REVIEW n

The integration game

AMPLIFIER GROUP TEST - Hegel H390 vs
Krell K-300i vs Mark Levinson No5805
FLYING IN THE FACE OF TRADITIONAL HIGH-END HI-FI THINKING, EACH OF THIS TRIO
OF HIGHLY INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS FROM LEADING NAMES OFFERS PREAMP,
POWER AMP – AND MORE – ALL IN ONE CONVENIENT PACKAGE
ANDREW EVERARD

F
or ‘civilians’ – i.e. those unlikely to be reading amplifiers from some well-known high end names
a hi-fi magazine – it’s easy to spot a high-end that are not only integrated – in that they combine
audio system: it comprises a stack of boxes, pre and power sections in one enclosure – but highly
the function of each of which is usually far from integrated, with digital and even streaming provision
clear, and its owner doesn’t take kindly to being built-in. That rather flies in the face of the way Naim
asked, ‘Yes, but what does it do that my £400 Denon has developed its Supernait, which was launched
mini-system can’t?’ with digital inputs, went all-analogue in its second
You can see their point: I still remember generation and now has added a phono stage, as
the Linn system, a symphony in many identical you can read elsewhere in this issue. And don’t miss
boxes, installed in the ‘music room’ of a swish another uber-integrated amp, in the form of the
airline lounge at Heathrow, and watching hapless Goldmund Telos 590 Nextgen, reviewed by MC.
executive travellers, nonchalant and then increasingly So what’s the thinking behind the trio of
frustrated, trying without success to work out the tempting one-box amplifiers we have here? Hegel’s
seemingly simple task of playing a CD. £4900 H390, the £6200 Krell K-300i and Mark
Then there was the visitor to one of my fellow Levinson’s No.5805, which sells for £7999, all sell
reviewers who found herself staring at the battery of for prices at which a little judicious shopping would
boxes before starting a conversation along the lines get you a more than reasonable preamplifier and a
of ‘What’s that one?’ ‘The preamp.’ ‘Oh right, and separate power amp. But that’s not quite the point:
this one?’ ‘The power supply.’ ‘OK, and what does instead, these amplifiers are, their manufacturers say,
this one do…?’ That went on for quite a while. a means of getting high-end performance from a
We all know the benefits of breaking a system simple, (relatively) easy to accommodate and – again
down to its component parts: sources, phono relatively – affordable package.
stage, preamplifier, power amplifier(s) and so on. That last point is a salient one: whether overtly
Each section can be optimised for its function, all or rather less directly, each manufacturer will tell you
the way back to the power supply, and physically that such products act as a ‘gateway drug’ to lead
separating, say, the phono stage from the power buyers on to the more exotic pleasures further up
amplification minimises the chance of interference. their ranges. Only one company here, Hegel, offers
What’s more, strange though it may seem, even lower priced amplifiers: the £1500 H90 and
increasing the number of boxes in a system can the H190, at £3200, are good choices for those who
have interior design advantages: if required, you can’t quite stretch to the H390 – even though as we’ll
can have a minimal amount of equipment on see, extending the spending is very much worthwhile.
display, with the rest hidden away. Power supplies
can go on a separate rack, and you can adopt the
‘long interconnects, short speaker cables’ approach,
Hegel H390 £4900
placing power amps beside or behind speakers. Or The new midrange amplifier in Hegel’s integrated
go for active speakers with the power amplifiers range replaces the Oslo-based company’s H360, a
built-in, such as the ATCs also in this issue. design that was hardly starved of plaudits. In typically
There is, of course, another way, and it doesn’t Hegel style, it presents a very simple face to the
neccessarily mean compromising on high-quality world, with a minimalist black fascia carrying nothing
sound: recent times have seen the arrival of more than a clear central display straddled by a pair

