The Bristol Hifi Show is held on the third weekend of February each year, this year we were excited to be once again showcasing Hegel along with some of our other brands at this long running annual event. This is the first show we do each year and is still the busiest we work at in the UK show calendar.

 

Just as in previous years we had 2 of the bedrooms on the second floor and for this event we had a brand new product to demonstrate, the world first showing of the Hegel D50 DAC. Known as “The Raven” in the marketing materials it is a pure DAC, no pre amp no streamer, it is designed to do one job as well as possible, not try to be a jack of all trades. There are lots of good things to talk about with the D50 and here is a link to the Hegel website where you will be able to read all about it. To say it was well received is an understatement, nothing is right for everyone but pretty much all the comments we received were super positive. The D50 was connected via the DAC loop feature to a H600 and then out to the EgglestonWorks Nico Evo loudspeakers.  It allowed great scale yet you can hear the most subtle nuances of the performance. The spaces between instruments and multi-layered vocals were also notable and we regularly heard comments along the lines of “I haven’t heard that in this track before” It was a superb sounding system that allowed the music to work without sounding analytical or harsh. Very revealing and enjoyable to listen to.

In the second room, we focused on the very capable and popular H190V. this year we showed it in the optional white finish along with a Luphonic H2 turntable and a pair of white Amphion Argon one. It looked great as a combination, but it sounded even better than it looked. The H190V is a great hub for an audio system, in built DAC, streamer, MM phono stage, and a very accomplished amplification section. The agile fluid sound from the turntable is handled with finesse by the H190V and it then takes tight control over the Amphions to create what must be one of the most listenable systems at the show. Again, as with the other system, we garnered lots and lots of positive comments.

Both systems were wired with Audiomica cables for signal and loudspeakers. The power and isolation products were by MusicWorks. These 2 brands have been at every show we have done for over a decade and form the foundation on which our dem systems are built.

 

Thanks to all of you that visited us, 2 Hegel rooms, 2 great sounding systems, lots of happy visitors. For us, the Bristol Show was a great success once again.