HEGEL V10 PHONO PREAMPLIFIER

V10

The Hegel V10 is a brand-new take on an old technology. With 30 years of experience designing state-of-the-art discrete transistor circuits, we have built a phono preamplifier like no other. It is neutral, dynamic, and exceptionally revealing. We have applied all our knowledge in amplification to one goal: to reach down into the record and reveal every bit of information. The V10 is designed to capture the sound, to get you closer to the music, and to get you into the groove.

Listening to vinyl is a tactile experience. You carefully open the album jacket, remove the record from the inner sleeve, inspect it for dust or scratches, place it on the platter, and slowly let the needle drop to release the sound. It is all about you and your music, selected for exactly this moment. With the V10, we aim to make this special experience even better. Developed from the ground up and utilizing truly clever and unique technologies, the V10 provides unprecedented transparency and soundscape, making the music you hear as tangible and real as the record it is pressed into.

We achieve this because everything in the V10 is designed with the sole purpose of making your music sound as good as possible. The chassis is divided into two compartments, physically separating the power supplies from the sensitive amplification circuitry. There is simply no detectable interference between the two parts. For the best possible connection, we have fitted the V10 with gold-plated terminals, balanced XLR outputs, and a solid custom grounding screw. In the all-important input stage, we have used ultra-low-noise discrete JFET transistors for both the Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) inputs. Eliminating external noise is especially important when using sensitive low-output MC cartridges, which is why we have fitted the MC input with four such transistors connected in parallel, making the input completely silent and stopping any bias current feedback to the cartridge coil.

The input signal feeds into equally silent amplifier circuits, where both the MM and MC gain stages use ultra-low-noise power supplies built with discrete bipolar transistors to keep the signal noise to a minimum. This ensures extremely accurate amplification of the input signal coming from the turntable. To guarantee the best operating conditions, the V10 is supplied with a linear, low-noise, analog AC power supply, featuring a large, custom-designed E-core transformer placed in its own housing to eliminate all possibility of interference. It has been particularly important for us that all vinyl enthusiasts get to enjoy the V10. Out of the box, it is configured as an excellent plug-and-play MM preamplifier. For many, this is exactly what they want and need, but some desire even more. That is why we made the V10 highly optimizable, catering to individual preferences and requirements in setup; it can be adjusted for any MM and MC cartridge.

When using an MM cartridge, you can freely increase the capacitance between 100 and 467 pF, and when using an MC cartridge, the impedance can be set freely between 33 and 550 ohms or fixed at 47 kΩ. For both MM and MC, the gain can be increased by 5, 10, or 12 dB, matching the output of your other sources. The V10 even has a subsonic filter to remove unwanted low-frequency noise. At the end of the night, when the listening session takes you way past bedtime and you forget to turn off the V10, the adjustable auto-standby function does that for you. All this makes the V10 the perfect companion for your vinyl setup, finding the perfect synergy between your system and your listening preferences, and transporting you into the groove.

EISA Phono Stage 2021 - 2022

Technical Specifications

• Amplifier Typology: Ultra-low-noise discrete JFET transistor input stage for both MC and MM
• Gain XLR Out MM: 40 dB / 45 dB / 50 dB / 52 dB
• Gain XLR Out MC: 60 dB / 65 dB / 70 dB / 72 dB
• Gain RCA Out MM: 34 dB / 39 dB / 44 dB / 46 dB
• Gain RCA Out MC: 54 dB / 59 dB / 64 dB / 66 dB
• MC Load Impedance: Freely adjustable between 33 and 550 ohms / 47 kΩ
• MM Load Capacitance: 100 pF / 147 pF / 220 pF / 247 pF / 320 pF / 420 pF / 467 pF @ 47 kΩ
• Subsonic Filter: Switchable on / off, -3 dB at 20 Hz, -18 dB per octave
• RIAA Accuracy: ± 0.2 dB / 20 Hz - 20 kHz
• Output Noise:* -84 dB/MM ("A" weighted ref: 0 dBV), -81 dB/MC ("A" weighted ref: 0 dBV)
• Output Impedance XLR / RCA: 200 ohms
• Channel Crosstalk: -84 dB @ 1 kHz 0 dBV
• Frequency Response: 2 Hz - 20 kHz
• Distortion (THD) MM: < 0.005% @ 1 kHz 0 dBV
• Distortion (THD) MC: < 0.009% @ 1 kHz 0 dBV
• Inputs: 1 x unbalanced (RCA) MM, 1 x unbalanced (RCA) MC
• Outputs: 1 x unbalanced fixed (RCA), 1 x balanced fixed (XLR)
• Power Adapter: Hegel Power Adapter M30103
• Dimensions with Feet: 6 cm x 21 cm x 28 cm, 2.4" x 8.3" x 11" (H x W x D)
• Weight: 2.2 kg / 4.9 lbs unit weight
• *When stable operating temperature has been reached