Nicknaming the H390 "Robin Hood" is a bit bold, you may think. After all, it isn't pocket money and we are not giving it away to the poor. But it is a rebellion against the established. It is a rebellion because it offers extraordinary resolution and musical quality, typically found only in the most esoteric products, but at a reasonable price.
It is a rebellion against the establishment of "forcing" consumers into a user interface defined by the amplifier/streamer manufacturer. The H390 is very much at the tip of the spear in Hegel's pursuit of making mainstream sources sound their very best. Meaning the H390 is not just for the Audiophile. It is a product for the entire family to enjoy.
At the heart of the H390 is Hegel's patented SoundEngine 2 amplifier section. The SoundEngine 2, in many ways, works like a noise cancelling headphone. A computer inside will sample what comes into the amplifier and compares it to what comes out. The computer subtracts the difference (distortion) and then add it into the music but in reverse phase. The result being that, without any time delay, the SoundEngine 2 cancels out almost all errors made by the amplifier. Leaving you with the most musical and natural sound you ever have experience. Then there is digital. If not using a turntable, you are probably using digital connections. Hegel designs both the analog and digital sections from the ground up and in-house. The digital section in the H390 is unique in that regardless of the signal type or input, the music signal remains unchanged and untampered with in the H390. We call it a "bit perfect" DAC. This is digital in its purest form. For those interested in deep tech, we even design digital clocks that will follow the sampling frequency in the music and "down-clock" when receiving a low-resolution file. For the non-techie, the result is a far more natural and "analog" sound as well as an unbelievable soundstage and realism.
Review by Hi-Fi News (UK)
When building a range of products, it's always advisable to have some clear model differentiation, but Hegel may just have dropped the ball on this one: the H390 is sensationally good value, with a clean, powerful sound and bags of musicality, not to mention exceptional flexibility including onboard network streaming. And all this for just over half the price of the H590 flagship...
Features
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2 x 250 W/8 Ω
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Dual Mono
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SoundEngine 2
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Bit-Perfect DAC
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Apple AirPlay
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Spotify Connect
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Control4 Ready
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UPnP Streaming
Technical Specifications
Power output: 2 x 250 W into 8 Ω, Dual MonoMinimum load: 2 ΩAnalog Inputs: 1 x balanced (XLR), 2 x unbalanced (RCA)Digital Outputs: 1 x coaxial (BNC)Digital Inputs: 1 x coaxial (BNC), 1 x coaxial (RCA), 3 x optical, 1 x USB, 1 x NetworkLine level Output: 1 x unbalanced fixed (RCA), 1 x unbalanced variable (RCA)MQA supported inputs: USB, BNC, Optical and CoaxialFrequency response: 5 Hz - 180 kHzSignal-to-noise ratio: More than 100 dBCrosstalk: Less than -100 dBDistortion: Less than 0.005% @ 50 W/8 Ω/1 kHzIntermodulation: Less than 0.01% (19 kHz + 20 kHz)Damping factor: More than 4000 (main power output stage)Dimensions incl feet: 14.5 cm x 43 cm x 44 cm (HxWxD), 20 kg unit weightSpecial features: Set Startup volume | Set max volume | Software upgradable | Configure all inputs as fixed level inputs | IP control
