The compact and neat exterior contrasts with the enormous soundscape, with tight control over the bass drivers. Combined with very fine-meshed overtones and all the digital inputs you could ever need.

For some speakers – and listeners – 2 x 75 watts can seem a bit slight. In addition, the price upgrade to the even better H190 is barely noticeable.

Hegel has produced an improved successor to the compact Röst, an amplifier slender and low enough to fit on to virtually any bookshelf. But neither Röst nor its successor, the H120, are lightweights; here, most of the speakers are powered convincingly,...