This needs some explanation.ДЄn audio amplifier has several gain stages, each of which adds distortion along with the signal, that distortion is passed along to subsequent stages and further amplified. The signature feature of all Hegel amplifiers, including the H120, is their SoundEngine distortion-reduction technology, now in its second generation. The larger transformer, for the output stage, has separate secondary windings for each channel, these feeding separate rectifier blocks and filter capacitors, which on the H120 provide 40,000в™џ of energy storage. For both supplies, the H120 uses toroidal transformers. This, Hegel says, prevents high current demands in the output stage from affecting the sensitive input and gain stages. Like all Hegel amps, the H120 has two power supplies: one for the power ampвЂ™s current output stage, another for the input and voltage gain stages. While its outer dimensions (16.93вЂќW x 3.15вЂќH x 12.2вЂќD) are slightly smaller than the norm for an integrated-DAC, the H120 is a very solid piece of kit weighing 21.8 pounds - a testament to its premium materials and hefty power supply. There are also buttons for operating Hegel DACs and CD players.

The track-skip buttons worked well with most apps, but not with Audirvana. The play/pause button worked fine with all the music apps on my MacBook Pro. You can pause and resume playback, and skip to the next or previous track. It has buttons for adjusting and muting volume, cycling through sources, and controlling playback from a computer attached to the H120вЂ™s USB port. Like the H120 itself, the supplied remote control feels satisfyingly solid. This component should inspire in its buyer pride of ownership. The controls have a solid, silky feel, with detents that provide just the right degree of resistance during operation. To the left of the display is a large knob for source selection, and to the right, another for controlling volume. At lower right is a 6.3mm headphone jack. In the center of the front panel is a 5вЂќW x 1.5вЂќH monochrome OLED screen that displays the source name, volume level, and other information, such as sampling rate during digital playback. Hegel provided me with a sample finished in a lovely warm white: matte on the vented top and sides, and gloss on the front panel, which curves gracefully outward. Hegel is based in Oslo, Norway, and true to its Scandinavian origins, the H120 is a thing of minimalist beauty. Like its predecessor, the H120 combines in one elegant case an amplifier specified to output 75Wpc into 8 ohms and a high-resolution DAC. In a follow-up six months later, he praised the RГ¶stвЂ™s вЂњconsistently clean and dynamic qualityвЂќ and вЂњwell-controlled bass and crisp rendering of transients,вЂќ and concluded that вЂњthe RГ¶st rules.вЂќ And so, six months after its publication, a ReviewersвЂ™ Choice badge was added to AlвЂ™s original review.ДЄnnounced earlier this fall, HegelвЂ™s H120 ($3000, all prices USD) succeeds the RГ¶st. That product was the Hegel Music Systems RГ¶st integrated amplifier-DAC, reviewed for Simplifi by Al Griffin in February 2017 - in fact, the RГ¶st was the first integrated amplifier to be reviewed on this site.ДЄfter his review was published, Al continued living with the RГ¶st, using it with a variety of speakers, and comparing its DAC section to competing products.

To my knowledge, in the 24 years of the SoundStage! Network only one product has ever been retroactively granted a ReviewersвЂ™ Choice award.

Audirvana plus 3 worth it