About The Hegel H400 Streaming Amplifier
The Hegel H400 amplifier, affectionately nicknamed Streamliner, is a masterpiece of streamlined design and performance. The H400 is engineered to deliver exceptional audio quality while maximizing efficiency and enhancing the user experience. Whether you are an audiophile or a casual listener, the H400 promises a remarkable listening journey.
The H400 is a Class AB amplifier, delivering 250W of power into 8 Ohms, and is stable down to 2 Ohm loads. With a remarkable damping factor of 4000, H400 ensures tight control over your speakers, providing precise and dynamic sound. H400's dual mono construction and symmetrical layout ensure superior sound quality. The absence of an equalizer preserves signal integrity, while Hegel's SoundEngine 2 technology offers instant distortion correction during amplification. This results in a detailed, agile sound, delivering both punch and finesse while maximizing power efficiency. Experience your favourite music with a new level of clarity and richness, as the H400 faithfully reproduces every nuance and detail.
The H400 incorporates many of the same advanced features found in Hegel's reference integrated amplifier, ensuring high performance and value. It includes the same Dual Mono design, the same robust streaming platform, and a high-quality bit-perfect DAC based on the one in the H600. These shared features mean that the H400 delivers similar high standards of sound quality and versatility, making it a remarkable choice for discerning listeners.
Every aspect of the H400 has been meticulously developed in-house, ensuring unparalleled quality control and cohesive design. This streamlined approach eliminates unnecessary steps and complications, allowing Hegel's engineers to focus on innovation and performance. By keeping development under one roof, Hegel guarantee that every component and feature is perfectly integrated, enhancing overall efficiency and reliability. This in-house development strategy also allows for faster implementation of new features and improvements, ensuring the H400 remains at the forefront of audio technology.
Built from high-quality materials and components, the H400 is designed for durability and reliability, ensuring a long life, and minimizing the need for frequent maintenance. The SoundEngine 2 technology makes the H400 energy efficient, consuming minimal power while delivering top-tier performance. This technology, and the amplifier's auto standby feature, reduces energy waste and environmental impact without compromising sound quality.
Designed with simplicity and intuitive operation in mind, the H400 features a sleek, minimalist front panel with two multifunctional knobs for source selection and volume control. The knobs can also be pressed to mute, pause, or navigate the device menu. The central display is clear and easy to read from a distance, showing only essential information. To maintain a clean and uncluttered appearance, the power button is discreetly located underneath the amplifier. This thoughtful design ensures that nothing distracts from the beauty of your audio setup.
The H400 offers a comprehensive range of analogue and digital inputs, ensuring seamless compatibility with various audio sources. Its impressive power, detail, and control means you can connect any speaker, even those very hard to drive. With automatic signal detection, the H400 instantly recognizes connected digital audio sources and switches to the correct input, eliminating the need for manual selection. All inputs can be set at a fixed high volume, enabling the use of home theatre preamps and multi-room devices. It even has a TV remote function that lets you use your TV remote to control the amplifier, making your home entertainment setup more intuitive and user-friendly.
The H400 is optimized for simplicity, supporting popular streaming platforms such as AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Roon Ready, Tidal Connect, Google Cast™, and UPnP. Users can control the amplifier through these services directly. Additionally, the Hegel Control App provides volume and input control, and access to internet radio, podcasts, and media server playback, enhancing the overall user experience. Whether you are streaming your favourite playlist or exploring new podcasts, the H400 makes it easy and enjoyable.
The H400 supports multi-room audio via Roon, AirPlay, and Google Cast, enabling synchronized music playback in different areas of your home. Imagine having the same high-quality audio in every room, seamlessly integrated with your smart home system. Enhance your home entertainment experience with the flexibility and convenience of the H400.
The Hegel H400 exemplifies streamlined design, offering an exceptional audio experience with ease of use and high value at its core. Discover the perfect blend of form and function with the H400, where every detail is designed to enhance your enjoyment of music.
Hegel H400 Reviews
"Hegel's new H400 could easily be an endgame purchase for many listeners. It's the ultimate all-in-one package, boasting features that are increasingly expected in modern integrated amplifiers. With its built-in digital-to-analog conversion and streaming capabilities, it can handle almost every function a potential buyer would likely need. If you listen to vinyl, you'll have to add a phono stage, but buyers of amplifiers at this price point would be inclined to do that anyhow, I suspect.