HIFICRITIC JUL | AUG | SEPT 2019 49

n REVIEW

The amplification here is similar to that used in

the H590, and thus a complete change from that in
the older H360, even if the power supply is roughly
the same as that in the old amplifier. That means the
power output is fairly close to that of the flagship
Hegel integrated, capable of 250W per channel into
8ohms, and 490W into 4ohms. It’s based on the
company’s Sound Engine 2 topology, which correlates
the input with power amp output , then subtracts
the difference to suppress most of the distortion.
of controls clearly labelled for source selection and The more prosaic stuff ? Well, in addition to its
volume. It’s also a relatively slim amp, though made network and computer inputs, the H390 has five
taller by the substantial feet on which it stands, which more digital inputs – BNC, coaxial and three optical
AUDIO EXCELLENCE
at least give decent access to the main power switch – and, on the analogue front, one set of balanced
hidden under the front edge of the amplifier. inputs and two of unbalanced RCAs. Both fixed and
Hegel H390
However, if that sparsely populated fascia variable analogue line outs are provided, allowing
suggests this is a hairshirt all-analogue design, bereft the later addition of further amplification, and with
of any frills, think again: this is a fully-fledged higher output than on past Hegels, and all inputs can
network-capable amplifier, able to stream from be configured to standardise volume.
local sources or online services, and also with Apple Set-up is accessed via a web browser, allowing
AirPlay wireless connectivity and Roon-readiness such niceties as USB control of the amp’s volume,
awaiting activation at the time of review. It also and day-to-day operation is via third-party UPnP
has an asynchronous USB Type B input for direct control apps, Hegel promoting this – slightly
connection to a computer, via which it supports unconvincingly – as ‘a rebellion against the
music at up to DSD256, and can also decode MQA establishment of “forcing” consumers into a
from all digital inputs. user interface defined by the amplifier/streamer
It’s perhaps for that reason that the Hegel people manufacturer.’ Hmmm…
have got a bit carried away with their publicity
material: having designated the £9000 H590 ‘Master
and Commander’, this one is described as ‘Robin Krell K-300i from £6200;
Hood’, the thinking being it robs the kind of
performance only available to the rich and delivers
£7500 as tested
it to the somewhat less well-heeled. They also refer As with the other two ‘big integrateds’ in this group,
to it as ‘a rebel’, explaining this as ‘offering so much the Krell K-300i is unmistakably a product of its
of the sound performance and features from our brand identity, its front panel having the familiar
Reference products, but at a lower price. The H390 curved detail to its centre – and the whole amp
offers in one integrated product what others do in the equally familiar battleship build, even here in
two or three.’ Well, if a point’s worth making, it’s a rather more compact form than in some of the
probably worth doing so a couple of times! Connecticut company’s monster power amplifiers.
The streaming platform here is Hegel’s latest Marking 20 years since the KAV-300i, and available
design, shared with both the H190 and the H590, in either black or silver – the former colour always
and said to improve stability and processing power, seems more traditionally Krell – the amplifier is a
thus making possible that Roon capability and Apple regulation 44cm wide, and stands 10.4m tall, which
AirPlay 2, to be enabled via ongoing ‘over the air’ is hardly huge by any standards, and like all of the
firmware updates, while the DAC is a simplified company’s products is still built in-house in the USA.
version of that found in the H590, though still using Controls are simple, with four-way cursor buttons
the company’s favoured AKM AK4490 converter. to the left serving source and menu functions, while
At a time when everyone seems to be upsampling volume up/down buttons and the headphone sockets
and upconverting left, right and centre, the Hegel are to the right, below a relatively small display.
takes a different approach, ‘downclocking’ its As standard, at its £6200 entry price, the 150W-a-
digital section to suit the sampling frequency of the channel K-300i is an all-analogue design, with five
incoming signal and saying that ‘The result is a far more inputs, two of which are on balanced XLRs, one set
natural “analogue” sound with unbelievable soundstage and of speaker outputs, and a preamp output on a pair
realism. We can measure the improvements, and they are also of RCA sockets. As well as a metal-cased remote
verified through listening tests. It is quite extraordinary.’ handset, it’s possible to control the amplifier via

50 HIFICRITIC JUL | AUG | SEPT 2019

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RS232, infrared remote sockets and 12V triggers,

