Hafler DH-110A
A preamp that sold for $440 assembled and $360 as a kit. The price sheet is the most reliable thing on record about it.
Overview
The DH-110A is the factory-assembled version of Hafler's DH-110 preamplifier. The surviving documentation is almost all commercial, not technical: dealer price lists from the mid-1980s that name the model alongside the rest of the Hafler separates line. This was a preamp sold through the same mail-order and hi-fi-shop channels as the DH-100, DH-120, DH-160, DH-220, DH-330 and DH-500. It sat in the middle of that lineup, at a price that made it the step-up choice from the entry DH-100A.
Hafler's own advertising and dealer copy pushed the same line every time - high quality at low cost. The assembled units carried a three-year warranty, against the usual one-year coverage.
What the DH-110A actually contained is where the record gets thin. The period review material in the archive is for the DH-110, not the A-suffix version, and the two should not be conflated. HiFi-Stereo (August 1982, p.42) measured the DH-110 at 10 pounds, 17 by 8½ by 3 inches. It also noted that the surge current was sufficient to pair it with the largest Hafler power amplifier of the day, the DH-500. The review reported the DH-110's high-level input sensitivity at 50 mV for a 0.5-volt reference output and its phono input at 1 mV, both exactly as rated, and described the published specifications as exceptionally complete. The available documents don't establish whether the DH-110A carried identical circuitry. Treat the DH-110 figures as a close relative, not a confirmed match.
Collectors note that the DH-110A turns up on the used market at prices that reflect a working preamp, not a collector's object. Buyers should ask what has been done inside the box before assuming originality.
The DH-110A is a competent, affordable, repairable preamp from a company that built its reputation on exactly that. The surviving documentation is more about what it cost than what it did. Anyone considering one should use the DH-110 review data as a reference point, check the condition of the specific unit, and expect a forty-year-old line stage to need attention.
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