I purchased the C272 about a year ago upgrading from my 100W x 5 Yamaha receiver. The speakers being fed are power hungry 15" Cerwin Vegas (E715's) and let me tell you the difference was amazing!! USA Mobile Truck Repair

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Besides the fact that the unit weighs about 40 pounds, just to still be operational after 40 years of use without an overhaul is a testimony to a solid build quality. In addition, they are very attractive units with smooth controls. Hialeah Auto Glass Repair

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The best advice I can give is purchase your speakers in a store that allows for returns, because the showroom, in all of its acoustically-pristine splendor, is NOT your living room, den or bedroom. Trenton Suspension Repair

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The output transistor are Mosphet TO-3 types and have been discontinued. You can find replacements but thry are expensive and the bias will have to be adjusted. Semi Truck Engine Repair

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This collection of reviews helped me decide to buy a Hafler DH-220 on Ebay and I'm glad I did. I bought it along with a DH-100 solid state preamp for $260 + $40 shipping. I bought it from a dealer who said it was in excellent condition. I have no idea if it came from a kit or the factory. I don't know if anything has ever been replaced or upgraded with it. But I do know that it delivers entry level audiophile quality sound at as cheap as you can hope to get into the market.

Now my entry level system is complete. I have a customized vintage 70s Thorens TD-166 turntable ($550) going into the gem of my system, a Mark Voigt hand-built Magi Phenomenal Tube Phono Preamp ($850 new). That goes into the line input of the Hafler Preamp which feeds into the DH-220. I also bought some vintage Klipsch KG-4 speakers for $340 to complete the system. I'm very happy, though I know I will want to upgrade the DH-100 for a tube line preamp. Add in about $150 for Better Cables and you've got a great entry level vinyl system for under the price of many tube preamps.

I don't have a lot of experience in audiophile sound so I know I'm not the best judge. However, as a musician I have spent a lot of time in studios, and I've always felt like I couldn't get close to that "studio sound" at home. Listening to vinyl on this system, I'm starting to feel like I'm in the studio with Hendrix, The Beatles, and all my other favorites. It's a great feeling. And after years of mp3s, online streaming and just listening to cds in my car, I am realizing that it's a lot more satisfying to listen to music while seated on my sofa with a tumbler of Southern Comfort in my hand.

If I had a little more money, I'd have splurged on ebay on a rebuilt Hafler DH-220. But I wanted it NOW and this one came with the pre-amp. I needed the preamp so I just decided to get them together. And I can always upgrade it later if it starts humming etc. That's another great feature with the Hafler. There are still people out there who upgrade them.

THis review is of a refurbished Hafler DH200 amplifier.
I got thi amplifier of Ebay in great shape but after hearing it, I figured that rebuilding it back to new specs was well worth it.
Getting on in years of being an audiophile, I had my fair share of amplifiers. Making things short, I've owned many set-ups including, Quad, Naim, Bryston, Musical Fidelity ext. Solid state, Class A,single ended and powerfull push pull tube setups as well.
All have given me some enjoyement in the past but imediacy is now the name of the game. I want to feel that I'm in the same room as the performers. (A small groop of course) as this set-up will not play at full orquestral volume.
I use a Single ended pure class A tube amplifier using 845 tubes for the highs and the Hafler DH200 for the lows.
The match is perfect. The imaging is spooky real sometimes. Some nights I just can't go to bed. The amplifier is dead quiet. You have to place your ear has to be close up to the speaker in order to hear a faint hiss.
I have to use a subwoofer in order to get some real foundation in the lower notes( this is not a Brysten 4B) but for most of you out there, it will be OK. I must admit that the uF bank in the power supply has been upgrated from 10,000uF to 22,000uF. This added to the bass foundation. I did not find that this amplifier has ringing highs as many have found in the past reviews. In fact, I find it kind of soft and laid back. To much for my taste and so the reason for by-amping with the 845 single ended amplifier for the highs.
All in all, a great amplifier for the price. Just make sure that you test before you buy. The output transistor are Mosphet TO-3 types and have been discontinued. You can find replacements but thry are expensive and the bias will have to be adjusted.

Strengths:
Great amplifier for the price.

Weaknesses:
To soft on the highs for my personnal taste.

Detailed, transparent sound, with particularly good bass.
Rugged construction.

Can get quite hot at high power output levels. Give it good ventilation.

This review is for the DH220.

After 25 years, the only good piece left alive in my old stereo system was my NAD 3020 integrated amp, a legendary giant-killer in the budget audiophile category for many years. So when I received a settlement for my motorcycle accident recently, I went and bought both a HT setup, and a whole new (& used) 2-channel-only system. The Hafler is the stereo power amp I'm keeping. I am quite happy with it.

I've been listening to my new system about two months now, and am VERY pleased. I've been hearing new detail and complexities from very familiar albums. I particular, I can follow bass tracks note-for-note that used to get lost in the rest of the music. How much of this is due to the amp versus the rest of the system is hard to estimate, but the Hafler sure isn't holding the rest back.

It is also very easy to listen to for hours; very non-fatiguing, especially with vinyl, and most CDs, in my (mostly older) collection at least. It is also very revealing of some source material's shortcomings. A Linda Ronstadt CD (Hasten Down the Wind) sounded awful - harsh, nasty, and not at all like my vinyl copy, which sounded better than ever.

I am convinced that the enthusiam for tube amplifiers, seemingly growing right along with the re-emergence of vinyl, is a compensating reaction to poor-sounding CDs, often newer ones, compressed and loud, produced by tin-eared, clock-punching, rap-happy sound "engineers", in the worst sense of the word.

While I am curious about tube amplifier sound, and may try one someday to satisfy that curiosity, unless I win the lottery, I am likely to be enjoying my Hafler for the rest of my life. Highly recommended :)

Similar Products Used:

NAD 3020, Dynaco ST120, Marantz, Rotel

Rest of system:

Music Hall MMF-5 turntable
Denon DL160 high output moving coil cartridge
Marantz CD5001 CD player
Apt-Holman pre-amp
Hafler DH220 power amp
Magneplanar MMG speakers

simple, solid, trouble free, cheap, clean

can get a little warm if you don't give them some room.

Happened into this forum while looking for help repairing my old Hafler. I bought it new in the late 70's-early 80's. I have been driving a pair of EPI 20 plus speackers all of this time without one problem. It is amazing how basic the Hafler is and how cleanly it drives the great old EPIs. I chuckled a little when I read about the guy who found his dads old Hafler in the garage! He seemed surprised that we old farts in the stoneages had anything that sounded good!

I have been more than pleased with both amp/preamp and speakers all of these years. If anyone is looking for a great and simple set-up. I would recommend both.

power ******

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This amp is the greatest better than most resent foreign amps I have tried.

Similar Products Used:

Sony,RCA,B&W

Bass, power, ability to get extremely loud. A good first amp as these are about 21 years old now. A good amp to DJ smaller parties.

can get really hot easily, will blow fuses if your not careful, can have a filtering problem (at least in my experiences with this amp coupled with the compatible DH-110 Hafler preamp)

This review is for the DH-220. This was my first power amplifier for home/car back in 1994 when I was 16. I owned this amp from 1994 to 1997 until I decided to concentrate on car audio and the amp was giving me some problems with humming and I had to keep filtering my preamp to help with the problems. This was a good first amp for me as I learned a little more about home audio since then. When working properly with the Cerwin Vega VS-120's I would shake not only my house but houses 100 yards away with the windows shut which explains the power that it put out with the correct speakers. The power rating on DH-220 is 115 RMS into 8 ohms.

Similar Products Used:

Audiosource AMP Three which I now own with no problems!