I had John Hillig mod my DH-500, did the dual mono upgrade and signature level mods plus a few other tweaks. It was a pricey leap in the dark, based on stuff I read on this forum and elsewhere online. I have to say I am very impressed and very happy with the sound. I have listened to the same CD on some really pricey systems (McIntosh, Krell, etc.) and to my ear my system sounds a good or better. Huge sound stage and depth, a really "live" sound, great bass and clarity, very musical. Don't know about Van A, but to correct an earlier post I believe Hillig worked with Hafler, and his redesigned circuit boards are much more than a passive swap-out of parts. In any case, whether you go Van A or JH, you are buying the guy's ear... I only know JH's and I like it - a lot! That's my two cents.
Modding Hafler Amps?
Hi all. I've been away from the boards here for about a year, but I've got the audio bug...again.
The power switch on my Hafler DH-500 broke last month, giving me the lame excuse I needed to fork out the bucks to have it modded. An internet search found not only John Hillig (Musical Concepts), who I already knew about, but also Van Alstine. Has anyone compared the mods to recommend which company I should use to mod the amp? I'm not looking for all the exotic stuff- I just want the most bang for my buck.
Then the next problem: I also have a McCormack .5 amp (Rev A) that I love with my McCormack RLD-1. I could do a number of things - bi amp using both amps (Hafler for bass and McCormack for mid/high), toss the .5 (which I'd hate to do) and use either the Hafler by itself or purchase another used Hafler 500 and have it modded as well for biamping.
I can't really assess power needs right now, as I won't upgrade to speakers that really need the Hafler's power for another year, and I have no idea what speakers I'll buy. I'm thinking if I have more power than I need, no problem. Some day I'll probably want/need all that power, even if not in the near future.
Sorry this is so long, but thanks in advance for your advice!
The power switch on my Hafler DH-500 broke last month, giving me the lame excuse I needed to fork out the bucks to have it modded. An internet search found not only John Hillig (Musical Concepts), who I already knew about, but also Van Alstine. Has anyone compared the mods to recommend which company I should use to mod the amp? I'm not looking for all the exotic stuff- I just want the most bang for my buck.
Then the next problem: I also have a McCormack .5 amp (Rev A) that I love with my McCormack RLD-1. I could do a number of things - bi amp using both amps (Hafler for bass and McCormack for mid/high), toss the .5 (which I'd hate to do) and use either the Hafler by itself or purchase another used Hafler 500 and have it modded as well for biamping.
I can't really assess power needs right now, as I won't upgrade to speakers that really need the Hafler's power for another year, and I have no idea what speakers I'll buy. I'm thinking if I have more power than I need, no problem. Some day I'll probably want/need all that power, even if not in the near future.
Sorry this is so long, but thanks in advance for your advice!