Features aside, the H400's sound was impeccable, its performance leaving me with nothing to criticize. Naturally, some listeners may prefer a different sound, but that doesn't reflect any shortcoming on the part of the Hegel. With its copious amounts of power, incredible transparency, and smooth delivery, the H400 encouraged long listening sessions. If your priority is sound quality and you aren't seduced by flashy designs that scream "look at me, I'm expensive!" you will find the H400 a compelling option.
It would have been interesting to compare the H400 with the H600. I suspect it achieves most of the performance of the flagship model at a considerably lower price. Unless you need the extra power of the H600, you'll probably be equally served by the H400, a much better value in this case. If you're looking for a top-of-the-line integrated amplifier with a state-of-the-art DAC, this newest member of the Hegel family is an easy recommendation." Soundstage Hi-Fi
"Hegel's H400 provided a faultless user experience during the review period. Its combination of visual appeal and well-thought-out ergonomics is unusual. Sonically, it's very special, too, sounding controlled without being brutal, while delicate without being limp - and always musically engaging. A fully immersive sonic experience, this is an amplifier that you can listen to for days on end – fatigue-free yet highly engaging; it's always friendly and fun.
Factor in its ability to cram so much functionality and power into a relatively compact space, and this integrated is hard to argue against. So if you're looking for a serious 'do it all' stereo amplifier with excellent connectivity, you had better hot-foot it to your nearest Hegel showroom for a demo. The 'Streamliner' could turn out to be your dreamliner." StereoNet
Our Take
Now we're talking. The H400 is so much more than a turbo charged H190v and more like a scaled down H600, for considerable less money. With a damping factor of over 4000 and a power rating of 250 Watts, the H400 is powerful enough to drive almost any loudspeaker currently on the market, especially the big ones.
As with all Hegel products, the fit and finish is impressive and the amplifier is very easy to setup and use. Every control operates smoothly and you very quickly get the impression you are dealing with a professionally designed piece of kit. Streaming is quite simple using the Hegel Control App and you also get Spotify Connect and TIDAL Connect as well as AirPlay 2 and Google Cast. Of course, the serious streaming folk will have noticed that the H400 also supports Roon and I'm guessing that has got them more than a little excited. Also the DAC handles MQA and DSD playback, another boon for audiophiles.
The H400 has a healthy selection of digital and analogue inputs as well as variable and fixed pre outs. But, it's really when you start playing music that the H400 starts to impress, and in a big way. The effortlessness this machine exhibits is truly breathtaking. The H400 is so competent and so natural it makes listening to music truly relaxing and yet vividly engaging all at the same time. It's really quite a trick. This amplifier will easily power any speakers we have in the shop and will almost definitely bring a big smile to your face while doing so. Not to be underestimated.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: Stereo Streaming Amplifier
- Power Output: 2 x 250 Watts into 8 Ω
- Minimum Load: 2 Ω
- Dual Mono Amplifier
- Separate Transformer for DAC/Preamp
- Bit Perfect DAC
- Analogue Inputs: 1 x Balanced (XLR), 2 x Unbalanced (RCA)
- Digital Inputs: 1 x Coaxial (BNC), 1 x Coaxial (RCA), 3 x Optical, 1 x USB-B
- Digital Outputs: 1 x Coaxial (BNC)
- Line level Output: 1 x Unbalanced variable (RCA), 1 x Unbalanced fixed (RCA)
- Please Note: No Headphone Output
- Network: Ethernet – please note the H400 does not support Wi-Fi & needs to be hard wired to your network
- Supports up to MQA 8X (352.8kHz/384kHz)
- Supports DSD64, DSD128 & DSD256 via DoP
- Spotify Connect
- TIDAL Connect
- Apple AirPlay 2
- Google Cast
- UPnP Streaming
- Roon Ready
- Frequency Response: 5 Hz - 180 kHz
- Signal-To-Noise Ratio: More than 100 dB
- Crosstalk: Less than -100 dB
- Distortion: Less than 0.005% @ 50 W/8 Ω/1 kHz
- Intermodulation: Less than 0.01% (19 kHz + 20 kHz)
- Damping Factor: More than 4000 (main power output stage)
- Included Accessories: Remote Control, Power Cable, User Manual, Accessory Box
- Removable Power Cable: Upgrade to a Premium Power Cable for better performance
- Finish: Black
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 430 x 150 x 440mm
- Weight: 20 kg
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 2 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE.