Been monitoring this thread for a while now hoping for Roon release info. Still not here and it is end of November. That said, my new concern is for Airplay 2 support in the Hegel integrated amps. I’m considering buying another Hegel for our living room but the ‘family acceptance’ factor requires Airplay 2 support - they are now used to Homepods - so Siri can be used to play music requests. @Anders_Ertzeid I’ve read in a few places that Hegel plans Airplay 2 support. Is this true? If I buy a H390 now am I likely to see an Airplay 2 firmware upgrade any time in the next 12 months? I really don’t want to buy a Bluesound Node2I as a preamp for the Hegel just to get Airplay 2.
1 Like
Contact Hegel since they are implementing Roon on some of their range and an update may be available to you soon. A beta version was seen on Darko recently.
I don’t have any answer regarding this, but I will express some frustration with Hegel seemingly not putting enough efforts to implement Roon. It’s been over a year since they talked about an implementation “soon” or “autumn”.
So I wouldn’t have too much trust in them implementing Airplay 2 any time soon (if they haven’t already). From my understanding the Hegel implementation of Airplay now is a custom one focused on performance. All I know is that it sounds fabulous, but is in deed limited in sample rate and also will not support zones the way Airplay 2 does.
I do like Hegel for their dedication to great sounding amplifiers, but it seems they are not fast moving enough to meet demand when it comes to digital services.
If your main goal is to listen on Homepods I’d suggest Hegel is not the ideal solution for you.
Our plans are to start working on AirPlay2 the second we have finished Roon. As for software it is difficult to give an absolutely firm timeline. Something we learned the hard way just now with Roon implementation. But it would surprise me a lot if AP2 did not come within 12 months
1 Like
I completely understand your frustration. It is the first time we have stumbled like this, and such it is a good lesson for us. As in never say you are going to do something until it is 99% finished. Something we usually practised. Just not this time.
So I really cannot tell you anything to make you trust us. The only thing we can do is to make it happen and to make it work really well when it does.
2 Likes
Thank you for keeping an eye on this thread and for answering showing your dedication to make a great Roon implementation.
1 Like
The H90 and Rost will not get it. The H120 and upwards will.
2 Likes
Never said my ‘main’ goal was to listen on HomePods. And I think your comment is a bit short sighted. We have some HomePods in bedrooms and a family room. They are great for what they are. Sound good and easy to have fun requesting music without reverting to a phone/computer. BUT…I’d like to upgrade our living room setup with a much nicer sound system and speakers. I already have a Hegel in my office and love it. But for the complete system investment that would go into our shared family room, my family wants the convenience of requesting music just like they have gotten used to with Siri/Airplay 2. It is the future after all. So a Hegel with AP2 support means I can do serious listening when I want to with Roon and my family can still listen casually via Siri/AP2. Keeping those worlds separate, while fine for some who can afford to devote an entire room to just serious listening, is not often practical. My family would be fine with two HomePods in stereo pair mode and be done with it. But I want a nicer audio experience. So we need a way to satisfy both needs. Hence my question to Hegel. That clear?
1 Like
Thanks for clarifying and explaining, and apologies if you mistook my comment.
Are we getting Roon support before EOY or should I stop holding my breath? And how would I even know when the firmware is released? Would be nice if you had a Twitter presence or something similar to share Hegel update news.
I suspect it’ll be all over the Hegel Facebook public group site when it’s released.
Not on Facebook 
Me neither - but you can read the posts:
I know that this thread mostly has Hegel owners - and I am one of them - but as I consider a new integrated amp for my living room setup I am leaning more and more towards the new Arcam SA30 instead of another Hegel. Why? The Arcam seems to check all my boxes: Roon, AirPlay 2, modern DAC, Dirac Live room correction, more than enough power for my Buchardt’s. The Arcam seems to complete very well with the Hegel H190 price point but has more features and a better DAC. And I don’t have to keep holding my breath for Roon/AirPlay 2 support. No reviews yet on the Arcam but it is supposed to be released in early 2020 if not sooner. Just sharing in case there are others who want a fully modern integrated amp.
Whilst I’m a Hegel owner now I have a soft spot for Arcam amps having owned one for 15+ years. It certainly looks like an interesting product, particularly with Dirac built in - I guess it all boils down to which sounds better. Whilst you can comment on the specs of the DAC chip, the sound will of course come down to the quality of the overall implementation. Would be interesting to hear them side-by-side.
I will add that while I respect Dirac and I did use it on my office and second systems for some years I have now gone away from that type of DSP almost entirely. I do use light ARC room correction in one instance with an Anthem receiver.
But this type of room correction always comes at a cost, unfortunately. At first it might seem like a blessing, but I have worked my way through most of these and while you almost can have a perfect “sweet spot” everywhere else is less accurate or even compromised. Even in the sweet spot it’s unfortunately altered. It measures perfectly but the measurements are not true.
For me it’s very much like ANC and headphones. Great sometimes but always a compromise in fidelity. On a buss or train or in an office the compromise is worth it, at home in a quiet environment it’s most definitely not.
So while maybe being “biased” since I own a Hegel amplifier. I would never consider an amplifier or system because of its room correction. It’s not a silver bullet.
I’ve owned Arcam equipment for >30 years and love the sound. Their reliability is now a real problem in my experience, however. The last two AVRs of theirs I have had developed multiple issues. I will not be buying another when my AVR450 finally dies completely.
What are those ‘issues’? Are they specific to AVR functionality. And would you extrapolate this into their Stereo line?