HSE

Operating out of his workshop in Switzerland, Robert Huber is a designer with a gentle, curious nature, an infectious smile, an approach to design that makes the word ‘perfectionist’ seem inadequate and an immense talent for creating one of the most revered boutique brands of amplification in the high-end audiophile world. In his earlier career with Studer, Robert’s innovation was well known as he holds 14 international patents for Studer, Soundcraft and Harman.

Each HSE piece is meticulously planned and the level of attention to detail is astonishing, including mechanically isolated circuitry, fully discrete design with multiple power supplies and military grade componentry.

Each piece takes time to create and the process is low volume artisanal in its approach and execution. Robert’s previous extensive career in pro-audio comes into play as he seems to be a ‘lowest possible noise floor’ specialist. HSE amplifiers are dead quiet and reveal the smallest nuances in the music. Having had the privilege of spending time with Robert and having him explain the engineering and design of his amplifiers with the top plates removed, it seems impossible to be able to have a more acute attention to detail than he does.

Each one of his hand-crafted artisanal quality creations is an expression of luxurious purity and heirloom quality. How does a HSE amplifier sound? Sonically invisible, open, dynamic, tonally perfect – none of these descriptions come close. Rich with features and immensely capable, HSE amplifiers are in that rarified small group of high-end audio pieces that you would consider to be ‘ultimate level’.