Moving on up

As Hegel updates its H90 entry-level integrated to the H95, HFC can’t help but be blown away by what this new and substantially improved model has to offer

DETAILS

PRODUCT Hegel H95

ORIGIN Norway

TYPE Network-attached integrated amplifier

WEIGHT 11kg

DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 430 x 100 x 350mm

FEATURES

Quoted power output: 2x 60W (8ohm)

Digital inputs: 1x coaxial (RCA); 3x optical; 1x USB-B; Ethernet port

Analogue inputs: 2x stereo RCAs

6.35mm headphone output

DISTRIBUTOR Hegel Music Systems AS

TELEPHONE [phone]

WEBSITE hegel.com

Before we get started, let’s lay a commonly held misnomer to rest. Norwegian maverick manufacturer Hegel is named not after the German philosopher who along with Kant shaped Western philosophy as we know it today, but instead a metal band that company founder Bent Holter played in during the nineties.

At the time Holter was a student at the Technical University in Trondheim working on a thesis to solve the issue of distortion. Eschewing traditional schematics, he developed a project that became the basis for the SoundEngine technology that the company still employs to this day. And the band? Not only did they benefit from Holter’s deft musicianship, but he also built them amplifiers to use for gigs. Though The Hegel Band may have slipped into obscurity in the years since, its namesake has gone on to become one of the country’s finest exports.