Not too take anything away from what you said as I remember the review, but John also keeps a H390 (and maybe a H590) at home for all testing speakers as he likes the sound and also considers it a top quality amplifier.
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All I’m saying is: there are qualities in amplifiers that cannot be measured. I like Hegel better than Naim, and I like Chord better than RME.
did Darko test the two amps blindly? Did he match their output levels with a voltmeter? Has he received money or free equipments from either Hegel or NAD or do these brands advertise on his website or sponsor his content?
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there are qualities in amplifiers that cannot be measured
While I disagree completely, this is a separate discussion. I wasn’t suggesting anything about measurements in this thread; I am only inviting you and others to do their listening experiments in a controlled and reliable manner to rule out confounding factors. It’s as simple as a) doing it blindly and b) properly matching the output levels. It will cost you less than $40 to set up and your wallet will thank you for years to come after your enlightenment.
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Sure. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Yes, I think you’re right, Michael. And that he was so enthusiastic about the NAD therefore caught my attention.
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Well all this talk about Sound quality had me second guessing my Hegel purchase. So started watching more reviews!
Darko, New Record Day, and Andrew Robinson. The NRD and Andrew Robinson reviews of the M33 solidified and justified my purchase of the Hegel sound characteristics. I love the meatier sound of the Hegel compared to the other NAD products I’ve owned I love their Power Amps (A/B that is).
Here is Andrew Robinsons review of the M33 on YouTube, it’s exactly the same content as NRD’s review!
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I had an M33 and swapped it for an H590. With my set up in my room, the H590 blew the M33 away.
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you realize you’re comparing apples with oranges? The 590 is literally double the price of the NAD
I would not say its poor,
If you want to spend more money on a dac why buy the hegel in the first place.
I have the h390 with a aurelic aries g2.1 and i cant fault it 
I think someone is paying you money 
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Honestly, this sounds like you couldn’t resist the ‘upgrade’ temptation in search for perfection and are now trying to justify the extra £5k in your own mind.
Whenever I hear terms like ‘blew away’, it makes me think of that.
I would expect that the H590 to be better as it is double the price (not always the case that price = better, of course), but ‘blown away’?
What does that even mean?
Hahaha, not that I have to justify anything, but the H590 could be seen as a downgrade (in cost at least) from the McIntosh gear I had before, so no 
And yes, ‘blown away’ is obviously a subjective term, but in terms of sheer dynamics, soundstage and overall grip on my speakers, the H590 was noticeably better (to my ears, in my room, with my speakers) than the M33.
NAD M33 = 5k
Hegel H590 = 10k
Of course a Porsche will be faster than a VW Passat, as I mentioned above, you are comparing incomparable things.
Fair enough 
I like this bit…“to my ears, in my room, with my speakers”
I know from my own experiences that those 3 things are a lot more important than the difference between a £10k and a £5k amp, or a £5k to a £500 amp for that matter.
That said I might be tempted to add the new M23 power amp to my M33 and run it bridged mode for 700 watts per channel 
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I would think that most people in the audio world understand that price isn’t always a guarantee of sound improvement! As I said, to my ears the Hegel sounds better than my previously more expensive McIntosh gear. It’s a meaningless argument, you need to hear equipment in your own environment with your own equipment, no one can tell you which sounds better or worse, hence why I was very clear in stating that to ‘my ears, in my room, with my gear’.
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Exactly. These are the questions we need to ask. I know Hegel’s have great margins because they’re full of Chinese parts so dealers love them and will talk about how amazing they are… because of the margins.
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you need to hear equipment in your own environment with your own equipment, no one can tell you which sounds better or worse, hence why I was very clear in stating that to ‘my ears, in my room, with my gear’.
do all of that but just be systematic and when comparing your old with the shiny new a) do it blindly and b) level match them properly with a voltmeter. If the difference is truly there, then you should be able to tell them apart. The goal here is to make sure your preference is based on what your are hearing with your ears only, and not based on which one is louder or with your preconceived ideas of which one should sound better that are biased by many things, including the desire to buy a new equipment.
Which Hegel are you on? The H390 max res is 32/384 through USB … if you bought H190 which is much less expensive then yes 24/96. You are a victim of not doing your homework and possibly financial limitations.
I just read a report on an independent lab that tested the H390 and the results comply with what my ear hears … the H390 is an amazing piece of equipment. Source was HiFi news.
Your complaint is equivalent to buying a 718 Porsche Boxster and then complaining because the 911 Turbo is faster and has more horsepower … both are beautiful but the complaint is without merit because it was a self imposed limitation.
On the one hand, this is fair, I am definitely the victim of not doing sufficient homework, but homework or not, should the new owner of a 718 Porsche Boxter be pleased to find that it features the component quality of a Honda Civic?