Hegel H400 Integrated Amplifier

Serious power, modern streaming, and proper hi-fi credentials

The Hegel H400 is a high-performance integrated amplifier for listeners who want real authority, real refinement and real long-term usability in a single box. Sitting above the H190v and below the H600 in Hegel’s integrated amplifier range, it combines a powerful dual mono amplifier stage, a high-quality built-in DAC and a thoroughly modern streaming platform.

With a rated power output of 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms, stability into 2-ohm loads, and a damping factor of 4,000, the H400 is designed to stay composed when speakers become demanding. That does not just mean higher volume. It means better grip, cleaner bass, stronger dynamics and a calmer, more controlled presentation across the frequency range.

Built to get the best from your speakers

The H400 is not simply about brute force. Hegel’s dual mono construction, symmetrical layout and SoundEngine 2 error-cancelling technology are all there for one reason: to let the amplifier sound powerful without sounding forced. The result is a presentation that feels open, neutral, stable and unruffled, even when the music becomes dense or the speakers are difficult to drive.

This is the kind of amplifier that can make a good pair of speakers sound more effortless, more dynamic and more complete. Bass has greater control, vocals are clearer, and complex recordings are easier to follow. Rather than adding obvious character of its own, the H400 tends to reveal what your source and speakers are capable of.

A proper streamer, not an afterthought

For many buyers, the H400 will replace not just an amplifier but also a separate streamer and DAC. It supports AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, Roon Ready, Google Cast and UPnP. The Hegel Control app adds volume and input control, plus access to internet radio, podcasts and media server playback. The H400 supports all popular streaming formats, including MP3, WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, DSF, DFF, AAC, PCM, MQA and Ogg.

The H400 also shares Hegel’s latest streaming platform with the more compact H150 and the flagship H600. That helps place it neatly within the current Hegel range, combining serious amplifier performance with the same broader streaming direction found across the brand’s newer generation of integrated amplifiers.

That makes the H400 a particularly strong choice if you want a clean, high-performance system without adding extra boxes. Connect it to your network, add speakers and sources as needed, and you have a system that feels simple to live with while still offering serious audiophile performance.

A high-quality DAC with room to grow

The H400’s DAC section is based on the digital platform used in Hegel’s H600, giving it a far more serious digital front end than the DAC stages found in many all-in-one amplifiers. Just as importantly, you are not locked into it forever. The H400 includes generous analogue and digital connectivity, along with Hegel’s DAC Loop concept via BNC, so the amplifier can continue to grow with your system over time.

That flexibility matters. You may buy the H400 because it simplifies your system today, but it can still make sense tomorrow if you later add an external DAC, a dedicated transport, a phono stage or a subwoofer.

One-box convenience without one-box compromise

A lot of amplifiers promise to do everything. Far fewer manage to combine convenience with genuine performance. The H400 is one of the more convincing examples because it does not feel like a lifestyle product trying to impersonate serious hi-fi. It feels like a serious hi-fi amplifier that also happens to be unusually complete.

For the right buyer, that is exactly the appeal. You get substantial power, excellent control, a refined DAC, modern streaming support, TV-friendly usability and the flexibility to build a very capable system around a single core component.

See the Hegel H400 in action

Watch Hegel’s introduction to the H400 — covering its design philosophy, streaming platform and what sets it apart from the competition.

Features

What makes Hegel amplifiers sound different

Most amplifiers use global negative feedback to reduce distortion — a technique that works reasonably well but introduces timing errors that become increasingly problematic at higher frequencies. Hegel’s approach is fundamentally different. SoundEngine 2 uses a patented feed-forward error correction circuit that continuously compares the input and output signals, identifies the distortion created in the amplifier circuit, and cancels it out in real time — leaving a signal that is much truer to the original recording.

Beyond lower distortion, SoundEngine 2 delivers two further benefits: significantly reduced power consumption at idle, and a damping factor of up to 4,000 compared to 80–300 in conventional amplifiers. That damping factor translates directly into exceptional control over your speakers — tighter, more dynamic and more rhythmically precise bass.

Hegel’s Anders Ertzeid explains what this means in practice in the video below.

How does the H400 compare to other Hegel amplifiers?

The H400 sits at the heart of Hegel’s current integrated amplifier range — more powerful and more fully featured than the H190v, but more compact and more affordable than the flagship H600. For a full comparison of all five current Hegel integrated amplifiers across specifications, inputs, outputs and streaming features, see our Hegel Integrated Amplifiers page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about streaming, connectivity or system matching? Here are some of the things customers most often ask about the Hegel H400.