wjm@whuxl.UUCP (MITCHELL) (07/14/84)
The current (Aug 84) issue of "Stereo Review" mentions Hafler amps & preamps very favoriably (referring to the use of all polypropelene or polystyrene capacitors) in the signal path of current Hafler equipment (the 220 power amp and 110 preamp). I'm certainly open to proof that very high priced amps of the same power ratings sound better than the Haflers (which I have) but I want to see proof on this one. Regards, Bill Mitchell (whuxl!wjm)
5121cdd@houxm.UUCP (C.DORY) (07/16/84)
<chomp, chomp,..., gobble> Sorry, Bill but I'm going to have to call your hand -- there is one amp that I have a great deal of experience with that is sonically superior to the Hafler DH-220 that is, the Boulder 160. Now, probably few of you have heard of, much less, heard this amp -- and what's a real pity, I have yet to see a review of the amp. I could go into excruciating detail as to how the test was conducted, but I think it will suffice to say the following: There were three amps under test, the Hafler DH-220, the Boulder 160, and the Nikko Alpha III. Listening was performed on Nestorovic Model 5AS loudspeakers. The test was (sorry guys) single blind with output levels of each amp matched at 1K Hz to well within 0.1 dB. My wife performed the switching function while a cohort (Chuck Podaras) and I did the listening -- at a later time, I switched the amps while my wife listened. After listening to a wide variety of music (from classical to rock to jazz with special attention to my digital master recordings) the unanimous winner was the Boulder 160. The difference? you say -- well, the best way I can describe it is smoothness. The highs were significantly less "peaky" or "harsh" on the Boulder over either the Nikko or Hafler. The low end also was much tighter and cleaner. How much? Audibly so -- enough so that after a while we didn't want to listen to amp A (Hafler) or amp B (Nikko), but only to amp C (Boulder). By the way, the image seemed more spatious and more precise with the Boulder amp than with the other two. The Boulder 160 lists for $990. It has 60 W/ch and is strappable for 160 W mono. Now for the Hafler preamp, it's a pretty good deal for $300, however, it's nowhere near the pinnicle in sonic purity. I breadboarded an RIAA preamp circuit using two discrete opamps (the Jensen 990) that just knocks the socks off the Hafler DH-110 preamp. The opamps cost around $65 each. To build an entire preamp you'll need 6 or 8 depending on how you decide to buffer, etc. Total parts cost could run ~$1000. Craig Dory AT&T Bell Laboratories Holmdel, NJ