darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I'm not very knowledgable on amps outside of, say, anything from Crown so I need a little help on this one from anyone. I currently use a Crown CL1 for the amp in my setup and I love it. Sounds wonderful on my old Infinites, but I need that amp for PA speakers I just acquired. I'm looking at getting a Hafler Pro 2400 to take its place, but don't really know much about it. It's up for sale for $250 right now, but I could likely get it for less. Would that be a good deal and is that amp even worth it? Another DH-200 is up for sale locally as well for $200 (both on craigslist) and same for that amp. Are either of these amps I should look into? I realize that probably no one would know how they sound on my Infinities, but would either one be worth it to get? All input is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Anyone? Bump..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom b. 57 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I, too, am curious about the general concensus on Hafler amps. I picked up a DH-220 and a pair of B&W DM1400 speakers along with a Kenwood C-1 preamp and a Sherwood tuner for $195.00, (all in fantastic shape) a while back and have not put the amp in a system yet to get an idea of how it sounds. I know that the speakers sound and look great, but, I am curious about the amp. Quality, or just another amp? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dubay Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I used a Halfer preamp for many years, and was quite pleased with the sound. A concern I would have is the age of the capacitors, it might be time for replacement. But since this was a kit, you could easily specify and acquire replacements. I would low ball them with a $75 offer and see if they bite. Use the capacitor age information as a lead in for your lower offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Thanks for the response! I assume you're referring to the DH-200. I haven't made an offer on that one yet, but I offered 150 for the 2400 with no response yet. From what I've read elsewhere, Hafler makes good stuff, but I'd like to hear opinions from the people around here too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 There are some recording studios that use Haflers, I don't know which model. Can't be too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 The Hafler DH200 is a fine amp. With about $15 in capacitor upgrades, it will sound even better. There is plenty of info over at DIYaudio forums. Some folks go crazy and spend a good deal of money on the upgrades. I think that is an expensive and questionable strategy. The mids and highs can sound good. However, you will never get a great bass, although bypass caps on the PS caps will help. The $200 price is a bit high. Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereohermit Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Dont see hafler in pro sound much these daysm was fairly popular back in late 80's with the p 500. Mosfet amps not favored much inPA community. They had good sound quality for mid top, mushy in the bass. Today we usually see Crown, QSC, Lab Gruppen, and a slew of chinese stuff. Try for a P 500 in hafler for pro mid-top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 I'm not looking at using a Hafler for PA, that's what I've got my Crown for. I'm looking at it to replace the Crown in my home stereo. Already, there have been one or two remarks about the bass being lacking, so maybe a Hafler isn't the way I want to go...but I'm still not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereohermit Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Oh!...you wouldn't want a P 500 for home, the fan is as loud as a small vacuum cleaner. QSC RMX series might be a good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Never said I wanted a P500 to begin with....let me reiterate myself. Locally, on craigslist, there is a Hafler Pro2400 for sale and as well as a DH-200 from a different seller. I want to know if either of these would be a good replacement for the Crown CL1 I have now. This is for use in the home, not in PA. I'm liking the Pro2400, though I know nothing about it, which is why I asked about these amps to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 I just talked to the person selling the Pro 2400. They said they couldn't take less than 225 for it because of a divorce settlement. Is that a good deal? I haven't asked about the DH-200 yet. Still reading up on those. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Well if this helps.....my repair tech.....Tim Schwartz of Bristol electronics ( highly recommended) Loves the DH200 and highly recommended one as a budget SS amp.....FWIW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Hmm. Thanks fenderbender. I decided to not try and go with the 2400. 225 is too much for me. I just inquired about the DH200, so I'll have to see about that one. Thanks for all the responses from everyone so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Tell him to keep his wife out of it and offer $175 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Actually, it's the wife selling the amp. She told me that she has togive the money to her ex-husband a he will not take less than 225 sothat was the lowest she would go. I offered 150 fyi. OT realquick: The way I see it on anything like this is that if they take yourfirst offer, it wasn't low enough (a point I learned from my dad) so I always make an offer nice andlow. I offered 75 on the DH200 as Mike suggested earlier...still waiting to see how that goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennie Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Hey Darkside, I replaced my Adcom GFA 7607 (7 X 125wpc for HT) with a DH (David Halfler) 200 for my 2 channel La Scala set up and I have never looked back. I bought it from the original owner for $50. He bought it in the late 70's or early 80's and took very good care of it. It sounds fine. Highs and mids are very nice and the bass good too, remember the La Scala's only go down to 44hz. I am running a SVS 20-39 PC Plus for the low end. If you can get the price down to a place where you are comfortable with, I would say go for it. Make sure you check it out first. I think there are only a few phillips screws to remove the cover. It should be obvious if something is fried inside. I hope this helps, Dennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 A friend of mine has had a DH-500 since the early '80's. He loved it so much that when he went "Home Theater"; he bought a bunch more from eBay. My buddy finally "branched out" and in addition to the 500s has also acquired an XL-600 and XL-280 in addition to more 500s, 200s and (I think) a couple of DH-220s. The '600 and the '280 have newer, more modern (expensive) housings, but are STRONGLY related to the older 500 and 200. Some of his stuff was built/sold as "pro" gear; he had to adapt to get around the 1/4" phono plugs on the rear on at least one of his pieces--might have been the DH-220???. Other friends of his are now also running the older Hafler amps; one had a pair of DH-500s, another has a 500 and a 200. The only problems he's run into are driver boards; and they're available new (upgraded) or used (stock) from Musical Concepts. One of his amps was DOA from a jerk eBayer; the seller claimed "shipping damage" when the problem was the leads had MELTED OFF THE POWER TRANSISTORS from being overdriven with a defective protection circuit. This gave rise to the notion that "FET" stands for "Flame Emitting Transistor". Again, Musical Concepts to the rescue. http://www.musicalconcepts.com/ He's as crazy about the older Hafler stuff as I am about Aragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Yeah, I've just about settled on some sort of Hafler to replace my beloved Crown. The guy with the DH-200 sent me pics. The thing is in great shape. Says he had it completely serviced two years ago. The only problem is that he already has someone willing to pay his full 200 asking price, whom I'm guessing is a friend or family since he said I was the first to respond to his craigslist post. I told him that I can't really go higher than 150 (trying to keep this on a pretty tight budget, see how far I can get with my money) and if he has someone willing to pay full asking price, to just sell it to them. There's no way anyone in their right mind would take a lower offer than what they're asking when someone else is offering full price, so yeah. I'm not worried about it. I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for other amps as the come around.. Thanks everyone for all the responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenderbender Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 http://www.esotericsound.com/UsedEquipment.htm this one is a more expensive but much better amp in the Hafler line.... I know it's out of your budget....but the guy at Esoteric is a very reasonable fellow to work with and my be able to work out some kind of deal /partial trade??? Never hurts to ask as that amp has been sitting there for several months..... just trying to look out.......[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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