Based on my experience with work on Roon Ready (and I spent very much time on that), I can tell you it’s true.
Having owned the Hegel H90 for awhile, and recently selling it, I can say I’m mightily impressed with its replacement in my setup, the Marantz Model 30 integrated. For me, it represents a nice sonic improvement over the H90, even though I paid the same price for both new ($2000). The Model 30 is handmade entirely in Japan. The build quality is night and day better than the Hegel, no comparison.
And I like that Marantz has gone with a 2 box solution. One for analog, amplification + phono stage. And a second box (the SACD 30n) as a hub for all things digital. At $4000 grand total (Underwood HiFI), it comes in at the same price as the H190. Yet in my mind, is far more versatile as digital technology moves much faster than analog. The 2 boxes weigh over 60lbs combined, feels beefy.
The SACD 30n is listed as “Roon Ready” on the Roon compatibility page, but not fully Roon certified, yet.
I went down the too many boxes to count road. Then went down the all in one route. I’m liking the 2 box solution as the Goldilocks spot for me…
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Great! Now please leave the Hegel thread and make your way to the Marantz one 
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@Chris_Chabot
Because you asked, I shall do no such thing 
This thread has covered a vast array of tangential topics. Including alternatives to Hegel due to the collective angst regarding the glacial pace of Roon integration. Enjoy 
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Ok…ok… we have more fun here anyway
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[Off Topic]
The Model 30 is a class D amplifier using NCore NC500 amplifier modules, which are also found in other brands of amplifiers.
It is listed as Roon Tested only, meaning you can use its USB port, but you cannot use it to play Roon via network port (other than AirPlay which suffers several limitations). With the device you mentioned, I don’t think it has been promised a Roon Ready upgrade, while you do get this promise from Hegel. See this thread:
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That’s funny 
I enjoyed my time with H90. The Marantz has been an upgrade for me, on a number of fronts. That said, I’ve not experienced the higher end Hegels, thus cannot speak meaningfully about those.
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A workaround to get roon to communicate with current Hegel amps is the squeeze upnp script (LMS to upnp from Philippe44) already mentionned here
Using it for the last 3 months with an Hegel amp and it is very decent and free.
For now it is the nearest we can get to roon ready without additionnal hardware.
While we are killing time here…
I’m curious if others have added an external DAC to a Hegel H390, which ones, and what your impressions were.
I also wonder about the details of using the DAC loop function. Would I need a DAC with balanced outputs? Does it seamlessly pass data from optical, coax, and possibly other inputs?
Bought myself an Hegel H590 and made an A - B comparison with my Ayre QB9 DSD dac. The DAC of the Hegel sounded much better. Maybe hard to believe but it’s true. The Hegel dac sounds sublime. Very pleased and the Ayre is for sale 
I use a Lumin T2 streaming DAC with my H390. SQ is better using the T2 via XLR than via USB (i.e. using the H390’s DAC). The H390 DAC is pretty good though, just not as good as the T2’s.
The Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 is a really good sounding Roon ready device. Have a listen to it.
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Anyone heard the Matrix element X MQA DAC?
Z reviews reviewed this recently and absolutely loved it.
Outside of my price range. I have the MA mini I pro 3 and I am a huge fan of it.
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Element X is a bit spend.
My question is for a $6K H390, what is a reasonable amount to spend to upgrade the streamer and/or DAC.
I would think a cheap Topping makes no sense, and a big buck dCS Bartok or Mola Mola Tambaqui would be overkill.
Yes the Lumin T2 may be around the sweet spot, but that is also about $4K +/-.
I’m thinking Denafrips Venus II may be an option, but I am concerned about warranty support.
Maybe a used Chord TT2?
I dunno – the cheap Toppings sound pretty good to me. I’ve got a D70 in my main setup, and the sound is sweet. Measures well at ASR, too. Built-in LPS, just like a real piece of audio equipment.
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If you already had a Lumin T2 or similar, and you didn’t need/want the streaming/DAC functionality of the H390 (270W/8 & 490W/4), would the P20 Preamp and H20 Power Amp (200W/8 & 350W/4) make sense?
Yeah, I know it’s more than the H390…
H390 = $6000
H20 + P20 = $9200
The H20 has less power, but if we’re talking purely about sound quality, it a better amplifier? Anyone know?
Since the T2 has Leedh Processing Volume, you may even direct connect it to the power amp, using Roon or Lumin app to control the volume. Of course this makes sense only if you have no need for other inputs, which would necessitate a preamp.
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For that kind of money I’d get the H590, which is very close to the H30 in sound quality
Indeed - but only if your speakers deserve that kind of attention…