The Conductor

The Hegel P30A is the conductor. With balance and control, it conveys all the details, grandeur, emotion, and complexity of each musical piece. With precise timing and expert understanding of both the score and the musicians, The Conductor brings forth the music as it was intended to sound. It handles calm jazz, stadium rock, and everything in between. Nothing added and nothing subtracted, the P30A is the best conductor you will ever meet.

The Reference Preamplifier

The Hegel P30A is Hegel's new reference preamplifier. We have nicknamed it The Conductor because its task is to drive the power amplifier with a signal that is as true to the music as possible. In our opinion, the preamplifier is the most critical component of a great-sounding system, and it is also the most difficult to get right. The signals with very low amplitude coming from the source can easily be damaged, so in-depth technical knowledge and clever engineering are needed to ensure that the signal remains the same through the preamplifier. With the P30A, we have employed all our skills to do just that.

Distortion

Firstly, Hegel uses single pair FET transistors that have no higher-order harmonic distortion. Within each batch of transistors, there will always be small measurement variations. This may fall within the limits of what is considered normal deviations, but for sensitive electronics like this, it is simply not good enough. That is why the founder and chief engineer of Hegel, Bent Holter, measures the transistors that have exactly the same values and carefully matches them. Having perfectly matched transistors is of utmost importance for the performance of the preamplifier, and it ensures that the P30A sounds very smooth and natural, without compromising on the details. Additionally, the internal layout is designed in such a way that the signal paths within the preamplifier are as short as possible. This reduces the chance of distortion caused by electrical interference. To further reduce distortion, we also minimize the number of electrical components that the signal passes through. In the P30A, the music signal only goes through two transistors and an ultra-low noise volume attenuator. The P30A also utilizes Hegel's patented SoundEngine technology. This actively monitors the music signal for damage and corrects intermodulation distortion using a feed-forward design. SoundEngine effectively removes distortion in real-time while amplifying the signal.

All these steps result in a preamplifier that is very quiet and handles the sensitive low-amplitude music signal as gently as possible. However, there can still be signal distortion, but the P30A has another feature that takes care of this. The P30A is fully balanced. This means that you have two separate amplifiers, volume controls, and SoundEngine modules per channel. With this design, almost all remaining distortion is eliminated, and what you are left with is a signal that closely approaches the original source material.

Connectivity

The P30A offers a wide range of inputs and outputs. It features 2 balanced (XLR) and 3 unbalanced (RCA) inputs, as well as a Home Theater input with a fixed level that allows you to integrate it into a Home Theater system. This input can also be configured to function as a normal input. On the output side, you have one balanced (XLR) and two unbalanced (RCA) variable outputs, all of which are active, allowing you to connect multiple devices simultaneously. One of the unbalanced RCA outputs can even be configured as a fixed volume output. The P30A also has a 3.5mm IR direct input and a 12V trigger output connector. When you add it all up, you get a highly versatile, extremely quiet, and natural-sounding preamplifier that can be the heart of any high-end audio system. You get the P30A - a truly brilliant conductor of all music.