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Downsize multiple boxes to a single (Hegel H590) box?

badger748

Former bacon enthusiast
I'm sure a lot of you have had this conumdrum pop up at some point; now appears to be my turn and time.

So having spent many years, building, buying, swapping and generally upgrading my hi-fi system to a pretty top notch set up of 3 racks and about 15 boxes, I have had one of those moments of clarity. How about if I sell most of it and simplify my life? There's some background to this - it's not just all about hi-fi.

1. I just don't use it all enough to jusfify the set up I have.
2. My partner and son won't / don't / can't use it as it's way too complicated.
3. Too much money tied up in it all.
4. My life priorities have changed - I do a lot of holidays, road trips, time away now.
5. Age. At a point where i'm thinking that if I dropped dead tomo, all this stuff would have to be sorted.
6. FWIW I am going through similar rumblings with all the cars I own, bikes, watches, you get the drift.

So - if for example, I got a Hegel H590, I could remove 2x power amps, 1x pre, 1x DAC, 1x Streamer, 1x rack, many cables. I also have other cartridges and other stuff just lying around unused. Replace 6 items with 1. The 1 that is also very easy to use, can be operated by said partner and son, still gives a very high quality sound and takes up less room in my living room. Obviously in extremis it prob wont't be quite as good SQ as what I currently have - but so what? Am I that critical any more? I will still retain everything else, i.e. turntable, CDP, etc.

I have good experience with Hegel, already having a Rost amp/DAC/streamer in my bedroom, hence the H590 is the obvious candidate.

I have been through a similar "thinning" with other stuff, it seemed hard at first, but you know what, after the selling I felt ok, no -one died, I didn't cry - it's all just stuff. Stuff that is nice, but it doesn't change your life!

Thoughts?
 
You might be surprised by just how good the H590 sounds. I have it on demo and it is the amp that I reach for whenever I want to show off the full potential of a loudspeaker without a lot of fuss and boxes. If you would like to try it for yourself, please drop me a line.
 
I am thinking about a similar radical step but with ATC CD/Pre & active speakers. A much as I like my current system the multiple boxes look a bit like overkill.
 
Agree, less could actually result in more. Simply not dealing with pre-amp gain structure issues can result in quite an improvement. Remove all that cabling from the equation too and things start looking attractive indeed.
 
I can't help but think back to days past when I had a Roksan Xerxes, Creek amp and Royd Eden speakers. Played it all day, every day.
Less can be more............
 
Peak box for me was pre power , two box phono stage, tt with seperate on off box, sub , speakers 2, mains box x2 , dac/ transport .
 
I do not have a big multibox rig, but it is in a sort free to play zone, the man cave is largely left alone by others. But if that changed I have said to myself, in this digital age, all you really need is a pair of Wireless KEF50's, an Ipad or Smartphone and an Internet connection. If you really think about it is the music that really matters and hearing the 'nth' degree of subtlety makes no difference to the music you are enjoying.

It has been said before - surprisingly few musicians, even wealthy ones, have top notch multi box systems. If they are acoustic musicians they know the reproduction can never match reality and if they are jazz/rock musicians then their music is played over PA systems in clubs and stadia - not hifi anyway...so why try to make it better at home?
 
I do not have a big multibox rig, but it is in a sort free to play zone, the man cave is largely left alone by others. But if that changed I have said to myself, in this digital age, all you really need is a pair of Wireless KEF50's, an Ipad or Smartphone and an Internet connection. If you really think about it is the music that really matters and hearing the 'nth' degree of subtlety makes no difference to the music you are enjoying.

It has been said before - surprisingly few musicians, even wealthy ones, have top notch multi box systems. If they are acoustic musicians they know the reproduction can never match reality and if they are jazz/rock musicians then their music is played over PA systems in clubs and stadia - not hifi anyway...so why try to make it better at home?
Musicians probably don't relax by listening to music. A good point though; their are some exceptions, apparently Kate Bush has an uber system. I have definitely got more enjoyment from music via a good system but I don't think I needed to go as far as I ended up; blokes like a spendy hobby though.
 
If you want a top notch single box at that level then also consider the AVM CS 6.2 and the Audionet DNA1.

If you can manage 2 boxes (but operate as one, as it were) then the Moon 390D paired with a 330a will take some beating.
 
I have sorted a demo of the H590.
Want to see how I get on with that first.... as I said, I have a Rost in my bedroom system and it is brilliant to use and to enjoy listening to!
 
I’ve been undertaking a similar process ahead of a move abroad. There’s obviously a few of us consolidating. The Naim Uniti Nova is an obvious choice if circa £4K is not too much to swallow. A less obvious one is the Goldnote IS1000 which I think is slightly cheaper. Also Gato Audio have single-box system with excellent Class D amps, the DIA-250S and DIA-400S, both of which can come with a Network Player Module (NPM) at extra cost. Up a notch price-wise is the Lindemann Musicbook which is just about to relaunch in a revised version. You’d need their separate Class D power amp, though the two sit together vertically as effectively a one-box unit. Quite a few more out there also, but those are the ones that are on my radar. I also get a pretty good performance from a pair of Meridian DSP3200 active speakers fronted by the tiny 218 pre/dac/streamer. I use Roon so my interest is in Roon-Ready devices.
 


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