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Accuphase vs hegel

Y

yunie_

pfm Member
Hi. I pair my hegel h190 with the p3esr xd and the Falcon gold badge but found them to be still a lil too bright. I believe this is likely because I use them in a nearfield setup, with my computer.

But I really love those 2 little speakers and want those to really work. I was thinking with accuphase, with its warmer balance, can help the speakers become listenable.

Anyone have any experience? Or can give a comparison of accuphase vs hegel?
 
This is going to be contentious but I think tone controls or EQ may be a more effective solution here. By listening nearfield you are hearing more of the speaker's anechoic response and less of its room response, so a speaker that measures flat or has a rising treble response when measured anechoically is likely to sound a bit too bright when listened to in a nearfield computer setup when your ears are only 1 metre or less away from the speakers. Changing amplifier might not be enough to solve this unless you go for a design that's known to roll-off the high frequencies.

EDIT - Have you experimented with the speaker's positioning, height, toe-in angle, etc, to see if the treble sounds more relaxed if the tweeters aren't pointing directly at your ears? Tilting the speakers backward so that the tweeters are aiming slightly above your head can help to roll-off the treble a little and can sometimes also improve the time-alignment of the woofer and tweeter.
 
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Imho Hegel are not bright. My Arcam SA20 is 'brighter' than my H95 and that amplifier is not generally regarded as particularly bright sounding.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
I have a Hegel 390 and an Accuphase E480. I don’t think the Accuphase is warmer than the Hegel, and I don’t think the Hegel is particularly bright. My guess would be that the combination is showing you a problem somewhere else in your system.
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agreed . hegel are not bright

on the harbeth groups there is lots of talk of the XD models being brighter than previous models
to to man has hit it on the nail i think
 
sorry if it seems that I'm implying hegels are bright. I know they are not bright and for me, they are neutral sounding. the best word I would use is smooth.

Its just that the falcon and harbeth is too transparent to be used in nearfield and thought something warm would helped.

ToTo Man said:
This is going to be contentious but I think tone controls or EQ may be a more effective solution here. By listening nearfield you are hearing more of the speaker's anechoic response and less of its room response, so a speaker that measures flat or has a rising treble response when measured anechoically is likely to sound a bit too bright when listened to in a nearfield computer setup when your ears are only 1 metre or less away from the speakers. Changing amplifier might not be enough to solve this unless you go for a design that's known to roll-off the high frequencies.

EDIT - Have you experimented with the speaker's positioning, height, toe-in angle, etc, to see if the treble sounds more relaxed if the tweeters aren't pointing directly at your ears? Tilting the speakers backward so that the tweeters are aiming slightly above your head can help to roll-off the treble a little and can sometimes also improve the time-alignment of the woofer and tweeter.
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great advice. I personally know this is true but i guess a part of me is lying to myself thinking that changing an amplifier can help when in fact, a EQ would have been better. Thanks for waking me up on this.

Nonetheless, I'd like to ask if anyone has owned both accuphase and hegel and can explain the differences between the two? I am very intrigued by accuphase and its VU meter and I'm at a stage of my life when I have some money and not much sense. this is not helped by seeing a used accuphase e360 available locally matched with dac50.
 
yunie_ said:
sorry if it seems that I'm implying hegels are bright. I know they are not bright and for me, they are neutral sounding. the best word I would use is smooth.

Its just that the falcon and harbeth is too transparent to be used in nearfield and thought something warm would helped.



great advice. I personally know this is true but i guess a part of me is lying to myself thinking that changing an amplifier can help when in fact, a EQ would have been better. Thanks for waking me up on this.

Nonetheless, I'd like to ask if anyone has owned both accuphase and hegel and can explain the differences between the two? I am very intrigued by accuphase and its VU meter and I'm at a stage of my life when I have some money and not much sense. this is not helped by seeing a used accuphase e360 available locally matched with dac50.
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Well the Accuphase E360 has treble and bass controls so I suppose that gives you a genuine excuse for treating yourself to a new amp. ;)
 
Can’t go wrong with Accuphase in many ways : very neutral and transparent sound, involving, built like a tank and of top of that, they keep their resell value for ever.
 
ToTo Man said:
This is going to be contentious but I think tone controls or EQ may be a more effective solution here. By listening nearfield you are hearing more of the speaker's anechoic response and less of its room response, so a speaker that measures flat or has a rising treble response when measured anechoically is likely to sound a bit too bright when listened to in a nearfield computer setup when your ears are only 1 metre or less away from the speakers. Changing amplifier might not be enough to solve this unless you go for a design that's known to roll-off the high frequencies.

EDIT - Have you experimented with the speaker's positioning, height, toe-in angle, etc, to see if the treble sounds more relaxed if the tweeters aren't pointing directly at your ears? Tilting the speakers backward so that the tweeters are aiming slightly above your head can help to roll-off the treble a little and can sometimes also improve the time-alignment of the woofer and tweeter.
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Accuphase amps have tone controls, or Luxman too.
Mac
 
I had the H190 and upgraded to Accuphase E370. I couldn't be happier. The H190 was excellent, with very deep and controlled bass, but the Accuphase sounds so much more natural, has even better detail and is enjoyable at lower volumes and off-axis. This is with Dynaudio SP40.
 
peter_964rs said:
I had the H190 and upgraded to Accuphase E370. I couldn't be happier. The H190 was excellent, with very deep and controlled bass, but the Accuphase sounds so much more natural, has even better detail and is enjoyable at lower volumes and off-axis. This is with Dynaudio SP40.
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just saw this reply and thanks for sharing.

how's the bass of the e370?
 
best sound i ever got from my p3esr was with an arcam amp. brilliant . lovely musical and engaging and smooth
 
Heard these speakers with a Luxman pure class A integrated and it was very sweet, no harshness, no sparkly/over bright treble.
 
yunie_ said:
just saw this reply and thanks for sharing.

how's the bass of the e370?
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Unremarkable I suppose. Inasmuch as people comment on, say, the bass grip of Hegel amps, or the bass detail in digital amps with kW power outputs, it doesn't feel like it excels in comparison; but that it is correct and in balance with the rest of the frequency range. More than adequate. At the levels at which I normally listen (not high, sleeping children and holiday let guests in the annexe next door) I am occasionally surprised by whatever track is playing, that a low bass note comes out with some oomph. I'm otherwise not drawn to expound on the power, depth and detail of the bass - it's in keeping with the rest of the frequency range, nicely detailed, nicely projected, natural and toe-tapping :)
 
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