A whole load of new gear!

[Ammonite Audio]

I seem to have been on a bit of an audio spending splurge!

First came a new pair of KEF LS50s, which have really surprised and bewitched me by being every bit as good as my Quad 57s, but with bass (quite a lot of really nicely defined and controlled bass, considering the small cabinets). There is clearly a lot of clever thinking in the LS50s; and unlike a lot of clever thinking in the audio world, it all works very well here. I still regret that they're made in China, but at least the clever thinking is British.

Next, a Hegel H160 amplifier, courtesy of the classifieds on another forum. I've been wanting to try one of these for ages, since it has all the conveniences that I could ask for (bar a phono stage) in a neat package that promises a really nice musical sound. Will it finally displace my venerable old Lyngdorf TDA2200? We shall see, or rather hear!

Next, an itch that's been with me for sometime, namely the Shure V15 Mk4 cartridge. The one on its way to me has a new Jico HE stylus and the whole thing has been cryo treated. Whether cryo treatment is a good thing with cartridges remains to be proved, but I'm sure that it can't do any harm. I might have to use a bit of arm damping to make it work properly.

All good, harmless fun!

[Tarzan]

Let us know what the Hegel sounds like Hugo.

[Ammonite Audio]

Let us know what the Hegel sounds like Hugo.

I will, of course. It's got tough competition in the Lyngdorf (which has effortlessly seen off various pretenders, including Leben CS600 and Sony TA-F770ES) but I have a good feeling about this one. If it all works out, I can eliminate one DAC, one headphone amp and one USB converter from the system, and a whole bunch of ugly wires.

[Rothchild]

Love my v15 4, even on a slightly too heavy rega arm! Infact I think I just quite like the Shure house sound (I have a couple of other budgety oldschool mms) they just sound American!

[walpurgis]

Love my v15 4, even on a slightly too heavy rega arm! Infact I think I just quite like the Shure house sound (I have a couple of other budgety oldschool mms) they just sound American!

Try a good ADC!

[DSJR]

I'm mixed about the V15 IV. I hated it over the III and ADC XLM III's when it was launched, but ended up with a good one a few years later. Shure tried to make the thing immune to loading by tinkering with the coils, unlike previous and later models, but I'm not certain it works.

Good - tremendous basic neutrality, stability with or without damper (the thing even works with damper in my Lab 80mk2).

Not so good - Can sound small. Everything seems to be there, but you have to fight to get *in* to the mix. The V15 IIIHE (and possibly MR which I never got the chance to hear) is 'sweeter and airier' somehow - awful words, sorry -

The V15 VMR is on another plane. Still a Shure, but the music is far more accessible to me (and I've compared them directly). My ADC's are slightly softer in the bass, but with a glorious, spacious midband. The ADC Phase IV and ZLM close the gap somewhat and no, I haven't heard the Jico styli for these...

If anyone has a Shure itch to scratch, I'd have suggested an Me97XE, but possibly with the Jico SAS stylus, which does seem to measure better, even before listening to records through it.

[Tarzan]

I will, of course. It's got tough competition in the Lyngdorf (which has effortlessly seen off various pretenders, including Leben CS600 and Sony TA-F770ES) but I have a good feeling about this one. If it all works out, I can eliminate one DAC, one headphone amp and one USB converter from the system, and a whole bunch of ugly wires.

Heard ALOT of good things about these amps.

[Ammonite Audio]

I collected the Hegel from London today. A drive through central London is occasionally good medicine - coming home to Norwich is such a pleasure after that!

Too knackered to listen until tomorrow.

[Ammonite Audio]

I've been listening to the Hegel H160 today. The session started off with the venerable Lyngdorf TDA-2200, fed via AES/EBU digital cable from a Gustard U12 USB converter. Sounded pretty good. So, in went the Hegel, connected directly to the music PC via USB. Initial impressions were not good - a rather flat, uninvolving sound. So, the Gustard U12 came back in, feeding digits to the H160 via an MIT Shotgun coaxial digital cable. Immediately, much better sound, with space, depth, colour. At this point I wasn't sure that the Hegel was better than the Lyngdorf, but a quick swap back told me that the Hegel is better, painting tonal colours and details in a rather lovely way. The Lyngdorf is good too, but after 10 years I think it has met its match in the Hegel. The Hegel's headphone amp seems to be pretty good too, but further listening tonight will confirm that.

So, I'm happy with the Hegel overall, but disappointed that its USB input is so indifferent. The Gustard U12 USB converter has had a stay of execution, but I reckon the Hegel might make the Naim DAC-V1 and NVA AP10H redundant for digital and analogue headphone listening respectively. Both these are truly excellent products (the NVA AP10H is just stunning, even before considering its modest price) but there's no point in hanging onto stuff and boxes if they're not needed.

[Tarzan]

Thanks Hugo do us keep posted.