deHavilland

deHavilland is an American boutique hi-fi brand best known for vacuum-tube amplification. It appears to have been founded in 1997, with the company long associated with California and later Washington, and its key figure is Kara Chaffee, the chief engineer and public face of the brand.

The brand’s core focus is single-ended triode and other tube-based electronics, especially power amplifiers and preamplifiers. Its lineup has included monoblocks and stereo amplifiers using classic output tubes such as the 845 and GM70, along with line and phono preamps; it is not known as a maker of speakers, turntables, DACs, headphones, or cables.

In the market, deHavilland sits firmly in the high-end, niche-boutique segment. Its reputation is tied to handcrafted, point-to-point wired tube gear with an emphasis on musicality, classic circuit topologies, and performance that appeals to committed enthusiasts rather than mass-market buyers.