About The Hegel Viking CD Player
The Viking is Hegel's reference CD Player designed to do one thing and one thing only, play back Red Book CD at the highest quality possible.
Some years ago Hegel had to discontinue their highly capable Mohican CD player because key components were no longer being produced. Since then, they have been working on a replacement that would be even better. Improving on perfection is not easy, but they did it with the Viking, the best CD player Hegel have ever made.
In a world full of options for downloading music, sound formats, compression methods, and streaming services, putting on some music can feel overwhelming. What should be easy and enjoyable, suddenly becomes complex and stressful. Playing a CD on the Viking is not. It is only joy. Viking is a true native 16/44.1 CD player developed from the ground up for optimal performance on standard (Red Book) CDs. It is designed to deliver the most faithful sound reproduction possible by optimizing its components to deliver a high-quality output that is true to the original recording.
Hegel have called this CD player Viking because, much like their ancient Norse forefathers, they are improving on existing technology. When the Viking era began, boats had been around for thousands of years. What the Vikings did was perfect the design. Their longboats could not only sail near the coasts but also traverse the open oceans. The improvements they made took the Vikings to new shores and even new continents. The CD technology might be old, but Hegel believe that when perfected, it is still the best digital medium available.
At first glance Viking might seem simple, but with simplicity comes excellence. Because Viking is focused solely on playing Red Book CDs it can reach unprecedented levels of fidelity. By doing only one thing there are no trade-offs. Viking consists only of high-quality components designed specifically for the task, and that makes this CD player sound truly astounding.
Viking uses a dedicated laser and CD drive to ensure optimal reading of the data. It is also equipped with a state-of-the-art DAC that delivers high-quality digital-to-analogue conversion with minimal distortion, making it possible to hear all the nuances and subtleties in the music. The Viking does not upsample or tamper with the signal in any way, because by leaving the signal as it is on the disc, the already excellent DAC is optimized to perform at its absolute best.
The drive and the DAC are directly controlled by Hegel's unique Master Clock system, ensuring perfect timing between the two. Using a quartz crystal with very low phase noise and Hegel's patented SoundEngine technology, the Hegel-designed discrete clock in the Viking reduces jitter to an absolute minimum. The Viking CD player also features an OLED display that is specifically selected for its low noise, resulting in a clearer and more detailed sound. The analogue stage in the Viking is developed specifically for this model and incorporates both Hegel's analogue low pass filter and Line Driver technology, ensuring fully balanced and noise-free handling of the signal all the way to your amplifier.
One of the most notable features of the Viking CD player is its cabinet design. The sleek design of the Viking matches the P30A and H30A for a modern and cohesive look. But the design choices are not only aesthetical. A very reliable slot drive mechanism and build quality that is well-engineered and solid means this player will last for years and years.
The Viking CD player has one pair of balanced XLR outputs, one pair of unbalanced RCA outputs, and one BNC digital true 75 Ohm output, making it easy to operate and integrate into any audio system. The player also has an auto-standby feature for greater convenience, and it comes with Hegel's solid aluminium RC8 remote that can also control all other Hegel products.
The Hegel Viking is a top-of-the-line CD player designed to deliver the most faithful sound reproduction possible. With its mechanical design, advanced digital technology, the unique Master Clock system, and a superb analogue stage, Viking is a must-have for any audiophile who wants to experience music in its purest form. Viking is a peak-performance machine. It is designed to do one thing and one thing only: To capture every single aspect of the music you are listening to.
Hegel Viking Reviews
"While it's a surprise that Hegel has launched a new CD spinner, the sonic characteristics of the Viking shouldn't shock any brand regulars. Like its Mohican predecessor, this embellishment-free player has a refined, smooth nature that makes listening a pleasure and reminds us just how good the CD format can sound. Build quality and aesthetics also charm, but a power button on the remote wouldn't hurt!" Hi-Fi News
"Hegel Music Systems' Viking presented every CD with enough verve, transparency, and natural detail to make each disc sound distinctly different, which shows that the player's sound was not swamping the disc's sound. This ability to disappear and put the character and vital energies of recordings up front made the Viking exciting to use, and that is my highest compliment. Highly recommended." Stereophile
"Despite being one of the most successful brands in streaming audio (all its integrated amps have this feature built-in), Hegel states "CD technology might be old, but we believe that when perfected, it is still the best digital medium available." Hegel is patently keen on the format, keen enough to build the Viking from the ground up. It uses a slot-loading disc mechanism taken from an in-car unit. The logic here is if it's robust enough for the rigours of life on the move, it should be reliable in a domestic machine. It's certainly quicker than any slot loader that I've tried in the past.
