David Hafler
David Hafler; designed sound equipment
By Gayle Ronan Sims
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
David Hafler, 84, of Rittenhouse Square, an audiophile who devoted his life
to perfecting home high-fidelity sound components, died Sunday of
complications of Parkinson's disease at St. Agnes Hospice.
A resident of Merion Station from 1960 to 1990 before moving to Rittenhouse
Square, Mr. Hafler also owned homes in Boca Raton, Fla., and London.
Naturally, all of his homes were filled with music from quality sound
systems he designed, said his daughter Joan Cole. He didn't watch
television, she added.
Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Mr. Hafler graduated from West
Philadelphia High School in 1936, and received his degree in mathematics
from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940.
His life changed after the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor. Mr. Hafler quickly
married his high school sweetheart, Gertrude Schwinger, and he enlisted in
the Coast Guard, which made him an officer.
Both were very good moves. The couple remained inseparable until her death
in 2001. During the war, while serving as communications specialist in the
Caribbean, Mr. Hafler was exposed to the notion that sound could be
reproduced faithfully.
After the war, Mr. Hafler worked for A.J. Wood, a market-research firm in
Philadelphia, until his love for music spurred him to design
easy-to-assemble electronic sound equipment for consumers.
In 1950, Mr. Hafler founded Acrosound in Roxborough, which built and sold
audio transformers. It was his next venture, Dynaco, which he founded in
1954 in West Philadelphia, that set the standard for home music systems.
Dynaco manufactured and sold amplifiers as build-it-yourself kits. At the
time, the average hi-fi enthusiast had to assemble the parts for a home
sound system.
Mr. Hafler sold Dynaco to Tyco in 1968 and served as an adviser until 1971.
One year later, he founded another company, David Hafler Co. in Blackwood,
Camden County, manufacturer of inexpensive kits and preassembled hi-fi gear.
Mr. Hafler sold the firm in the early 1990s to Rockford Corp. of Tempe,
Ariz.
In 1999, the trade magazine Vacuum Tube Valley said in a profile that Mr.
Hafler "has probably been more instrumental in the development of component
hi-fi for home use than anybody in the history of the industry." In 1984, he
was named to the Audio Hall of Fame.
One of his products, the classic Dynaco Mk. II 50-watt amplifier, was part
of the media display in the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in
Washington in the 1990s.
Another interest of Mr. Hafler's was collecting rare chess sets, which he
was able to do because his business took him all over the world.
Mr. Hafler's 240 beautiful and historic chess sets from across the globe
were described by Sarah Coffin, specialist in chess collections and
consultant to Sotheby's auction house in New York City, as "one of the
finest collections of chess sets in the world."
"The theme of my father's life was that if he couldn't be a top player, he
could be a top manufacturer or collector," Cole said. "He loved music. But
he couldn't play well enough to play professionally. So he manufactured the
best sound equipment possible. He also loved to play chess, but he wasn't a
world-class player. So he became a world-class collector."
In addition to his daughter Joan, Mr. Hafler is survived by daughter Diane
Marinoff; a son, Eric; five grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.
Graveside services were Tuesday at Mount Sharon Cemetery in Springfield,
Delaware County.
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