Hegel H360

Released in late 2015, the Hegel H360 combines robust high-end audio build quality with a simple, minimalist design reminiscent of Braun's 1980s aesthetic. Its massive toroidal transformer can deliver an impressive 250 watts per channel into 8-ohm loads, and in combination with its patented ultra-high damping circuitry it promises to provide a firm grip on the chassis and tame any loudspeaker. Alongside the standard cinch and XLR jacks, the Hegel H360 offers enhanced connectivity with a high-quality USB input, Apple AirPlay and DLNA streaming.

If I had to choose a defining feature of the H360 integrated amplifier, it would be this: 'There is more than meets the eye.' The slightly curved front of the Hegel amplifier holds two large knobs on opposite sides of its inconspicuous central display. 'Source' is written next to the knob on the left and 'Volume' next to the knob on the right. However, when the amplifier is turned off, it is impossible to tell what position the knobs are in. Rather than providing an indication of the scale and scope of the settings, all that remains is the enigmatic appearance of its vacant façade. To me, it seems that the Hegel’s design is deliberately odd and stubbornly resists convention. The display sits slightly lower than the horizontal axis of the control knobs. The two large rubber feet underneath the amplifier are also slightly further apart than the knobs, creating a near miss. The Hegel logo, stamped in the centre above the display, does nothing to showcase the unit’s meticulous design or achievements.

I first came across this enigmatic amplifier at my friend Henrik’s house. He had just finished work on his newly built listening room and was busy tweaking his audio equipment and room acoustics in order to achieve the best possible listening experience. The Hegel amplifier was at the heart of his system, serving as a music streamer, preamplifier and power amplifier. Hidden from view behind the metal-grid doors of a custom-built hi-fi rack, it was perhaps also protected from the curiosity of the children in the household. Henrik’s most prized music source was a large, solid Transrotor turntable with various MC cartridges. He had a separate step-up transformer (Phasemation t550) and phono preamp (Audionet PAM V2) for these. For reasons known only to Hegel, the H360 does not have a built-in phono input with RIAA correction.

Henrik’s loudspeakers were the Achenbach Trinity 15-8B. While his speakers were preassembled by Dieter Achenbach himself, the famous two-way monitor speaker with a 15-inch bass driver was mostly sold as a DIY kit. This gave it an excellent reputation among enthusiasts in terms of value for money. With the right equipment driving them, the speakers can produce a musical and live sound, but they are demanding in terms of placement and electronics. Their clean, forward-sounding treble is driven by a Beyma AMT (air-motion transformer) with a waveguide — a combination that can be unforgivingly revealing. At the other end of the spectrum, the PHL B38-5011 bass driver accentuates room modes due to its size and requires strong guidance from the amplifier despite its power sensitivity. 

The Hegel’s damping factor of 4,000 is useful when it comes to driving and controlling such large-diameter bass drivers. The AMT also benefits from the H360’s ability to produce highly accurate, non-fatiguing treble. At the time, however, Henrik’s listening room was still a work in progress. There were unbecoming first-order reflections behind the speakers, a slight boominess in the lowest bass frequencies and an odd bass dislocation towards the right rear corner of the room — a phenomenon that we could not explain at the time (1, see below). Consequently, my initial impression of the Hegel was negatively affected by its surroundings. It was only when Henrik suggested I take it to my studio for further testing that I began to discover its hidden merits. 'There's more to it than meets the eye' certainly came to mind when I attempted to lift the 20 kg H360 from its rack for the first time.

The remote control was also much heavier than its modest size and tiny, identical-looking buttons would suggest. As I mostly handle vintage equipment in my listening adventures, which either has no remote control or only a cheap plastic one, the solid build of this specimen came as a surprise. The next surprise came when I could not find the Hegel power switch. It was not on the remote control, nor could I find it at the front, rear or back of the unit. I sat down on the carpet in my studio and stared at the Hegel for a long time. Henrik may have told me where to find the power switch, but if he did, I could not remember. So, I slid my hands under the sides and front of the unit and finally felt the button underneath the front. I pushed it upwards.

