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Amplifier Choice - Moon, Hegel or?

A

Allaboutmusic

pfm Member
Hi all

Considering amplifiers for a potential future system shake up - emphasising potential as I would only do so if it bettered my rega elex r dac-r combo.

Bit of back ground, my current system is rega planar 6, exact, elex r, dac-r and B&W 685 s2. Temporarily I have been driving my speakers with an old denon dm37 while my amp was away, really didn't expect it to drive my speakers well but it does, particularly I have found at low volumes where I seem more content to just set the volume at 10 or 12 (quiet house level) and just relax. Which with my current amp I find that more difficult and seem to always be adjusting the volume. Not sure why this is, potentially because the rega has more bass so more aware of waking her in doors or I was thinking due to the digital volume control on the denon ie I know what level it is so just leave it and don't worry.

This has got me thinking about amps with digital displays and the two I have been reading about are the Moon 240i and the Hegel h120, both are around the same price, though I would need to buy a separate phono for the Hegel.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Would they be a step up over my current setup?

Or any other alternatives.

Also to note I plan to upgrade my speakers first and are considering b&w 705 s2, dynaudio special 40 and harbeth c7es-3.. So any future amp would need to work with one of these too.

Thanks in advance.
 
Moon make nice kit.
Not heard one of their amps for some time but they were on the warmer side of neutral.
I have a lot of experience with Dynaudio and they will like an amplifier that can deliver effortless power.
Moon and Dynaudio are a good match.
Problem is Dynaudio’s like to be played loud and I wouldn’t recommend for low volume listening levels.
Have you considered Rega speakers?
 
Have you Auditioned the Rega Elicit-r?
I owned a Rega Elex-r, but was persuaded to audition an Elicit-r. The difference was not subtle. I enjoyed the Elex-r, however, as It imbued music with pace and excitement, and was therefore an engaging listen, but the Elicit was a clear step up in terms of detail resolution at both extremes of the frequencies, and although I wasn’t aware of it whilst owning it, there were a number of comments about the Elex-r being a little bass light, which was possibly why music had that engaging drive, as not been slowed down by any bass over-emphasis.
I find the Elicit-r, once run in, to have the pace and timing of the Elex-r, but it is more refined, and not as in your face, and more effortless in its delivery of dynamic shifts.
 
It's a good point and I will consider, though I do fancy a bit of a change hence why I'm looking at a more 'all in one' system su h as the moon or hegel. I was also reading about the rotel 1592 which seems to be good value.

Will audition in due course but interested in any user experience.
 
Your system is currently well balanced. I am a believer in balancing out the system in terms of components working favourably with each other.
You have a great front end , but I agree it can be tricky to match new amp and speakers. I also feel its important to have an amp which if you like their family sound, and I believe they all have it, will have enough current/power to exploit the speakers favourably.
Of the Hegel, I like the 190, and it did a good job of driving the Harbeth C7es3- XD at Bristol show recently.
I agree with the Dynaudio speakers needing power to get them working at their best.

This is how I choose. Does the amp have enough dynamic power to push the speakers, regardless of volume and does their sound signature work with my favoured speaker.
This is why I favour German brands, Trigon, Exact or Exceed, integrateds, Audio emotion stock them, and my favourite for 22 years Restek audio.
There was a Restek fantasy for sale on ebay recently. £600 absolute giant killer and will drive anything, I have one driving Ruark Equinox.
 
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Arkless Electronics said:
Personally what you seem to be looking for is what I would explicitly avoid at any cost! Displays on it... USB ports etc etc = irreparable.
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Appreciate that view point but on the other hand I have a 14 year old denon and still works perfectly.

Also the moon stuff comes with a 10 year guarantee so they must be confident in their build quality. Unsure of hegel and rotel though. I do from an astetic point of view like the look of the hegel stuff though.
 
The moon integrateds, 240 and 340, are good amps, and quite versatile. Don't know how they would sound driving the speakers you are looking at though.
I will put this to you, if you like what your Denon does. Denon PMA 2500 NE. Comes in at 2k and is well received as a good sounding integrated.
It has an in built DAC, and a phono stage for mm and mc. It also has an audio grade motorised volume control.
Upon reading up on this, they have invested effort in the function and benefits to gain etc, in what looks like a nicely designed volume control.
I do know someone who runs his Tannoys through this Denon integrated and says it does a good all round job.
 
Were you aware that screens are also very noisy and should be avoided if you are looking at optimum sonic performance? As Jez rightly says they can be a source of unreliability especially nowadays as electronic parts have such a short life span.
 
You both seam to say that as if its the final word, many manufacturers have overcome such issues and have been doing so for a very long time!!

Examples being CH precision, Soulotions, Analog Domain, Audionet, Devialet, Bryston, Naim, Rega. etc etc.
 
I'd agree with Jez - displays & digital components often use custom parts that may be tie you in to needing to send back to the original manufacturer, or may be unobtainable after the product has ceased production. Just common sense really. It should be possible to overcome any noise problem, but the display or whatever + cost of noise protection all adds to the cost, so if its done to a price, may not be done properly - if SQ is your priority, then including these is probably not the most cost-effective option.
 
Cereal Killer said:
You both seam to say that as if its the final word, many manufacturers have overcome such issues and have been doing so for a very long time!!

Examples being CH precision, Soulotions, Analog Domain, Audionet, Devialet, Bryston, Naim, Rega. etc etc.
Click to expand...

Ha, ha. One of my customers sent an amplifier back to one of those companies above that failed due to modern digital tech. It failed right at the end of the warranty period. He got a £5K plus bill...
 
Cereal Killer said:
Like everything in life, failure is a part of existence.
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Indeed, but the more complex a product is the unreliability factor goes up exponentially. Plus the product becomes out of date very quickly. For the best all-round performance keep it very simple.
 
Agreed, unless done right and with foresight of such issues. The disappointing thing is that some manufacturers choose to skin a customer for a simple remove and replace component that only costs a few pounds.
This also applies to pure analog sections..
 
Its not all about draining the last bit of fidelity out of a product.
People are also interested in features, convenience, ease of use etc.
Not all of us want lots of boxes in search of audio nirvana.
Some of us are just enjoying the music!
 
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