You might find this a somewhat unorthodox track to use as a reference, but “Thursday Afternoon,” like so many other great ambient tracks, offers up a massive three-dimensional sound field, with decay that lingers much longer than you might experience with acoustic instruments. The resulting harmonics are like a dog whistle – when reproduced on a great system, this track will put you to sleep, or at least chill you out in a major way. That may not be terribly scientific to those living and dying by measurements (count me out of that crowd), but it is real.
With my desk nestled between the mighty Klipschorns, powered by the ampsandsound Bryce tube monoblocks, this is as dreamy as it gets. Testing my theory on a few random friends produced the “man, I’m really getting sleepy – I need a nap” response.
Staying in the ethereal category for a while longer, Iggy Pop’s rendition of “The Pure and the Damned,” from the Good Time Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, along with Lou Reed’s “Vanishing Act” from The Raven, (how can I resist, seeing this DAC is named the Raven) further underscores how much spatial information the D50 reveals – this is the critical parameter (at least to me) for whether digital falls into the engaging, or background category. Again, the D50 delivers a stellar, lifelike – in this case practically larger than life result through the Khorns and my reference Clarisys Auditiorium Plus speakers.
If you’ve auditioned a wide range of DACs, I’m guessing you’ve had the same experience – and it’s not the chipset, or the analog stage, or the power supply, and so on. It’s the way all these details are addressed and the synergy they deliver as a whole system.
Great DACs for $5,000, please
A $5,000 DAC without a built-in streamer is a unique offering these days, when so many are trying to integrate everything into one box. That said, this offers a more purist approach, and just like in the days when an external phono stage was somewhat anomalous, it’s a great solution. You can change DAC and streamer functionality as you see fit, when you see fit; changing one box doesn’t make the other obsolete. Best of all, without all the noisy network components that make up a streaming device, the D50 puts all its emphasis on decoding digital signals. A task it performs well.
Aqua takes the same point of view, and comparing the Hegel to the more expensive Aqua reveals two products that are very different, yet considerably better than equivalent-priced gear because they choose to concentrate on just being a DAC. Sonically, the Aqua has a warmer presentation, in part due to its vacuum tube output stage. Throwing the T+A 2100 in the mix at nearly $12k is still valid, as the 2100 is an SACD/CD player as well as a streamer.
Your personal functionality requirements and ultimate sonic footprint will determine your outcome. Tonally, the Hegel is very natural, where the Aqua is slightly warm, and the T+A is slightly forward, at least in my system. It is not fair to compare the D50 to my dCS Vivaldi ONE; however, it makes a nice showing up against the $14,000 dCS Lina DAC (which does have a streaming component built in).
Ins and outs
The ESS Technology’s ESS9039 chips are at the heart of the Hegel, and we can argue all day about this part of DAC design, but I prefer not to. Everything here is implemented to a level of excellence that I’m leaving to the Hegel design team. I’m a writer, not an engineer. However, I am a real geek when it comes to build quality and execution – again, the D50 is outstanding at its price point, with meticulous attention to detail everywhere you look, both inside and out. The DAC board is isolated from the rest of the chassis, contributing to the low, low, low noise floor.
Keeping in line with Hegel’s key design elements, the D50 features a bevel on the front panel, where the logo is located, distinguishing it from the standard models with their curved front panels. A nice touch. Taking the understated, yet elegant approach even further, the three main buttons on the front panel are concealed on the bottom of the front panel. Beautiful.
Again, the D50 is a DAC and nothing more. There are no variable outputs – merely a fixed pair of RCA and XLR analog outputs. The analog section features a fully balanced design. Keeping the DAC chips on track are three separate clocks (with individual clocks for 44 and 48 kHz) to eliminate noise and jitter.
In addition to USB, there is a balanced XLR input for AES/EBU, a true 70-ohm BNC and coaxial SPDI/F input, along with a pair of optical inputs. Should you scoff at the optical inputs, the thoughtfulness is appreciated, and it allows the D50 to be a true digital hub. This is particularly practical if you are a music lover who doesn’t play a lot of discs and would like to put an older CD transport or player to use. Doing just that, I dragged my old Sony ES player from the garage system, connecting it to the D50 with excellent results. Ditto for my 90s Proceed PDT in my desktop system. A 3-meter Cardas digital cable from the AES/EBU output made for incredible CD playback in this system.
