Integrated amplifiers — Hegel H400

The Hegel H400 is a streaming integrated amplifier with an onboard DAC, nicknamed the Streamliner. In the Norwegian brand's range it sits between the entry-level H150 and the H600 reference integrated, and it shares the bit-perfect DAC and dual-mono architecture of the larger H600 at a lower price.

Key specs that matter

Maximum output is 250W per channel into 8 ohms from a dual-mono Class AB amplifier that stays stable down to a 2 ohm load. Frequency range is 5Hz to 180kHz, distortion is 0.005% at 1kHz with 50W into 8 ohms, and the damping factor is above 4000. Both the signal-to-noise figure and the separation between channels are better than 100dB. Analogue sources connect through a single balanced XLR input or a pair of unbalanced RCA inputs. Digital inputs are two coaxial (one RCA, one BNC), three optical, one USB and one Ethernet. The case measures 430 x 150 x 440mm and weighs 20kg.

Engineering and use context

The DAC uses the ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M converter, the same chip as in the H600, and accepts 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256 via DoP over USB. Streaming covers Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, AirPlay, Google Chromecast, UPnP and Roon Ready. Hegel deliberately left out Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so that no antenna can bring high-frequency noise into the audio circuits. A custom transformer with dual power windings feeds separate high-speed rectifiers for each channel. Hegel's SoundEngine technology corrects distortion with local adaptive feed-forward error cancelling instead of conventional global feedback.

Pairing

The very high damping factor and low-impedance stability make the H400 a good match for speakers that present a difficult load. Because the network section is wired only, streaming needs an Ethernet cable to the router.

Alternatives

The Hegel H600 is the integrated amplifier above it, with 303W per channel, two balanced inputs and the precision volume attenuator taken from the brand's P30A preamplifier.