Firstly thanks for all the advice.
I did think a Preamp would be a strange decision but you never know!?
I will take a look at the Matrix devices later.
I mainly run SGC SonicTransporter 5 for the Roon core & then usb into the Hegel. Just thought the XLR may give a better audio signature, just different I guess, not better?
I have everything faith Anders & Co will get Roon implemented at some point.
Not a recommendation. Just a theoretical viewpoint:
Unless Hegel disagrees with this, I guess one might use the Home Theater (HT Bypass) feature of an integrated amp together with another preamp, especially a tube pre, to get a different flavor (not necessarily a SQ improvement). The preamp should not have an output impedance that is too high, which might lead to impedance mismatch that will be bad.
For those who use a Lumin T2 with the Hegel, you may also try using the Lumin Leedh Processing Volume, turn down the Lumin volume to a very low level, then set the Hegel to Home Theatre bypass. This will be a comparison between two different volume control implementations. If you happen to like the T2 volume more, it also has an added advantage of having the volume controllable in Roon.
@Rockhound
I want to go toward to your setup, presently i have a h390, node 2i and contour 30. My room is 13X20 treated partially with acoustic panels. I already have a separation with fiber between my rooter modem and my sound room on a dedicated breaker.
Because UPNP is not gapless and no DSD with the node, i want a another streamer
I am between Lumin U1 mini using the better DAC than H190 with full MQA with the Hegel or the Lumin T2 XLR. This just how much i can improve with Lumin T2 versus the U1. Itās almost 2.5 time more expensive. I don"t care much for Roon because i am used to Audirvana and the SQ is very good if not better to my taste. I read a lot about the OpticalRendu but i am not convinced that it will perform better than a Lumin U1 mini. Thanks to share your opinion.
Hi @Mario_G, welcome to the forums!
My advice would be to get the Lumin T2 - the combination of streamer and high quality DAC in a single box is hard to beat even at the not inconsiderable cost of the T2. It is also a rock solid Roon endpoint, and it is beautifully built. Coupled with a H390 and Contour 30s that is going to be a killer setup for sure.
If you get the U1 mini you will still be reliant on the Hegelās DAC, which I do not think is as good as the T2ās - certainly the H190ās DAC is nowhere near as good. As I (and others here) have mentioned before, the real strength of Hegel is their amplification, so might as well take advantage of it! Otherwise youād have to get another DAC to feed from a U1 mini, and youāre going to have to spend a lot to get better than a T2.
The T2 was a lot of money (here in Canada almost 50% more than the H190) but I have not regretted buying it for a second.
Iāve tried U1 Mini with USB (loan) with my H390, it did sound better, more 3D, clearer, blacker, more controlled.
Not a enormous much but noticeable better.
I think the internal DAC is limiting.
Iām waiting for loaning a T2 (XLR) to H390 and see which way to go. 
Let us know how it goes!
Lumin T2 or Denafrips Terminator, Vegas, Pontus?
When I got my 390 I plugged it in and turned it on and, ummm, havenāt turned it off since. I have turned off the display as a gesture towards energy savings, but the 390 doesnāt use much in standby.
Following this discussion and realised that we wont get roon support any time soonā¦
I find uconnect very unintuitive and dont think i sounds that wellā¦
So I decided to go for a new DAC
Would the Qutest or D90 or RME v2 be substantial - noticeable upgrade over the H190 Dac?
I was proud owner of a Qutest and it was a huge improvement over the dac in my ml585 which was a huge improvement over the dac in my Hegel soā¦
I have a D90 (non MQA) and it is certainly an improvement over most amplifiers with built in DACs I know (including the H190).
thank you for your advice.
I think i will go with the qutest, i want a warmer sounding DAC than that of the Hegelā¦ I dont think the roon update for the hegel will be released any time soonā¦
To be honest: I have the hegel h390 with audiovector r1 arrete. Which would make up for a very natural and powerful sound. But also alot of warmth. I think the dac in the H390 is really something else and I actually compared it in my room with a rme adi 2fs dac and a chord qutest.
In short: the adi sounded exactly the same, only the H390 dac was more spacious and dynamic, where the rme was more focused. I returned the rme because the sound from the h390 was more expansive and āliveā.
The qutest had the same illusion of space and was quite ballsy, however the h390 itself is already good with dynamics and has a powerfull attitude. The H390, compared to the qutest had more nuances and detail.
Hope this helps, I see alot of comparisons of these dacs with the H190, which is a total different animal. So my advice: better spend your money elsewehere or swap the h390 for a h190 with a different dac 
Iāve been the first to complain about Hegelās software development in this thread (ROON READINESS, WHERE THE F ARE YOU?) but I have never had any issues with Spotify Connect. Itās been rock solid for me.
For all my audio gear that support Spotify Connect only Hegel gives me some trouble - sometimes it is simply vanishing from the Spotify app and a hard reboot is neededā¦
Moderators have removed some posts which were off topic and personal. Please keep to the topic of the thread.
Iām thiiiiiiis close to buying a Lumin U1 mini to solve this ridiculous problem - does anyone know if the H390 inputs are auto switching? As in, if Iām on a different input and stop playback but start playback via the Lumin, would the Hegel detect this and automatically switch to the correct input? And if the unit was off, and I commenced playing something on the Lumin, would that signal trigger the H390 to automatically switch on?
@Andrew_Dean1 Iāve no idea if it does this, as I only have a Lumin T2 so never need to switch anything. TBH I would get a T2 as the DAC in that is better than what the (various) Hegel DAC(s) does. I mean, after all it costs a little bit less than a H390 
. You will not be disappointed.
I donāt doubt that, although one of the reasons I went for the H390 over the H190 was for the improved DAC, so it would seem a waste to ignore that and pay for a a whole new DAC. To be fair, Iāve never felt that the DAC in the H390 is lacking
Fair enough Andrew. Personally I donāt see it as a waste, as the major strength of Hegel for me is the amplification. Iām sure the DAC in the H390 is better than the H190 for all sorts of reasons. I seriously doubt it is better than the T2.