Hegel V10 - Phono Stage

The Hegel V10 Phono Stage is the culmination of 30 years experience in designing discrete transistor circuits. Hegel claim to have built a phono preamplifier like no other. It is neutral, dynamic, and exceptionally transparent.

Hegel engineers have used their cumulative knowledge in amplification and applied it to one goal - To reveal as much information that is possible in the Vinyl format.

Heightening the Enjoyment of the Vinyl Experience

Listening to vinyl is a tactile experience. You carefully open the album jacket, remove the record from the inner sleeve, inspect for dust or scratches, place it on the platter, and slowly let the needle drop to let the sound out. It is all about you and your music, selected for exactly this moment.

With the Hegel V10 the aim is to make this special experience even better. Developed from the ground up and utilising truly clever and unique technologies, the V10 will give you an unprecedented transparency and soundscape - Making the music you hear as tangible and real as the record it is pressed into.

Hegel achieve this because everything on 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.

Unboxing and first listen of the Hegel V10 - VIDEO

Hegel V10 Connections and Internal Components

For the best possible connection, gold-plated terminals have been fitted along with balanced XLR outputs, and a solid custom grounding screw. On the input stage, ultra-low-noise discrete JFET transistors for both the Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) input have been used.

Eliminating external noise is especially important when using sensitive low output MC cartridges. That is why the MC input has been fitted 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 the MC gain stages use ultra-low-noise power supplies built with discrete bipolar transistors to keep the signal noise at a minimum. This ensures an extremely accurate amplification of the input signal coming from the turntable. And to make sure the V10 gets the best operating conditions, it is supplied with a linear, low noise, analog AC-power supply. This features a large, custom design, E-core transformer, placed in its own housing to eliminate all possibility of interference.

V10 Setup and Configuration

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 want even more. That is why Hegel made the V10 highly optimisable, catering to individual preferences and requirements in set up, the V10 can be adjusted for any MM and MC cartridge.

When using a MM cartridge, you can freely increase the Capacitance between 100 and 467 pF and when using a MC cartridge, the impedance can be set freely between 33 and 550 ohms or fixed at 47 kohm.

On 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. And 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. Transporting you into the groove.

External Review

Hi-Fi News Magazine gave the Hegel V10 its Outstanding Product award. Read the Full Review HERE. 

Technical Specifications

• Amplifier Typology: Ultra low noise discrete JFET transistor input stage for both MC and MM
• Gain XLR Out MM: 40dB / 45dB / 50dB / 52dB
• Gain XLR Out MC: 60dB / 65dB / 70dB / 72dB
• Gain RCA Out MM: 34dB / 39dB / 44dB / 46dB
• Gain RCA Out MC: 54dB / 59dB / 64dB / 66dB
• MC Load Impedance: Freely adjustable between 33 and 550 ohm / 47 kohm
• MM Load Capacitance: 100pF / 147pF / 220pF / 247pF / 320pF / 420pF / 467pF @ 47 kohm
• Subsonic Filter: Switchable on / off, -3dB at 20Hz, -18dB octave
• RIAA Accuracy: +/- 0.2dB / 20Hz - 20kHz
• Output Noise: -84dB/MM ("A" weighted ref: 0dBV), -81dB/MC ("A" weighted ref: 0dBV)
• Output Impedance XLR / RCA: 200 ohm
• Channel Crosstalk: -84dB @1kHz 0dBV
• Frequency Response: 2Hz - 20kHz
• Distortion (THD) MM: < 0.005% @1kHz 0dBV
• Distortion (THD) MC: < 0.009% @1kHz 0dBV
• 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: 6cm x 21cm x 28cm, 2.4" x 8,3" x 11" (H x W x D)
• Weight: 2.2kg / 4.9lbs unit weight

Further Information

Hegel V10 - User Manual (PDF)

HiFi Choice Review - Recommended (PDF)

HiFi News Review - Outstanding Product (PDF)

HiFi Plus Review (PDF)

The Ear Review - Best Buy (Link)