and there’s also an Ethernet port to allow browser
control via a connected computer, for set-up and
also firmware updates from the Internet.
Customisation extends to the usual unity-gain
‘home theater’ bypass for use with an AV receiver
or processor, while inputs can also be renamed
and their level trimmed, and the preamp output
can also be trimmed or even fixed if required.
and efficiencies gained from decades of superlative
The amplifier is built around a massive power
audio engineering and technological advancements.’
transformer and generous reservoir capacitor
It adds that the new products are ‘Proudly designed,
provision and, while the power amp circuitry RECOMMENDED
engineered and precision crafted in the USA, re-
here is said to be all-new, it’s based around the
defining performance expectations,’ while they
company’s established differential Krell Current Krell K-300i
certainly feature new industrial design aimed at
Mode topology throughout, with the iBias regime
giving them a unique identity while still referencing
working constantly adapting to suit the demands of
back to classic Mark Levinson styling.
the music being played, here dynamically calculating
The front panel is 25mm thick aluminium alloy,
the instantaneous bias based on the current draw at
bead-blasted, black anodised graced by a subtle
the output. Krell claims this gives ‘the sonic benefits
curve, while the display has the customary plate
of Class A operation without the heat and power
glass cover is set in an anodised bezel, while the
consumption of traditional Class A designs,’ and the
buttons, what the company calls its ‘iconic hourglass
design also improves compatibility with a wide range
knobs’ and the feet are all machined from solid . The
of speaker loads. The 150Wpc output doubles to
rest of the casework is also to a very high standard,
300W/ch into 4ohm loads.
all the way to the ‘debossed’ vents in the lid, and
Adding the digital module, which brings the price
like the rivals here the amplifier is relatively sensibly
up to £7500, turns the K-300i into a rather different
sized: it’s about the same width as the other two,
beast, with optical and coaxial digital inputs, a USB
though admittedly one of the tallest, at 14.5cm.
Type B socket for computer audio connection and
Marketing speak aside, it’s hard to deny that the
a Type A to play from memory devices, Bluetooth
£7,999 No5805 here is considerably more affordable
with aptX for wireless music streaming, and three
than the other integrated in the company’s line-
HDMI sockets to handle audio from video sources.
up: the No585 sells for £11,999 – or £15,999 in
Two of these are inputs and one an output, allowing
No585.5 form with phono stage. Neither is it the
4K video to be passed to a TV set, while Audio
most affordable 5000-series amp: as the all-digital-
Return Channel passes TV sound back to the amp.
input No5802 is £1000 less. It has six digital inputs
The digital section is based around the seemingly
including an asynchronous USB, MQA decoding,
ubiquitous ESS Sabre Pro digital to analogue
and Bluetooth with aptX-HD, and is based around
conversion, meaning the K-300i is able to play
ESS Sabre conversion, here used as part of the
content at up to 192kHz/24bit and DSD128. Add
Mark Levinson Precision Link II converter, more on
on the Krell Connect app on your Android or
which in a moment.
iOS device (or the mConnect app on which it is
Flying in the face of usual hi-fi thinking, in which
based), and the Ethernet port used for control in
amps are all-analogue as standard, but with the
all-analogue guise now enables it to function as a
option of a digital module – see the Krell above –, RECOMMENDED
complete network audio amplifier.
the step up to the No5805, which is based on the
That extends to playing music from UPnP
same platform as the less expensive model, actually Mark Levinson No5805
network storage, and accessing online services
including Spotify, Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal – the last with
MQA decoding – and vTuner Internet radio. Finally,
the amp is also Roon-ready.

Mark Levinson No5805 £7999

The 5000 series is unashamedly designed to open up
the Mark Levinson range to a wider range of buyers,
the company saying that the new line has been made
possible by ‘implementing state of the art features

