Hegel Viking Reference CD Player – Preview
All Image Credit: Hegel
Norwegian audio specialists Hegel Music Systems have like others shown their continued support for the plastic CD format by announcing a new new CD player called Viking. Several years ago Hegel had to discontinue their Mohican CD player due to key components no longer being available. This latest high-end 16bit/44.1KHz CD player has been developed from the ground up for optimal performance on standard (Redbook) CD’s and is clamed by Hegel to be; “the best CD player we have ever made”. Its sleek styling echo’s that of the original Mohican CD player and is designed to have matching aesthetics to the Hegel’s P30A pre-amplifier and H30A power amplifier.
This new player uses a front slot for CD loading rather than the original tray and is a brand new laser and drive mechanism. The resulting bit-stream is not resampled or up-sampled and drives a stereo premium 32-bit DAC, the AKM 4493SEQ with VELVETSOUND™ technology, low distortion characteristics and wide dynamic range.
DAC converter. Both the converter and drive are under the control of the quartz crystal based Hegel Master clock system that according to Hegel has; “very low phase noise and our patented SoundEngine technology, the Hegel-designed discrete clock in the Viking reduces jitter to an absolute minimum.”
The completely redesigned analog output stage incorporates Hegel’s analog low pass filter and Line Driver technologies that feed both the balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA rear panel outputs, with digital connectivity being available on the true 75ohm BNC rear panel output. Digital input is not supported. Track information is available on the front-panel OLED display, selected according to Hegel for its low noise.
Finally, control is available via the front panel or the supplied solid aluminum RC8 remote that can also control all other Hegel products. For convenience there is also an auto-standby feature.
Features At A Glance:
- Reference bit-perfect CD player
- Supported Discs: 12 cm Redbook CDs
- New design matching our P30A and H30A amplifiers
- Dedicated top-of-the-line CD drive and laser with slot-in loading
- Auto standby (configurable)
- XLR, RCA, and BNC output
- Hegel Technology:
- SoundEngine
- MasterClock
- LineDriver
- SynchroDAC
Specifications:
- Line Level Output: 1 unbalanced fixed (RCA) 1 balanced fixed (XLR)
- Output Voltage Analog: 2.5V RMS
- Digital Output: 1 BNC true 75 Ohm
- Frequency Response: 0Hz-22 kHz
- Distortion: <0.0015%
- Finish: Black
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 3.54” x 17” x 12” (9.9 cm x 43 cm x 30.5 cm)
- Weight: 16,1 lbs (7.3Kg)
Availability:
September 2023
MSRP:
- US: $5,000.00
- UK: £4,500.00
- EU: €4,995.00
For more information (when available) visit the Hegel web site.
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