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Question About Hegel 190

S

stephen oneil

New Member
I have the Philharmonic BMR speakers powered by the Hegel 190. The Philharmonics are 4 ohms and have a sensitivity in the high 80s. The Hegel is rated at greater than 200 wpc in 4 ohms. I wonder why with Hegel’s volume control one has to increase the volume knob up to the high 60s low 70s to get an appreciable sound? I realize that there are several factors that influence loudness; nevertheless, it does seem odd that sound isn’t at lower volume numbers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Are there any other devices in your chain that may have it at low volume? E.g. Computer set at low volume or Spotify volume set at less than max.

Change to xlr output. That should increase volume significantly.

This is really a non-issue since everything is performing fine. If it makes you feel better, I use my hegel h190 as a power amp and its volume is fixed at 85 while I use my other preamp to control the volume. So anything less than 85 for sure means it is distortion-free.
 
stephen oneil said:
I have the Philharmonic BMR speakers powered by the Hegel 190. The Philharmonics are 4 ohms and have a sensitivity in the high 80s. The Hegel is rated at greater than 200 wpc in 4 ohms. I wonder why with Hegel’s volume control one has to increase the volume knob up to the high 60s low 70s to get an appreciable sound? I realize that there are several factors that influence loudness; nevertheless, it does seem odd that sound isn’t at lower volume numbers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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The loudness you get at a given volume control setting is determined by your source voltage and your system's total amplification factor (AKA "gain"). A volume control changes the system's gain.

The Hegel's maximum output power - if that 200 wpc is what's causing you to ask the question - is independent of its gain. You can have high maximum output power at the same time as low gain. Maximum output power is a measure of the maximum loudness you may be able to get with 'speakers of a given sensitivity. And the maximum loudness from 200 wpc is likely to be more than ample with those loudspeakers. You won't normally be needing anywhere near the Hegel's maximum output power.

As long as you have enough gain to get the loudness you want at some reasonable setting of the volume control below its maximum there's normally nothing to worry about.
 
Thanks so much; your suggestion regarding XLR output is intriguing, I will try that. And yes all other things considered, the Hegel/Philharmonics sound fantastic.
 
stephen oneil said:
I have the Philharmonic BMR speakers powered by the Hegel 190. The Philharmonics are 4 ohms and have a sensitivity in the high 80s. The Hegel is rated at greater than 200 wpc in 4 ohms. I wonder why with Hegel’s volume control one has to increase the volume knob up to the high 60s low 70s to get an appreciable sound? I realize that there are several factors that influence loudness; nevertheless, it does seem odd that sound isn’t at lower volume numbers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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That sounds perfectly normal to me. On many amps with more conventional volume controls (a knob connected directly to a pot), the useful volume range might be contained within the first 30-50% of the knob's rotation. By contrast, the Hegel volume control is a fly by wire affair and the number shown on the display represents a percentage of the useful volume range. Most owners I meet (I am a Hegel retailer so I meet a lot of them) have the volume set between 50% and 70% depending on speaker choices and listening preferences.
 
John your clearly stated technical explanation makes perfect sense; and in regards to “ cloth ears”, my first introduction to classical music was listening to Beethoven on one of those portable suitcase record players in the 60s. It was a revelation!
 
Strictly Stereo. Thanks so much. Just to clarify, my query had nothing to do with dissatisfaction ; this Hegel is nothing short of a marvel
 
As posy number 5.

People are used to getting near enough full output at 1/4 rotation but the Hegel has a useful volume control.
 
Yep and I bought one of the first ones off you to go with PMC Twenty 26s. Did regret selling them eventually but I had two warranty replacements of the bass drivers. Never got a straight answer from PMC why but their warranty was great. Has put me off that brand ever since but I can see why some love them.
 
Strictly Stereo said:
That sounds perfectly normal to me. On many amps with more conventional volume controls (a knob connected directly to a pot), the useful volume range might be contained within the first 30-50% of the knob's rotation. By contrast, the Hegel volume control is a fly by wire affair and the number shown on the display represents a percentage of the useful volume range. Most owners I meet (I am a Hegel retailer so I meet a lot of them) have the volume set between 50% and 70% depending on speaker choices and listening preferences.
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Yes, agreed. I have the Hegel 390 which is much more powerful than the 190 and I still find I use volume settings of 65 or more, for much of my listening. It just seems to be a feature of the Hegel approach, that it is expected that you’ll use a ‘bigger’ volume setting than for many alternatives.
 
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