Hafler Trans Nova 3000

[PerVirtuous]

I just found a Hafler Trans Nova 3000 power amp on Facebook. The guy wanted $200 for it. I met him and looked at it, it was still in the box, wrapped in plastic. It looked like it had never been used. It still smells new and not a speck of dust. Apparently, some guy had owned a music company and had some stock in his house when he died. The guy who sold it to me had no idea what it was, even though it said power amplifier on the box.

My question is, I have seen much about people rebuilding these. Is that something that I will have to worry about where it has not been used? Or do the capacitors have a shelf life whether used or not? How careful should I be when starting it for the first time? It says Rockford on one of the stickers, so I called them. To the best of their knowledge, it is from right around 1990. Thank you in advance for any information.

 

[highfigh]

I just found a Hafler Trans Nova 3000 power amp on Facebook. The guy wanted $200 for it. I met him and looked at it, it was still in the box, wrapped in plastic. It looked like it had never been used. It still smells new and not a speck of dust. Apparently, some guy had owned a music company and had some stock in his house when he died. The guy who sold it to me had no idea what it was, even though it said power amplifier on the box.

My question is, I have seen much about people rebuilding these. Is that something that I will have to worry about where it has not been used? Or do the capacitors have a shelf life whether used or not? How careful should I be when starting it for the first time? It says Rockford on one of the stickers, so I called them. To the best of their knowledge, it is from right around 1990. Thank you in advance for any information.

The electrolytic caps should be checked or at least the power should be ramped up using a Variac, but only if that wouldn't cause the amp to self-destruct. Sony's VFet transistor amps didn't fare well if the voltage started low, but I don't know this one- check around for info.

 

[PerVirtuous]

Good news. Upon testing the Hafler was unusable. The volume pots were shot. Snap, Crackle, Pop! I saw a video on youtube of someone using a spray to clean their volume pots and bought some. It worked perfectly and now the unit plays clean as can be. All it cost was $14 for the spray. The first time I tried it out, I was disappointed in how soft it was. Being heavy and rugged I expected much more. I went to AliExpress and purchased a $15 tube preamp. When I hooked it up to that, WOW! I had some powerful sound then. My plan is to run the mains off the Hafler and send the rest of the channels (7.2) through the Denon. It will take some time because I have to build a new entertainment center to accommodate the Outlaw Preamp and the Hafler amp along with the Denon.

 

[lovinthehd]

Heavy and rugged translates to what in terms of sound?