The Viking is a nicely built and finished piece of kit with simple but sufficient front panel controls to do most of the stuff you'd want. Hegel supplies a rather nice metal remote handset. This system controller has several buttons that aren't relevant to this CD player but one doubles up as stop and, with a second click, eject, which is handy. There are no direct track entry buttons or repeat options, reflecting good ol' Scandiwegian minimalism. The back panel is likewise hardly swamped with connections, just outputs on the usual single-ended and balanced sockets plus a digital output on a BNC coax connector (the only serious coax option). A CD player without DAC inputs is a rarity but this goes along with the dedicated nature of the Viking, and all Hegel's amps have digital inputs for that matter.
Hegel's last CD player was called the Mohican because, 'it will be the last CD player the company makes.' This proved a bit premature. As indeed is the notion that CD is dead, this appears to be far from the case as far as we sonic connoisseurs are concerned where if anything there has been a resurgence of interest. There are many of us who have large disc collections that we want to carry on enjoying and don't have the inclination to rip and stream. Add to this that the software is often cheaper than chips or at least cheaper than a high-resolution download and I can see the humble compact disc enjoying a long and entertaining life, especially when they sound as good as the Viking reveals.
In the past CD players have tended to fall into two camps. The Japanese specialised in ultra-refined, smooth and creamy sounding machines that were built to phenomenal standards. At the same time, Europeans and Americans created more lively sounding and exciting players that weren't quite so mechanically slick but made the pulse race rather more effectively. This is a gross generalisation of course but brings me to the point that the Viking seems to do both things rather well. It is as calm and refined as the music requires yet can deliver fireworks when those come along. And it does both with a sense of timing that some turntables would envy. This is the crux of the biscuit; great timing has never been a quality associated with digital sources so when a humble disc spinner comes along that does it this well you have to take notice.
Hegel has achieved this by paying attention to the clock quality and by reducing noise wherever possible. The latter reduces the hash or noise floor that shadows the music, it's not obvious until it is removed, when you can hear the spaces between the notes more easily and thus the leading and trailing edges of each note are easier to appreciate. Hegel's timing abilities are obvious regardless of whether you are paying attention or not; I frequently play background music when doing less mentally challenging stuff on the computer but often find the sound distracting unless the music is particularly ambient. I found that almost anything could be spinning on the Viking without this happening, quite the opposite, I kept getting distracted by how good it sounded. The engagement factor with this player is very high indeed.
Track hopping has become a normal mode of listening in the streaming era, but it means that some good tunes are missed because you're looking for the next big hit. I was surprised at how easy the Viking made it to sit back and enjoy a full album, something that usually only happens with vinyl and then it's often only one side.
Hegel's latest CD player makes an extremely good case for the five-inch silver disc, delivering very high musicality that engages the soul and the body in equal measure and had me routing through my collection for albums that haven't seen the light of a laser beam for many moons. Don't presume that the discreet styling means restrained music, the Viking delivers all the energy and nuance you could ask for, even without horns on its stylish case." Hi-Fi+
Our Take
There's something thrillingly primal about having a component in your system called Viking. It makes you think of adventure and sailing the seas and conquering new lands. And in a sense that is exactly what the Viking CD Player is all about. This player sets sail into rather uncharted territory as a CD Player that only plays Compact Discs and nothing else, extremely rare these days. It also gives you a sense of adventure as you dust off those CD racks and reach for long unplayed titles that used to be your favourites but have been usurped by the latest streaming recommendations. And then the Viking conquers all by casting aside anything that gets in its way to deliver the raw power of the music to your system and to your ears. You know, when Philips proudly declared this new CD format to be "Pure, Perfect Sound Forever" more than 40 years ago, they might just have been thinking of a future with the Hegel Viking CD Player in it.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: Reference Bit-Perfect Compact Disc Player
- New Design matches Hegel's P30A Preamp and H30A Power Amp
- Dedicated top-of-the-line Slot Loading CD Drive and Laser
- Auto Standby (configurable)
- Connections
- Stereo Balanced XLR Outputs
- Stereo Single Ended RCA Outputs
- BNC Digital Output
- Proprietary Hegel Technologies: Sound Engine, Master Clock, Line Driver and Synchro DAC
- Supported Discs: 12 cm Red Book CDs
- Analogue Output Voltage: 2.5V RMS
- Digital Output: BNC (true 75 Ohm)
- Frequency Response: 0Hz-22 kHz
- Distortion: Less than 0.0015%
- Supplied Accessories: Mains Power Cable, Remote Control, User Manual
- Removable Power Cable: Upgrade to a Premium Power Cable for better performance
- Finish: Black
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 430 x 99 x 305mm
- Weight: 7.3 kg
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 2 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE.