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Like the old saying goes, "Gotta let the good guys win every once in a while". Good for you. Do you suppose Diane will understand why you plan to start casing pawn shops on weekends?
That's the same thing I was just thinking. lol
Wow! Great find, Jim! I've been wanting to get out and go record/gear hunting. I've actually never been to a pawn shop, though, because I live just outside Flint, Michigan, and the pawn shop neighborhoods are shady at best. I'll bet the audio deities were smiling on you because you were out there helping out your community! Maybe there's some community service in my future...
What I am finding remarkable is that I thought the Hafler gear was not bad. I knew it was not high end, but what is clear is that over the years I had become accustomed to the sound of mosfets and thought I am hearing a pretty good bit from the Hafler combo. I had lulled myself into thinking that the Vintage Hafler gear was some high percentage of the way to audiophile land.
With this gear and more watts, 3 times the Hafler amp, the sound stage is wider, taller, and deeper. There is a greater smoothness and better individual instrument spcaing and clarity. All this and from old stuff to boot! The M-80 amp even has an auto Class A setting which I will try some tomorrow when not so tired.
I am listening only in direct mode with the preamp so far as I don't usually use tone controls anyway. Why anyone would not put this in some other room of the house is beyond me.
This is certainly the find of MY lieftime. I am sure that with all the defectors to HT land there are more great 2-channel systems out there if you care to look. This is not the only one for sure.
As I sit hear listening to the FLAC download from the Philly Orchestra I am quite pleased to say the least. I am getting a stronger sense this M-80 is somewhat slighly "tube-like" in sound quality, kind of like a Mel Torme vocal. Very nice. Maybe that is the effortlessness of all these watts?
More WATTS is the reason, more WATTS always sounds better on the same system with less WATTS. More watts is more control, and makes the speakers do it all better. class A B AB don't matter more is better. Your Hafler is 30 year old ckts also. More watts is always better, simple. I'm surprised a porn shop would be selling audio stuff.