Airy, detailed, non-fatigue

Lean Bass

DH 220 revisited I had borrowed a similar unit from a friend a couple of years ago and apparently written some poor review of which having revisited seemed a bit unjustified. This just goes to prove that matching vs. price and product reviews count the most. At that time I had compared the 220 with the QUAD 405 the Adcom 545, Sumo Nine for a possible budget set up. Tis was first matched with a Metaxas Marquis pre-amp and then with a Le Tube pre amp. I have said that the 220 seemed a bit veiled and fuzzy. True at the time. In confirmation I also have to say that I prefer the QUAD among the three. THE 220 REVISITED I recently bought a mint condition 220 from a friend who needed to liquidate. Matched this first with the Following preamps: Music Reference RM5, Carver Hologram and finally with the Superphon Signature Line. I used the Soliloquy 5.0 and B&W 201 prism also for comparison. As you could see I did take some time to review. Pleased note that I also matched the items to keep the set-up at a budget level. Various cables used: Monster M1, Audio technica bi-wire and Linn. Silver interconnects, Tara labs. Player was a Cal Audio DX1 with Chesky Ultimate demo disk THE RESULT My opinions haven't change during the first two pres. However when I did change up to The Superphon and the B&W Combo I found the Hafler singing with authority. Open sound stage, Transparent/Airy/Delicate. It Lacked the low frequency UUMPH of the Adcom 545 (BTW I prefer the 545 to the 555. Smoother/less grain) and the cleaness of the QUAD however the overall presentation was quitre involving. Details you could pick from the air and hardly any fatigue. I was actually hooked and wanted to keep the set-up for myself. Alas, my guests always look for the tubes apparently allured by the mystique they bring. I keep my mind open and believe you should have both SS and Tubes. I've been in the used Audio Business for some time now and although the Hifi Market seems to be going in favor of tubes, I believe that in some cases due to an almost infinite range of sonic qualities produced by matching, it is hard to make a realistic distinction. Try placing the components behind a curtain. Is there anyway you could tell between SS, Tube, Hybrid? Class A vs. Class AB? 300B vs. 6AS7, EL34 vs. KT66? Bi polar vs. Mosfet? GIVEN 10 different speakers? The possibilities are endless and I'm quite sure that given enormous time you'll burn out (just like my dad) THINKING RATHER THAN LISTENING AND ENJOYING!!! BOTTOM line. With the risk of putting my foot in my mouth: Given the match mentioned above, I find the DH220 One of the better values i've come across! Yes it is an excellent Amp for the price. There I said it.

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For this review: Adcom GFA545, QUAD 405-2, Sumo Nine Plus Class A

Plenty of cheap, raw power. Tight bass. Able to be upgraded.

Fatiguing and grainy sounding especially in the middle high to high freq.

First the bad: the Hafler has a straight ahead, in your face sonic quality which makes for a fatiguing listening experience. To my ears, it makes my music sound flat and a bit grainy on the top end of the freq spectrum. Bottom, though, is nice and tight...plenty of power here. A/Bing this against a modest Yamaha receiver a found the Yamaha, although lacking in power for my vintage Infinity's, more transparent and airy. Now the good, the PA-3B mod from Musical Concepts has gotten excellent reviews from a wide variety of listeners. For 300 bucks ($430 installed) you can get the kit and make the Halfer equal to the best of today's tube amps. I think i'll be saving for this mod... An earlier post mentioned tweaking the bias which I think I'll look into as well. I can recommend this amp if you can get it for 175 or less. There have been drastic improvements on amp design since this piece was introduced over 20 years ago. If you're looking for power to rock your house, no mod needed...if you're looking for refinement, an additional $300 will bring this dinosaur into the modern age.

Refined, open, relaxed sound. Cheap as hell. Reliable.

Not able to put out the same raw current as my similarly powered Bryston, but then again, the Bryston sounds 'raw' compared to this old gem. Stupid two prong lamp cord for a power cord that begs to be replaced with an IEC plug.

This review is actually for the 240SE, a later model that was based (as far as I can tell) on the DH 200/220. I actually got the amp for free. I was digging through my dad's garage, and saw it. Curious guy I am, when it comes to old hi-fi equipment, I asked if I could try it out. "Go ahead and take it." He said. "I'm not using it." I've been running a Bryston 3b-ST to power my NHT 2.5's for a while now. And, while authorative and highly detailed, I've been playing with the idea for a 'softer' sound, just to give my ears a rest. The Hafler fit the bill perfectly! These old Hafler amps seem to showcase the MOSFET technology they pioneered. Very smooth sound. Detailed, but in a relaxed way. Good, spacious midrange. Good soundstage. No listener fatigue, despite the slight lack of bass authority compared to my Bryston. I was actually surprised with how good this old thing sounded. I expected it to sound different than my Bryston. I didn't expect it to sound 'better.' And, to my ears, it does. At the moment, I have the Hafler powering the tweeter/midrange section, and my Bryston powering the woofers in a vertical bi-bired configuration, so I get the best of both worlds. Finesse for the mids and highs, and raw current to my woofers. But, if I had to choose one amp of the two, I'd choose the Hafler. The Bryston is more likely the better 'technical' amp, with more apparent detail, and authorative bass fidelity, but the Hafler is easier on my ears for longer periods of time. The Bryston's a brute. The Hafler is a gentleman. Best of all, it was free. Even for the prices these things go for used, they're a friggin bargain. A great candidate for people using receivers with pre-outs to power their speakers. They'll breathe more life into your speakers than you thought they had. Not to mention, this amp is at least 15 years old, and still works wonderfully.

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Bryston 3B-ST

Plenty of power for most speaker applications, very clean, easy to listen to, extremely durable.