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n REVIEW

reduces by two the number of digital inputs, but name’s ‘diffusion’ range, or one of those Jaguars of
compensates with the addition of four analogue ins: a decade or two back that turned out to be a Ford in
there’s one set of balanced XLRs, two sets of line spiffed-up bodywork.
RCAs, and a phono stage with switchable mm/mc Well, there may be some brand-extension going
operation. There’s nothing ‘off the shelf ’ about this on, there’s no stretching of a reputation to cover
phono provision: it’s newly designed and of a hybrid something not quite what it seems: all three of these
active/passive RIAA EQ circuitry, with gain and amplifiers are designed by the same teams and built
infrasonic filtering switchable from the amp’s menu, in the same facilities as their senior stablemates.
and rear panel selection of cartridge loading. Even more to the point, each of these amplifiers is
The analogue section also allows unity-gain capable of impressive standards of performance,
passthrough for home cinema use, and the rear panel whether playing analogue or digital sources, as well
has a set of RCA pre-out sockets supplementing as having more than sufficient power to drive even
Specifications those high-quality speaker terminals. As the socket demanding speakers to more than acceptable levels
Hegel H390 layout makes clear, the amp uses the company’s Pure while maintaining control and refinement.
Analogue inputs Path preamp circuitry, which is fully discrete and dual That means any of them would slot into a high-
3 (1 x XLR, 2x RCA)
____________________________ mono, with signal paths kept as short as possible: quality system and deliver extremely impressive
Digital inputs
BNC and RCA coaxial, it has a single gain stage, a digitally-controlled but results. Beyond the big-name appeal of the two
3x optical, USB Type B, discrete resistor ladder volume control and gold American contenders, and the ‘in the know’
network [Ethernet]
____________________________
Analogue outputs 1pr speakers,
contact relay switching for each analogue input. kudos of the Hegel, each of these amps has the
fixed and variable on RCAs
____________________________ The power amplification is derived from that wherewithal to deliver.
Digital output
____________________________Coaxial of the No534, and uses two mono Class AB output
Power output 250W per channel sections, with Mark Levinson’s Thermal-Trak A matter of facilities?
into 8 ohms
____________________________
Dimensions (WxHxD) technology used to keep output bias stable against Of course, the differing facilities on offer here may
43x14.5x44cm
____________________________ load or temperature variations. Power is quoted as ‘a well make the decision for you: if you’re after a one-
Price £4900 conservative 125W per channel at 8 ohms, 250W/ box amplifier with an excellent (and configurable)
hegel.com channel at 4 ohms, and claims stable if protected phono stage built-in, only the Mark Levinson No5805
operation down to 2 ohms’. The amp has a dedicated will do, while those wanting an all-digital-input amp
Class A stage serving the headphone socket. would do better to buy the more affordable No5802.
The digital section offers all the bells and whistles Users having only line-level sources can similarly
of the Sabre DAC, including seven digital filter save by going for the Krell K-300i in standard form.
choices and wide or normal PLL lock range. The However, beyond these configurations ,
user can also select upsampling, using two master there are significant sound quality differences
clocks: 44.1kHz and its multiples are taken up to between our three contenders, which may help the
352.8kHz, and 48kHz variations to 384kHz. decision: all three are capable of a high level of
The asynchronous USB input can handle content musical involvement, and of course their different
up to 384kHz/32bit and DSD128/11.2MHz but, perfomances will be affected by the sources with
despite the presence of an Ethernet port, this is which they’re used.
not a network player: the socket is merely there for And differences there are, demonstrating that
control and set-up, and for firmware updates, as part even in this higher-end arena – or perhaps that
of the usual range of ‘custom installation’ options. should be ‘particularly’ so? – the way a component
Krell K-300i
The amplifier also comes with a dedicated 5000 performs will be influenced by the way its designers
Analogue inputs 5 (2 x XLR ,
3 x RCA) Series remote handset, also clad in aluminium. engineered it to sound, as much as by the need to
____________________________
Digital inputs (via optional achieve wide-ranging system synergy.
module) RCA coaxial, Performance Of the three, the two US-made amplifiers are
optical,
USB Type A and Type B, Each of these amplifiers will give the purchaser a definitely the most characterful: both do that ‘big

____________________________2xHDMI taste of a famous name for rather less expenditure and powerful’ thing, but while the Krell sounds a
Analogue outputs 1pr speakers,
preout on RCAa than might have been anticipated. We’ve already seen little more upfront with rock or dance tracks, the
____________________________
Digital output (optional module) how the Hegel and Mark Levinson stack up against Mark Levinson has a more relaxed, richer feel. The

____________________________ HDMI their manufacturers’ ‘senior’ models – though in result is that the No5805 makes basslines sound
Power output 150W per channel
into 8ohms fairness the next most affordable Krell amplifier, bigger and better extended, if just a tad slower, while
____________________________
Dimensions (WxHxD) admittedly a pre/power combination, would require the Krell is more upbeat and harder hitting, but at
43.8x10.4x46.2cm
____________________________ a rather larger jump in spending! some expense to the warmth of the lower registers.
Price £6200 analogue only,
£7500 with digital module However, in some minds that might raise Of course, it’s possible to tune the sound of
krellonline.com suspicions that a taste is all you’re getting, rather like the Levinson amp marginally, at least when playing
absolutesounds.com buying an item of clothing from a famous designer digital sources, thanks to that array of filter options.

