I once met Mr. Hafler years ago at the factory of tube amp manufacturer Sound Valves here in Columbus. For those who are not familiar with the company, they purchased all the inventory of Dynaco parts when it closed it's doors. I happened to be in the lobby of S,V. offices picking up an item I bought and a gentleman walked in the front door and it was Hafler stopping by to visit as he often did, I was told. He was a very affable and charming man to everyone he spoke to. You would never have known you were talking to one of audio's true legends.There will never be another like him.
I had the memorable pleasure of speaking with Mr. Hafler at the NY Hi-Fi show in 1958. We talked about the design of his Mk III amplifier, and what types and brands of output tubes I should use upon replacement in the two units that I had built. He suggested Tung-Sol 6550's at the time. He was a real gentleman and spent as much time as you wanted to talk, though others were pressing for his attention. He will be missed. BTW, I still have the Mk III's, although with KT-88's.
God bless his soul.
Sorry, you have to register to read the notice - just copy and paste it here please.Originally Posted by Norbert
Many fond memories of Dyna stuff - always searching for them at garage sales and flea markets...once found a St-70, with the tuner and PAS-s 2 or 3 preamp at a rummage sale all for $10...in good shape too!
MANY thank yous and kudos David (but now he can go listen to God's stereo system*!)
We are diminished.
*Maybe even "tweak" it a bit!
Truly a great audio mind that will be missed. I bought my DH500 in 1982 and it's still going strong, I'm listening to it on my office system at this moment.
Yes, a loss for sure, but the legacy remains. I'm reminded of a quote from John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism: "God buries His workers and goes on with His work."
As I get older, this means more to me.
Fortunately for us and generations to follow, the work of men of great talent benefits all who avail themselves of it, and Hafler's work will remain available to us for our enitre lives at least. We'll join him soon enough, and the next generation can take care of itself.
Out.
My two Fosgate Audionics FAA 1000.5 amps have the latest Hafler Transana output topologies and MOSFET power output stages. I use seven of the ten channels of amplification with my Performance Series gear. It's a great combo.
Out.
Another great in audio history. Great contributions.
You have the Performance Series? You should tell us how you like it sometime.
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Actually, the Transana and Trans-Nova (and in fact, anything starting with 'Trans-') amplifiers are based on the work of a still-living legend, Jim Strickland, founder of Acoustat.My two Fosgate Audionics FAA 1000.5 amps have the latest Hafler Transana output topologies and MOSFET power output stages. I use seven of the ten channels of amplification with my Performance Series gear. It's a great combo.
What happened, is that in the late '80s, Rockford Corporation (makers of Rockford-Fosgate car gear, a company founded by Jim Fosgate- later of Fosgate Audionics- in the late '70s) bought both Hafler and Acoustat. They folded the electronics-design department of Acoustat into Hafler, and later sold off the electrostatic-panel-speaker division to a Italian concern, which, AFAIK, at least up until recently, still built Acoustat-based products in Italy.
Shortly after the merger, Hafler products started appearing with "Trans-Nova" technology... which was originally developed by Jim Strickland for the Acoustat TNT amplifier. Great design... very stable, very well-behaved.
So, it's a big "family affair" of sorts... but Jim Strickland had a big part in the modern designs Hafler uses...
Not to minimize the importance of what Hafler and Kereos did... literally hundreds of companies were very successful, using the "Ulra-Linear" designs that they perfected and optimized, in the early '50s. Amazing how such technologies are STILL being used in SOTA tube amp designs, even today...,
Regards,
Gordon.
Additional Sad News
In addition to the passing of David Hafler, I'm sure most are aware of the demise of the Hafler brand some months ago:
http://hafler.com/home/
Through a lengthy correspondence with the Fosgate Audionics/Hafler gang over the past few years, I became a real believer in the direction these guys were going. Gordon, you are of course correct in pointing out Jim Strickland's groundbreaking work, and he, along with Charles Wood and Mark Albers, made the newer Hafler (and FA) gear very desirable. When I referenced "the latest Hafler Transana output topologies" I was referring to the generic corporate identifier for the product. I knew Strickland was the man.
Mark Albers has been the go-to guy for a lot of recent Hafler amplifier design, including the reknowned 9505 and the FAA1000.5, so I wonder where his talent will go from here.
I'm sorry to see the brand go.
Out.
On the flip side
As Rockford Fosgate's ebay arm High Desert Audio cleared out inventory, I was able to clean up on some very nice amplifiers. I got four new amps with warranties for less than $1000. Considering the least expensive sold for $1599 retail (later saw it discounted to $1299), I'm pleased with the acquisitions.
I got three SR2300s and one GX2600. That's 2x300 and 2x600 at 8 Ohms. They have variable speed fans, which can be annoying, but in current use, the amps are isolated from the listening area, so it's a nonissue. I have them remotely power on through a Niles IPC-6 power sequencer.
Powerful, clean, quick, effortless, low noise, dynamic, stable, flexible...all the things I like are there. And they're built to last.
So out of the remains of Hafler, I got some primo gear at rock-bottom prices that I can cherish for years to come.
Out.
Yikes, Dome, I wasn't aware.
There are two theories to arguing with women, but...neither has worked.
So while you were posting about what is available at the local Best Buy, you were scoring some deeply discounted quality amps? I bet there are many that would have enjoyed hearing about those deals!So out of the remains of Hafler, I got some primo gear at rock-bottom prices that I can cherish for years to come.
Thanks for the sad news about Hafler... while not all that surprising, it is truly sad.
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