My audio source was a Marantz CD-17 CD player featuring a Ken Ishiwata output stage. This was connected to the Hegel via a chinch/RCA cable, using the player’s internal converter. Initially, the settings displayed on the Hegel did not mean much to me. I then realised that I had forgotten to attach the speaker cables to the amplifier terminal. Usually, I would have connected all the cables first, but for some reason, I had forgotten this step that day, and the cables leading to my Martin Logan SL3 electrostatic speakers were still connected to a Symphonic Line RG9 amplifier. 

With the speaker cables in place, I turned up the volume on the Hegel, indicated by a decreasing negative decibel value on the display. The analogue input 'An01' was selected and the Marantz was playing music, but there was no sound coming from the speakers. In true 'IT Crowd' style, I turned the H360 off and on again to reset the system. When the Hegel started up and the relays clicked into action, the way was cleared for the music to reach the Martin Logans. The Hegel is a capable amplifier with a strong power supply and circuitry that delivers 250 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load and 420 watts into a 4-ohm load. However, it seems that its patented SoundEngine technology with adaptive feed-forward circuitry needs to know exactly what speaker load it is dealing with. The amp will go into protection mode and wait for a reboot as long as this information is missing.

My Martin Logan speakers have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms and can therefore demand up to 420 watts per channel from the Hegel amplifier. Adhering to the Harman Kardon philosophy that a good amplifier should have no limitations, the H360's frequency range extends from 5 Hz to 180,000 Hz. However, when paired with the SL3, this can be problematic due to the electrostatic load resulting in an ultra-low resistance of 0.2 ohms from around 20,000 Hz. The stators act as capacitors at high frequencies. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that the best cable for driving these speakers is a custom-made, high-capacitance design. Having recalibrated its output expectations to the specific load, the H360 seemed unimpressed by the Martin Logan's demands. This came as a pleasant surprise and is another example of the sophistication that the Hegel’s simplistic design does not betray.

Another hidden feature was that the Hegel remote was compatible with my Marantz CD-17 player. This meant that I could control both devices with a single remote. I am not sure if Marantz still uses the same IR code for its newer models, but if they do, this compatibility could be a selling point for future buyers of either unit. The Hegel also offers Ethernet (RJ45), USB and Apple AirPlay as audio inputs, making it an attractive all-in-one solution. If we use a separate streamer or DAC to play music from internet or computer sources, we also need to pay attention to every step of the process, otherwise the resulting sound quality can easily be poor. While my Symphonic Line RG9 is an incredibly musical performer, it lacks this type of modern integration. I was not so aware of this before I had the Hegel in my studio.

However, this is only one side of the story because, whereas the Hegel has no turntable input or RIAA correction, my RG9 has both. Since I have never experienced a high-quality optical signal connection, I found the single cinch/RCA input for analogue connections rather limiting. (Two analogue inputs, if you count the variable home theatre input which can be programmed as fixed.) Furthermore, when playing music via this input, it initially seemed as though some aspects of the natural flow of music were being sacrificed for superior instrument placement in terms of depth and width. While my Symphonic Line kept the instruments within a relatively narrow stage, giving each its particular timbre, the Hegel cut the instruments out of the group, creating open spaces between them. The tonality was similar to that of the Symphonic Line, but perhaps a little more disparate than musically accurate at times. Achieving believable timbre is indeed an elusive art. And there can be too much of a good thing.

Although I was impressed by the superior soundstage of the Hegel, I found the Symphonic Line more engaging. I probably would have left it at that had Henrik not come by for a visit and suggested we try using the Hegel’s internal DAC instead of the Marantz's. This was an intriguing idea, so we quickly reconnected the cables. Our first attempt did not produce a signal. I used my HiViLux digital cable, which caused the Hegel to close the input. There was something about the cable that disagreed with the Hegel’s circuitry and expectations. We then established the connection using my WSS Platinum Line KS10 interconnect, restarted the amplifier, and this time it worked.