None in its price range. It doesn't sound as good as the Audire or the Naim, but what would you expect? It doesn't sound bad in that company, just not as good.

This is an excellent amp. For someone looking to put together a very respectable hifi at a reasonable cost, this amp will fit the bill, and the Hafler 110 preamp (or the 101) is an excellent match. It's really unbelievable how inexpensive these have become; for the price of a cruddy reciever at a discount house, one can have a "real" hifi. I have both a Hafler DH-110 preamp and an Adcom 555, and I definitely prefer the Hafler. Side by side, using the same source, amp, and speakers, the Hafler sounds much more detailed, with a wider and fuller soundstage, more dynamic, and with more overall depth. Perhaps the Adcom would do better with some amp I didn't try, but I tried this with two Rotel 850's strapped mono, an Audire Crescendo, and the Hafler 220.To my ears, the Hafler preamp came out on top in every case. And the combination of Hafler preamp and amp is excellent. Of course, if one has a couple of thousand bucks, one can do better, but this combo will get a person going with very good, accurate and involving sound. I'm actually of the Naim fold now, and have sold my 220 to a friend, but I'm buying another one to have for a second system. Really, for the money these go for, one can't go wrong with the amp or the preamps. So you people out there who want a very good hifi at a very low cost, in my opinion you can't go wrong with the 220/110 combo.

Similar Products Used:

Audire Crescendo, Rotel 850's, Naim 160, 250, and 135's; Adcom 555 pre, Audire Diffet 1 pre, Dynaco PAS-3x, Hafler DH-110 pre, Naim 32, 32.5 and 102 pre's. Naim CD3.5, Denon 1560, Rotel RCD-855

Quiet operation, super low distortion, clean sound.

Input and output jacks could be better as others have mentioned. These are easy to upgrade however.

I couldn't believe I found this sitting on a shelf at Goodwill along with an Apt Holamn pre-amp. Needless to say, I grabbed them both before they figured out what they had. This amp is rock-solid, clean power, super low distortion. I had one problem with the line fuse blowing, traced the problem to the bridge rectifier and replaced it. Now it is back to normal. Love this amp, would never sell. You'd have to spend a lot of money for a modern amp to come close to the specs and qaulity of build on these workhorse Hafler amps.

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MAC 1500 receiver, Pioneer SX series receivers

Quiet,ample power,good specs,build quality,sound stage.A nice amp

input connections

This Is for the DH220.After blowing up my Denon 2400A(it actually caught fire)I bought this amp to hold me over till my Denon is repaired($350).I didn't expect much for a amp that is 15 years old and cost $200.But boy was I surprised when I hooked this amp up.At 115 watts and decent specs,The soundstage is wide and stable. This is a very neutral amp,also it is very detailed in every way.Did I mention quiet.No hint of hiss or any distortion of any kind.When they say built like a tank.They mean it.Very solid build quality.It drives my B&W's with authority.Overall I am very pleased with this amp,And other than the small input connections I can find no fault with it.

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denon 2400a class a amp 200 watts per.

Clean amp, bullet proof. Keep on running.

inputs (rca's) could be better. Output posts could utilize a little larger hole to insert today's larger cables through.

I've owned my Hafler since new - around 1980. Never had a problem. I've driven DCM time windows (the first ones), AR's,Infinitys and now I'm looking into some Magnepan's. I may purchase another one to mono it. The sound is just clear. What is on your turntable or cd is what you get. No colorations. I will never sell it.

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I've use many receivers but this is the only power amp I've owned. You get a good one, why change?

Clean, clean sound

none at this price up to maybe the $1500 range? maybe even $2000

My DH-220 has been driving a pair of Magnapan MG2B's and 2 Celestion XR-15's untill I decided to go home theatre and surround. I'll never sell it nor my Haefler pre-amp. I miss their clean sound with all flavors of music.I'll re hook in another room, music only and love it some more. Owned since 1986 or so (new).

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Currently Dennon AVR 3803, the Haefler was my first higher end and I got spoiled.

rock solid construction. large transformers, huge capacitors

weak input and output jacks

I've had this amp since 1974. It's bomb-proof and sounds great. Using a Parasound Direct Drive 1000 pre amp with it, sounds bright, full, acoustically quite transparent. Very powerful. Lots of much more expensive audio gear has come and gone since I've owned this amp, I will never sell it. These are one of the best bargains in the audio world. I changed the Inputs and binding posts to Cardas. Actually could hear the difference. The Parasound made it sound kind of... too bright and thin. I replaced the interconnects with MIT t2s; really big difference! Really balanced sound and lots of bottom again.

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Sansui, SCS, HH Scott 299c, Spica speakers... Tangent speakers, KEF speakers, Parasound CD player and pre ampl.

Simple and good. Fixable with hafler.com original kit instructions. Unbeatable yard-sale price.

Original box and info missing, but that kept the price down. Overall, no weaknesses.

Wow! the last time I found something this good in a yard sale was a year ago (Heath W-5M w/KT-66's for $5). The deal was $80 for 2 DH200's claimed to be fully functional, but as-is. I'd say build quality & design is servicably good to survive 20 years with just a spot of corrosion on the steel chassis. The simple flat black finish will easily take spray primer/paint or a person could go nuts with chrome plating or powder-coat paint to make a new-looking finish. The power cords have suffered, and will be upgraded with an IEC AC inlet for a standard computer/instrument cord. The RCA jack is fragile and corroded, but cheaply replaced. The sound? Solid 100W MOSFET power that sounds like there is more than 100W available on peaks. I won't compare the DH200 to the Stereo 70 except that they weigh about the same. Thank you DH. I wonder what they sound like bridged? Maybe later... -kk

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Amps: Adcom GFA-5800, Dynakit Stereo70, Nelson Pass Zen but these were bought/built at nearer-retail.