Phonostages — Hegel V10

The V10 is a phono stage from Hegel, the Norwegian electronics maker, and the company's first and only product of this type. It is priced at about USD 1,500 or GBP 1,350. The V10 handles moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges through separate inputs, offers wide gain and loading adjustment, and provides RCA as well as XLR outputs. Power comes from a separate linear supply in its own housing.

Key specs that matter

There is one MM and one MC RCA input. Outputs are a fixed RCA pair and a fixed balanced XLR pair, with an output impedance of 200 ohm. Gain at the XLR output is 40, 45, 50 or 52 dB for MM and 60, 65, 70 or 72 dB for MC, and at the RCA output it is 34, 39, 44 or 46 dB for MM and 54, 59, 64 or 66 dB for MC. MC loading is adjustable from 33 to 550 ohm, or 47 kOhm, and MM capacitance can be set to 47, 100, 147, 220, 267, 320 or 367 pF at 47 kOhm. RIAA accuracy is ±0.2 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Noise is -84 dB for MM and -81 dB for MC, A-weighted, and THD is below 0.005% for MM and 0.009% for MC at 1 kHz. A switchable subsonic filter rolls off at 20 Hz with 18 dB per octave. The case is 60 mm high with feet, 210 mm wide and 280 mm deep, and the V10 weighs 2.2 kg.

Engineering and use context

Both inputs use discrete ultra-low-noise JFET input stages instead of integrated op-amps. The MC stage places four JFETs in parallel, which lowers noise and reduces the effect of bias current on the very small signal from a moving-coil cartridge. Inside the case, two separate compartments keep the power supply apart from the amplification. The external M30103 power supply is a linear, low-noise design with a custom E-core transformer in its own isolated housing, so the mains transformer never sits near the phono circuits. The wide choice of MC loading allows the stage to be matched to the recommended load of most moving-coil cartridges, and the capacitance steps do the same for moving-magnet types. The subsonic filter removes very low-frequency energy from warped records before it reaches the amplifier and loudspeakers. An adjustable auto-standby function, gold-plated terminals and a solid custom grounding screw complete the design.

Pairing

Hegel's P30A preamplifier and its integrated amplifiers take the V10 through their XLR inputs, while other amplifiers can use the RCA pair. The highest MC gain setting covers low-output moving-coil cartridges without a step-up transformer.

Alternatives

Hegel has no other phono stage, as the V10 is its only product of this type.