New Hafler Amplifiers

[Titanium Dome]

In this thread

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...read.php?t=249

near the end I mentioned that I'd gotten four new Hafler amps for less than $1000 during the phase-out of Hafler gear by Rockford Corporation.

Here's a little thread on them, in case any of you get a chance to purchase these at close out prices. Especially if you have the chance to score a leftover sight unseen, this may be helpful.

[Titanium Dome]

I got one GX2600 and three SA2300 amps. Here's a threesome showing each type. That's a vintage Soundcraftsmen DX-4200 Preamp/EQ on top.

[Titanium Dome]

Impedance matching switches adorn the front. Evident is part of the massive heat sink and "wind tunnel" for cooling. The air exits the front.

[Titanium Dome]

Plenty of LED feedback is available. Volume attenuators for each channel and stereo/mono autobridging switches complete the front panel.

[Titanium Dome]

I had a hard time getting good shots of the rears, so I had to disconnect everything and kind of jack things around. Here the real differences between the GX2600 and SR2300s is apparent. The GX2600 has built in crossover circuitry, CD horn correction, and sensitivity dip switches. Both have balanced inputs, "no touch" speaker terminals, and dual thermostatically controlled fans.

[Titanium Dome]

Beside typical modular power cord ports, the main point of interest here is the power rating into 2, 4, or 8 Ohms. Now you can see who's the boss!

[Titanium Dome]

I ran one SR2300 through a ProCo switcher so I could drive three different sets of speakers in turn, using the FAP T1 and XP50 DVD player for input.

The speakers were the ol' trio: L250, XPL200, and L7 pairs. I chose one of the great Deep Purple tunes from Fireball, the well-recorded "No, No, No." off the digital remaster. This is a great mix of Blackmore's idiosyncratic guitar playing, Lord's Hammond organ, and Gillan's scorching vocals. Glover's bass is full and powerful. Paice's drums are smart, crisp, and punctuated.

For all three speakers, the Hafler created a strong, deep, wide soundstage. Placement was stable and precise. The sound was natural and open.

The L250 produced a big, powerful sound, with the bass and midbass being solid, powerful and convincing. The mids and highs were pretty good, but not as good as the other two speakers.

The XPL200 was mind blowing in the midrange and highs. The Ti domes were just incredible sounding. The cymbals were in the room. Gillan's vocals were in the room. The guitar screeched and the organ groaned--in the room. The bass was a bit less convincing.

The L7 was at peak form with the infusion of Hafler power. The cymbals were incredibly sharp, the midbass grunge on the guitar and the organ was powerful and convincing, the bass just as compelling as from the L250, with only the midrange falling behind as the L7's four-incher couldn't match the 09Ti from the XPL200.

These Hafler amps are powerful, clean, pro quality units that will drive just about anything. They provide an accurate soundstage and stable imaging with no apparent coloration. The fans might pose a problem to the sensitive of hearing, but I put the amps out of sight and sound, so I couldn't hear a thing. They make a super nice addition to my amplifier stable.

[JBLnsince1959]

hey dome:

How did ( or do) the PS series compare to the other three speakers. I'll really like to know..

[Bob Womack]

We're up to our eyeballs in Halfer TransNovas here where I work. We've got four control rooms based exclusively around them. In my main control room alone we have ten sides (five amps) powering the mains (Urei 813c), surrounds (Bag Ends), and small monitors (Auratones). I'm extremely pleased with them. I love the high-end detail especially. A side benefit is that they make enough heat to create a great hand-warmer in our cold machine room. The one oddity is the rocker power switch, where you push the UPPER end to turn on the amp and a green LED glows on the LOWER (?) end. Hehehehe...

Bob

[Titanium Dome]

hey dome:

How did ( or do) the PS series compare to the other three speakers. I'll really like to know..

I haven't put them together with the PS yet, though the FAA1000.5 amps I'm using there are really Hafler Transana amps with Fosgate Audionics cases.

[Titanium Dome]

High Desert Audio currently is selling four brand new Hafler amps on ebay. Though they are lower power models, they are very good deals at current prices, like the P1500s which are 75/W channel currently well under $100 with less than 24 hours to go.


Here's one example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Hafler-P1500...QQcmdZViewItem

Paypal and US shipping only.

Don't be put off by the balanced inputs. For a couple of bucks you can get adapters to female RCA at Radio Shack.

[Zilch]

For a couple of bucks you can get adapters to female RCA at Radio Shack.

And also a hand-held SPL meter for $50 while yer there.

[Standard equipment. Measure stuff. Be safe.... ]

[Titanium Dome]

The printed specs for these amps look nice, but I was a little concerned about the published THD. I inquired about this to Hafler support. Apparently, the < symbol is the key, since the typical THD is substantially less than that. In any event, they're dead quiet to me.

In practice, they sound spectacular, and as Bob indicated the high end detail is is wonderful. They also put out solid, clean bass and tight percussion as evidenced by my neighbor's attention when I played some classic Deep Purple passages.

[Titanium Dome]

Every amplifier manufacturer has some voodoo terminology to go along with its art and science. Hafler explains its features:

[Ken Pachkowsky]

I have always thought Haflers were all around great sounding amps and have owned several over the years. I think Widget uses a couple of them as well?

Great score dome....Are the fans noisy or can they be turned off?

Ken