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Hafler preamps - good, not so good, and history?

Been away from audio for some time. Pretty well missed the 80s. Been intrigued by just hearing that there was a Hafler company (RIP Mr. Hafler) after Dyna went out of business.

I've been Googling in vain for a concise history of the company's home audio days. I found their current website and downloaded all the PDF preamp manuals they had, but it is not complete.

Is such a history available? Is there a consensus on the "best of Hafler" especially preamps (I'm thinking of getting one since the prices are so attractive). There's a few for sale here, and an Iris on eBay I'm watching.

My own Dyna Stereo 120 finally gave up the ghost (replaced w/an Adcom 545 mkII), and my PAT 4 preamp is showing signs of terminal illness. I'm both cheap and sentimental, you see...
bcoppola
james_edward
119 posts
 
I guess I should also add that I owned the Adcom 565, and it had none of the issues I talked about regarding the Hafler preamps. I recently sold the 565 and at 14 years old, still had no switch or other noise.
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
Does anyone else have any thoughts on Hafler preamps? I keep trying to acquire a DH-110 at a reasonable price but keep striking out. The Hafler Iris has caught my eye though but am curious what other members think about it. I love Hafler amps though. I currently have a rebuilt Hafler DH-220 and it sounds great. I had a DH 500 and a pair of XL280s and they sounded good as well. My favorite though is still the DH-220.
array1138's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
array1138
80 posts
 
I consider the Hafler 101 one of the best ever phono preamps, and I have owned (and own now) some pretty pricey stuff. Of course, the price wh*res will disagree.
At the time my 101 was in use (it was new) I was working for someone in the audio industry, and we would get sample amps and stuff from manufacturers to play with. One night I was left to finish up and really cranked the in house system, including a turntable, the 101, a Quicksilver 190 and some speakers we were trying to sell, placed in a "rule of thirds" setup. I spent hours marveling at the imaging and picking minutiae out of Jazz at the Pawnshop, Cantate Domino, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Isao Tomita, The Police, et al. One of the best nights in my entire audio career (I am 61).
Better have any one you get these days recapped and cleaned up....
Have Fun!
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