Hegel H30A – reference power amplifier

The H30A is The Orchestra. With its immense power, speaker matching is no longer an issue. The Orchestra can play any “venue”, be it large stadiums or small cellar clubs, and with its unsurpassed skill and attention to detail, no music is too challenging. It conveys all music like you never thought possible. No matter what or where it plays, The Orchestra will always perform at its best. The H30A is the best orchestra you will ever experience.

The H30A is our reference power amplifier. We have nicknamed it The Orchestra because that is what it is. The H30A’s job is to take command of any music on any speakers and make it sound as good as possible without ever breaking a sweat, and we can think of no more challenging music than a large orchestral piece. The H30A is an absolute powerhouse of an amplifier. In its mono state it delivers a truly astounding 1100 watts in 8 ohms, and it is completely stable even with 1-ohm loads. To achieve this, we have applied all our skills and knowledge in amplifier design and combined that with the best electronics. The H30A power supply uses 2 separate 1000 VA toroidal transformers for fast response and minimized transformer hum. With a power bank of 270,000 μF capacitors, the H30A can handle even the most challenging piece of music at any volume, it always has enough power in reserve. In the output stage we use 56 pieces 15A 200W high speed, ultra-low distortion bipolar transistors. With so much power ready at any given time, things like speaker sensitivity and variation in loads no longer come into play. With the H30A you can confidently drive any speaker you like.

Power is however nothing without the details to match. In a large power amplifier like this, the input stage is especially vulnerable to electrical interference distorting the music signal. One troublesome type of distortion is higher order harmonic distortion. It is a type of distortion that is far removed from the original music frequencies and can often make the amplifier sound harsh and unmusical. In the H30A input stage we eliminate this by using single pair FET transistors. These are carefully hand matched transistors that have the exact same values, and therefore they have no higher order harmonic distortion. Other types of distortion we cancel out with our patented SoundEngine technology. This actively monitors the music signal for corruptions and corrects for distortion using a feed forward design. SoundEngine effectively removes distortion in real time as the signal is amplified. These measures make the H30A sound very smooth and natural, without compromising on the details.

The H30A is designed as a mono power amplifier, but it can also be used as a stereo power amplifier. It has both balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) inputs and a 12V trigger input. For the best possible connection, the H30A features high quality, gold-plated speaker binding posts. Usually, when going from one amplifier to a more powerful one, you experience more of everything. More bass, more details, more involvement – everything is just more. With the H30A we have reached a whole new level of differences. Because the H30A is so immensely powerful and detailed, the concept of “more” simply becomes irrelevant. In the H30A the bass is tremendously deep, but never dominating. The high frequencies are exceptionally detailed, but never fatiguing. And the articulation of vocals in the midrange is just sublime. At this level, what you experience is simply total control. The H30A is an amplifier that can drive virtually all known loudspeakers with authority and ease. It never sounds forced, only relaxed and musical. The H30A is the spearhead of our amplifier technology. It is the large orchestra that brings life to any music in any venue.

H30A Technology

• Organic Sound
• SoundEngine
• DualAmp
• DualPower

Technical Specifications

Output power: More than 1100 W in 8 ohms @ 1kHz 1% THD, 100/120/230V AC (mono)
Min. load impedance: 1 ohm load
Inputs: RCA unbalanced and XLR balanced
Speaker outputs: One pair of heavy duty gold plated terminals
Input impedance: Balanced 20 kohm, unbalanced 10 kohm
Signal to noise ratio: More than 100 dB
Crosstalk: Less than -100 dB
Distortion: Less than 0.003% at 100 W in 8 ohm
Intermodulation: Less than 0.01% (19 kHz + 20 kHz)
Damping factor: More than 500 (mono)
Power supply: 2000 VA dual mono, 270,000 μF capacitors
Output stage: 56 pcs 15 A 200 W high speed, ultra-low distortion bipolar transistors
Power consumption: 120 W in idle mode
Finish: Black
Dimensions/weight: 24 cm x 43 cm x 57,5 cm (HxWxD), weight 47,4 kg
Dimensions/weight US: 9.4″ x 17″ x 25.6″ (HxWxD), 104.5 lbs