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However, the settings giving a smoother, more the junior H390 is too, having taken onboard much
‘organic’ sound are more successful in their task of the bigger amplifier’s DNA, and limited itself
than those said to be able to sharpen things up, and only by its a smaller power supply. It has grip, drive,
smoothing down is the last thing the characteristic slam and masses of detail, allied to a bass to match
‘luxurious’ sound of the No5805 requires. the Mark Levinson integrated here and all the speed
The Mark Levinson sounds magnificent with big and agility of the Krell K-300i, whether it’s used as
choral and orchestral works, with a thrilling ability to an analogue input design, fed from a computer via
convey the sheer impact of massed musical forces. USB or simply configured as a simple, but fiendishly
Yes, the Krell may give a little more insight into the capable, streaming amplifier.
finer points of the scoring and performances, not to Crank the volume up, and the Hegel just goes
mention a more persuasive recovery of the ambience louder, as you might expect from that hefty stated
of a concert hall recording, but the pure air-shifting power output – all the more remarkable from
power of an orchestral tutti via the No5805 is simply this slimline amp – and having now heard the
thrilling. It also facilitates the desirably rich sound amplifier with a variety of speakers from high-
of good vinyl played well, with a glowing acoustic quality standmounts through to big floorstanders,
even when used with relatively modest turntable and it’s clear that the company’s power amp topology Mark Levinson No5805
cartridge combinations. pays dividends in the way it just shrugs off the Analogue inputs mm/mc phono,
1x XLR, 2x RCA
____________________________
Impressive, too, is the way this amplifier flatters challenges of demanding designs and shifts of
Digital inputs Coaxial, 2x optical,
speakers perhaps a little light in the bass, giving impedance with frequency. asynchronous USB
____________________________
them a dose of weight rather than emphasising any There’s never any sense of this amplifier working Analogue outputs 1 pr speakers,
headphones
____________________________
deficiencies as can the whipcrack-fast Krell, which hard; it will drive just about any speaker you can
Digital outputs
____________________________ No
may seems to be more about speed and drive at the imagine to levels way beyond the sensible; and above Power output 125Wpc
expense of texture and sonority. Of course, if you all there is seemingly no character to the H390 – into 8ohms
____________________________
have speakers that are a bit slow and ponderous, and what goes in one end simply comes out the other Dimensions (WxHxD)
43.8 x 14.5 x 50.7cm
____________________________
you want to inject a bit of speed and grip into them, much, much louder. What’s more, for all the weight Price £7999
the Krell might be just the ticket. and substance this amp can muster, it also delivers marklevinson.com
spine-tingling soundstage atmosphere and focus with
...And then there’s the Hegel sparkling top-end ambience, conjuring up the space
The more observant among you will have noticed by and ambience of a well-recorded church acoustic, for
now that the third amplifier in the group, the Hegel example, and allowing the listener to revel in the way
H390, has hardly been mentioned. There’s a reason the sound decays after the last note has ceased.
for that, and it’s to do with sparing the blushes Even with so reverberant an acoustic bouncing the
of the other two. You see, while the Norwegian- sound of the performers around, the H390 maintains
designed integrated might lack the tradition of its striking clarity, just as it does with an orchestra
US rivals – the company has only been on the wider recorded in a large concert hall: there’s no spotlighting
hi-fi radar for a relatively short time despite a history of performers – well, not unless that’s what the
going back 30 years – its latest amplifier is more than engineering meant to achieve – but sounds like live
a match for its more expensive competition. In fact, performers in real space performing real music.
there’s an argument for saying that Hegel has made Hegel’s H390 is one of the real finds of the
this midrange amplifier too good: it snaps hard at the year: if you’ve ever been lucky enough to hear the
heels of its flagship stablemate, the £9000 H590. bigger H590 in full flow, or the H360 on which this
Not only that, but the H390 it’s really well amplifier is based, chances are you’ll be surprised,
equipped for the money, having not just analogue and more than a little delighted with the new
and digital inputs, including an asynchronous USB arrival’s achievement at its price.
for the connection of a computer, but also built-in
network audio capability via Ethernet, making it Summary
an excellent one-box streaming and amplification All three of the amplifiers in this test are tempting
solution. That it does all this for what is comfortably purchases, and each offers excellent bang for the
the lowest price in this admittedly elevated company buck. The Hegel H930, however, stands out not just
is nothing short of remarkable, and the style in on value for money, but on overall performance.
which it does it is even more so. As the most affordable amplifier in this high-end
Warming to its ‘Master and Commander’ theme, group, that’s going some. True, it’s not quite ‘feared
Hegel says of its range-topping H590 integrated that by the rich, loved by the poor’ – after all, £5000 isn’t
it’s ‘A master at musicality, and the commander of exactly a price for everyman – but it’s a marvellous
any set of loudspeakers’: arguably that’s just what and musical achievement.

HIFICRITIC JUL | AUG | SEPT 2019 53