HAFLER

Hi Erik, 

     Funny that you mention the Sumo Nine, it is a decent amp stock, but  after upgrading I have considered it one of the better buys in Audio for quite some time.  I had/have the heaviest upgraded/modded Nines that I have seen.  I've heard the pieces done by Mike Bettinger and they are a clear improvement over the stock Sumo. My house took a lightening hit and took out my Nine.  Insurance gave me a fair price for mine.  I recently sent it to Ed Martin,  My old boss at SpeakerCraft/Marcof Electronics.  Back in the old days, we were a Sumo Dealer, I recall Ed debating with Jim Bonjiorno about making the Nine better (not a Nine Plus).  The original outputs are not available for the Nine,  Ed went and found a Motorola that he says is clearly better than the original, he is updating the boards and adding Filter capacitance, originally 40,000 mfd,  now it will be at 176,000 mfd,  he found a much lower ESR cap valued @ 22,000 mics and higher temperature rating and is doubling them up from 4 to 8.... The inputs and outputs are all wired with hand wound litz, he took the schematics and made slight changes to the boards and not only changed to higher quality parts but is changing some parts values that were left lower in the design because of significant cost difference. New high quality speaker terminals also... I already had the best Nine that I've ever heard, so I'm pumped,  I hope to have it in about 60 days.

So, yes, you can hear my enthusiasm for this old amp.  I've compared it to a bunch in my home,  I kept my extra heater (the Nine is Hot!).... I do also have a Class D  amp that I did from Abletec modules,  it is very good,  but I still like my old Sumo  better.  Tim

John, I haven't sat in front of the Sony, but it has a very good reputation for what it is.... I wish that I could comment more on the Sony, but I'd be spitting through my teeth.  I've played a fair amount with the Haflers.

The Hafler can be modified.... John Hillig calls his a Mod, but it really isn't, he changes the boards out completely to his own boards, he simply uses the power supply and outputs.  It really is a new amp design.  It is quite good, but I recall him getting some pretty good bucks and like it was said earlier, I also believe that your better off just getting a decent amp.

However, On Ebay,  there is a guy that will do decent mods on your amp for $125, you send him your amp, he does a fair amount of parts upgrades and sends it back.... I've looked at his kits in the past.  Your Hafler would end up being fluid, smooth, very decent sounding. It won't have the detail of the better amps, nor the dynamics, but none the less, it will be a very noticeable improvement. Do a search for Hafler DH220, he always kept his ads running, I'm sure that he is still there.