H390 is very quiet, dark background, and very smooth. It’s quite holographic compared to other SS amps. The high-damping factor is great with speakers that demand high current, such as a Magnepan. I have it paired with Magnepan 1.7i. Hegel’s sound has a more laid-back presentation compared to my tube amp. It does everything well but if you’re drawn to a particular aspect of SQ such as holographic-ness or forwardness in presentation, you might find it a bit too “neutral”. I like it because it’s less fatiguing. I can listen to Hegel all day. My tube amp in comparison is something I can only listen to for a couple hours at most.
The internal DAC is good but not as great as my Holo Audio May DAC. You get what you pay for. Also, DS DAC is different fro R2R discrete DAC. So, it’s not a fair comparison. That said, I found the H390’s internal DAC to be quite smooth and natural sounding. If I hadn’t had my May DAC, I’d be quite happy with it. i.e., it’s all relative and how much money you’d like to throw into this bottomless pit. 