low distortion let the finest detail and the full soundstage through intact, with the deep, tactile, well-resolved bass Hegel is known for. It has the expansive soundstage, rhythmic timing and sense of presence of the Reference line, at a more accessible price, and it gives a system the transparency that only a genuinely quiet preamplifier can. Because it is purely analogue, its character is set by the sources and the power amplifier around it, which is why the two systems below pair it with the matching H20 power amplifier and speakers, and differ only in the source, one digital, one analogue.

What we’d partner it with

The P20 is a preamplifier, so it needs a power amplifier, speakers and sources. For power, the natural partner is the Hegel H20, a stereo power amplifier based on the H30 reference design with over 130 amperes of current capability, matched to the P20 in price and design; a more powerful Hegel H30A is the step up for the most demanding speakers. For speakers, we suggest the Amphion Argon 7LX, the flagship of Amphion’s Argon range, a sealed 2.5-way floorstander whose transparent, studio-derived Finnish character suits Hegel’s honesty; it is a 4-ohm, 91dB speaker the H20 drives with total ease. Good alternatives from brands we carry are floorstanders from Dynaudio, Focal, Sonus faber and KEF.

The two systems differ in source. For digital, we suggest the EverSolo DMP-A8 Master, a streamer and DAC with AKM converters and every major streaming service, which feeds the P20 through its balanced or unbalanced analogue outputs, exactly what a preamplifier with no DAC needs; an Aurender or HiFi Rose streamer does the same. For vinyl, because the P20 has no phono stage, a turntable connects through an external phono stage: we suggest the Hegel V10, Hegel’s own moving-magnet and moving-coil stage, with the Pro-Ject Debut Reference 10, whose factory-fitted Pick it PRO moving-magnet cartridge runs straight into the V10; a Clearaudio or another Pro-Ject deck partners equally well.

On cabling, run the sources and power amplifier 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 want the ultimate Hegel preamplifier, the flagship P30A goes further in every respect. If you would rather have streaming, a DAC and a phono stage built into one box with the amplification, Hegel’s H-series integrateds such as the H400 or H600 combine everything, at the cost of the flexibility that separates bring. And if you have no separate sources and no wish to add them, an integrated amplifier will suit you better than a preamplifier that relies on external components for digital and vinyl.

Setup notes: The P20 and H20 are a matched pair; run the P20 to the H20 on balanced XLR cables where you can, and place the amplifier to keep the speaker runs sensible. For digital, connect the EverSolo to one of the P20’s line inputs and set the EverSolo’s own volume to fixed or bypass so the P20 controls the level. For vinyl, connect the turntable to the Hegel V10 phono stage and the V10 to a line input; the Pro-Ject’s Pick it PRO is a moving-magnet cartridge, and the V10 handles both moving-magnet and moving-coil, so there is room to upgrade the cartridge later. Place the Amphion Argon 7LX clear of the rear wall to suit its rear passive radiators. The fixed recording output and second outputs allow a subwoofer or recorder alongside.

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