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Crown dc300a II vs Hafler D200

dosmechs

dosmechs

philbilly
Crown dc300a II vs Hafler DH200

I presented a question last week as to whether I needed more power in my dineing room set up. I contemplated whether I should purchace a Crown DC 300 a II. I got an option from the Crown seller, the Crown or a Hafler DH200 for the same price, $125. I tend to go with the crown and its 75 watt premium. what are your thoughts?
 
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never heard the hafler but I do have a Crown DC300A II. I was very surprised with mine actually, sounded pretty good to me
 
I have 2 Hafler DH 120's I run mono for about 140watts each. I also have the XL280.

Both are very nice sounding amps, not as warm sounding as my Marantz 2385 receiver. Very simple looking and maybe underated. Most of their amps have been regarded as a lot of bang for the buck.

Note: the DH 120's can be run in mono, stereo and can also run 4 speakers in stereo or there is a prescence switch on the rear that gives more of a surround effect. (I never had used it though). Also gain adjustments for dialing in the volume if necessary.

The XL can only run 1 in mono or 2 in stereo, no multiple pairs and no presence or gain setting.

I am not familiar with the Crown so can't compare.
 
Depends on what you want to do with the amp. Here are my thoughts:

- Crown: Brutally tough. Can play all night in nasty bars and not miss a beat. Most parts and expertise is still available in many places in the US. Sonic qualities are on par with most modern day amps when it has been maintained properly.

- Hafler: The value buy. Marketed and used in both pro-sumer and home applications. In their pro versions, about as heavily built as the Crown. Sadly, parts aren't as readily available although there are after market replacement drivers and upgrades available. I have used these any they are excellent but it will depend on how much you'd want to spend to restore them. The DH-200 is likely heading for 25 years of age.

Cheers,

David
 
Although the Hafler is known to sound very good, the Crown is a deal at 125, and I agree go with the Crown. Now if the Hafler was a little less and the Crown about twice then the Hafler would be the deal. Buy the Crown, they don't break and sound good.
 
dshoaf said:
Depends on what you want to do with the amp. Here are my thoughts:

- Crown: Brutally tough. Can play all night in nasty bars and not miss a beat. Most parts and expertise is still available in many places in the US. Sonic qualities are on par with most modern day amps when it has been maintained properly.
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Very true. You could essentially use a Crown DC300 as a welding power supply they were so stable. Also to run a Leslie at an exact 60hz or whathaveyou. They have have amazing capabilities especially in the bass range because they would amplify straight down to dc with no problem.

I've seen some people complain about their supposed "grittiness" in the highs...I can only assume it would be because of the tremendous slew rate and damping factor they have (I'm not totally sure of the actual specs, somewhat of an assumption) causing the treble to be a little more pronounced than on usual amps. At $125 though - it is an excellent deal if in good condition. I would chance to take that above the Hafler personally if I had a choice.
 
I can't comment on the Hafler, but it would be hard to go wrong with the Crown DC300A II. I ran one for many years to push my JBL L-100s/4311s and loved it. I later changed to a Crown PS-400, pretty much a later version of the same amp.

:thmbsp:
 
Slew rate is probably just another overhyped spec anyway.

Afaik, there is only so much needed depending on the output voltage swing and the frequency.
 
Who needs them?

inductor said:
the crowns have a horrendous slew rate their only saving grace is the high damping factor, they were designed in the late 60s\early 70s when slewing wanst heard of or concidered unimportant
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Kind of like capitalization, punctuation and spelling. :D
 
Go for the Crown DC 300a II. Better build quality, rugged enough for most anything you can dish out, and sounds very well. It's Missionary Tough in the great Clarence Moore Crown tradition. I've seen examples fall off the backs of trucks and rock on that night. Easier to get service and support too.
 
I was never a big power guy, the most I had was 50W or so but then I got an old BGW amp with about 100W.

I'm sold.

If you bump into a BGW amp give it a listen and see what you think.
 
RE Crown Dc300a

Make sure to fuse your speakers !!!! I have one thats well over 30 yrs , even though its not series 2. Couple years ago something inside went south and produced 60v DC at the output...fried my speakers !! I still have it but all I do is look at it . Nevertheless it served me well till then.
 
Thanks to all posters. I think I'll get the Crown tomorrow. I'll post on Tuesday on the results. Thanks again for the info!
 
Fusing speakers

paulram said:
Make sure to fuse your speakers !!!! I have one thats well over 30 yrs , even though its not series 2. Couple years ago something inside went south and produced 60v DC at the output...fried my speakers !! I still have it but all I do is look at it . Nevertheless it served me well till then.
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The manual for the DC300AII has a nomograph to assist in sizing fuses for speakers.

http://www.crownaudio.com/pdf/legacy/dc300a2.pdf
 
inductor said:
they were designed in the late 60s\early 70s when slewing wanst heard of or concidered unimportant
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Um...we are talking about a Crown DC 300 II a, not the original DC 300. The II a version is circa 1996. There's the manual in the post preceding mine (wherein Slew rate is listed under 'performance specs')
 
OK here is the scoop. I got the Crown. After I gave the seller the cash he told me that it had some transformer noise from the transformer itself, not the speakers. If you touch the gain knobs you can feel a slight 60 hz vibration. It's audible but not to bad. Is this normal?
 
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re hum

My crown D-60 has a slight chassis hum from the xformer but I never experieced it from my 300a.
 
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