Hafler, a division of Radial Engineering Ltd., has designed its new series of phono preamps designed for dynamic and moving cartridges.
- The Hafler PH60, the first release of the North American-made series, is a high-performance phono preamp for moving coil cartridges that features a class-A transformerless head-amp design with a well-defined RIAA curve to preserve and transmit the original program material with minimal coloration.
Due to the extremely low signal level produced by moving coils, particular attention has been applied to reducing noise while retaining the purity of the signal path to address the most demanding audiophiles.
The design begins with a 14-gauge steel casing to shield the low-level signals from external magnetic fields and RF contamination. Gold-plated input and output RCA connector pairs are employed that will not tarnish over time, thus optimizing signal flow. Inside, the solid-state circuit and military-grade PC board have been optimized by carefully positioning parts for minimal self-noise and cross-talk and then supplemented with a ground plane to reduce susceptibility to RF. An external supply further reduces noise by removing the power transformer from inside the casing.
Front-panel controls include a power on-off switch and a low-cut filter that may be inserted into the signal path when needed. This enables the user to reduce low frequencies that can cause resonance and feedback when playing music at higher levels, helping eliminate both airborne and solidly coupled transmission of vibrations that can enter the stylus and cause feedback, rumble, and distortion.