You can click here to visit the Hegel site and view all of the specifications relating to inputs, outputs, and file formats. To put it simply, the D50 plays everything, including MQA files. Again, very thoughtful, should you still have some MQA files in your collection.
The final touch is a power supply that features advanced input filtering, and Hegel claims that when plugged into a grounded outlet, it will reduce noise in other components on the same circuit. When used in my primary system, with the Pass XS Pre, I really didn’t notice any difference in the Pass’s performance. However, when I used the D50 in my desktop system, I definitely noticed a bit less crunchiness in the overall presentation, so your mileage may vary with this aspect of the D50.
Further listening
Fear not, the D50 does an excellent job decoding everything. Because of its neutral and dynamic delivery, classical, vocal, and acoustic music is reproduced with the necessary scale and timbre. Tracking through a fair number of ECM discs showcases the D50’s ability to deliver stringed instruments in a tonally engaging way, with a high level of depth, detail, and texture.
Its high level of sheer dynamic ability makes listening to vocal music enjoyable and believable. It definitely passes the Ella Fitzgerald test – playing all my favorite Ella tracks effortlessly. I’m sure whatever your reference vocal tracks are, you will not be disappointed.
Yet what the D50 does best of all is deliver layer upon layer of musical information, even with densely packed tracks, which gives it the ability to excel on the best recordings in your collection, delivering great results with recordings that are less than stellar. Not all digital devices can accomplish this feat. This is what puts the D50 into a higher category of playback – its ability to play everything equally well.
The highest of frequencies are delivered smoothly and not harshly, yet contain tremendous detail. The lowest frequencies have superior weight, texture, and speed, allowing you to hear actual resolution in the lower registers. The D50 makes no missteps whatsoever, nor will it have you saying, “This sounds great for digital.” It just sounds great.
Great DACs for $5,000 reprised
Granted, some will balk at the price of the Hegel when a decent DAC can be found in the $299-$999 range, even with tariffs in effect. This is true, but what you won’t get is the level of reality, musicality, and involvement the Hegel delivers. However, you will get a substantial amount of the above that used to have a five-figure price tag five years ago. Keep in mind that if you don’t have a streamer (provided you need one), this will add another $1,000-$5,000 to the digital investment, especially considering that you’ll need to add a digital cable concurrent with the performance of the D50, and possibly another mains cable.
Even at this point, the D50 is a bargain, because this combination of build quality and sound quality doesn’t exist for a thousand bucks. Don’t kill the messenger. And, to put this in a different light, my vinyl-loving friends routinely spend $100-$150 on One-Step and UHQR pressings (guilty as charged); think of the Hegel as setting you back about 40 premium LPs. And seriously, if you only have a modest analog setup, the Hegel playing high-res files will eclipse your turntable.
$5,000 spent on a D50 will barely get you behind the wheel of a 20-year-old Civic with nearly 200k miles on the odometer. I know what I’d rather spend $5k on. Yet, to put this in audio terms, I can see the D50 as the centerpiece of a $ 10,000-$ 50,000 system (less if you aren’t a vinyl enthusiast) that you’ll be happy with for a very long time. With so much buzz in the press lately about mega DACs with six-figure price tags, that’s not something that is a mass consumption item. I genuinely doubt that ten years from now, you’ll really want to trade the D50 in if you are happy with it now, because it has such a high level of musicality, and that’s value.
That said, I am more than happy to award the Hegel D50 one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2025. (photo below, courtesy of Hegel)
Peripherals
Analog Source SME20 w/Hana Umami Red
Digital Source dCS Vivaldi ONE, Aqua La Scala, HiFi Rose RD 160
Preamplifier Pass XS Pre, Van Alstine Fet Valve
Power Amplifier Pass XS 300 Monos, ampsandsound Bryce Monos
Speakers YG Carmel 3, Volti Audio Razz, Klipschorn AK7, Clarisys Auditorium + , Songer Audio S1X, Quad 63