As before, Hegel's soundstage was spacious, with each instrument playing in its exact location and clearly distinguishable from the others. This was especially noticeable when listening to orchestral music, such as Max Richter’s album My Brilliant Friend. If you haven't heard it yet, it's a brilliant album, as the title suggests. The Hegel faithfully rendered each orchestral position, producing a spacious, clean and highly believable sound. The tonality was superior to that of the analogue connection using the same WSS cable(s). It was late in the evening and the Hegel benefited from the increasingly clean electricity supply and lower ambient noise. The bass was tight and clean. Who would have expected the Hegel DAC to be capable of elevating the overall sound experience to this level?

When used with ultra-faithful speakers such as the Martin Logan electrostats, the Hegel may produce a sound that is slightly too dry for some recordings. This is due to its superior damping characteristics. If the speakers themselves do not provide the necessary fullness, it simply isn't there. However, on great recordings such as Richter’s “Infra 8”, the lead violin stood solid and three-dimensionally, with defined space around it, as if you were looking down a hall. The opening and closing of each note could be heard, like drops of rain falling in slow motion. At other times, the Hegel can appear matter-of-fact, as it refuses to embellish the music. It makes no personal contribution to the mix and has no particular 'Hegel house' sound. When set up properly, it will not sound cold or harsh; however, it does not caress the music either. Its enormous power facilitates great orchestral swells and deep gurgling sounds where these are required. 

In this sense, the Hegel’s internal DAC is quite spectacular. The AKM AK4450 chip it is not the latest generation of converters (24/192 PCM), but in Hegel’s application, any digital input is first re-clocked by the H360’s proprietary master clock. This reduces timing errors before the conversion and is probably one of the Hegel’s best kept secrets. Deeply embedded in its oddly simplistic enclosure is a carefully thought out High-End DAC-clock combination that will rival, if not outperform, many far more expensive separate components. Hegel’s first all-in-one solution is especially intriguing to those who favour detailed, accurate sound with natural dynamics played on a dark and spacious canvas. The H360 favours music from digital sources and works great with orchestral arrangements. It can be beat, however, if the primary focus is on analogue music and in terms of lusciousness. The Hegel is not voluptuous. It does not interpret, it renders. And in sum it delivers far more than meets the eye.

1 = The perceived displacement of the bass towards the left rear of the room was an acoustic effect caused by the reverse polarity of the midrange-to-bass driver in the right channel monitor speaker of the Achenbach setup. This fault was identified during the measurements taken for the FIR activation of the speakers, conducted in cooperation with Bidjan Tschaitschian in August 2026.

< Martin Logan SL3 | FIR Activation >

Specifications

• Type: Integrated Streaming Amplifier
• Power output (8 Ohm): 250 WPC
• Power output (4 Ohm): 420 WPC
• Frequency range: 5 Hz - 180.000 Hz
• Analogue inputs: 1x XLR, 1x cinch/RCA, 1x home cinema
• Analogue outputs (cinch/RCA): 1x fixed Line-level, 1x variable Line-level
• Digital inputs: 1x coaxial, 3x optical, 1x USB, 1x Ethernet (type RJ45)
• Digital output: 1x coaxial (digital sources only)
• Control input: 3.5 mm IR-jack (rear panel)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: > 100 dB
• Crosstalk between channels: < 100 dB
• Damping factor: > 4,000 (power amplifier output impedance)
• Available finishes: matt black
• Dimensions: (H)12 cm, 15 cm including feet x (W)43 cm x (D)43 cm
• Weight: 20.5 kg (net.), 24 kg (shipping)
• Country of manufacture: China
• Year(s): 2015 - 2019/20

View full-size image

View full-size image

View full-size image