21:51 i wish the Serenade was also fun and punchy like the EF series, but it looks like Hifiman adopted the neutral Topping/SMSL approach with their flagship dac amp
Thanks for the review! Just got the Susvara and am planning to use this as stopgap while figuring out what the final DAC/amp I will go with (as I've heard it described it can be a very involved process so wanted something that is just plug and play for now lol)
I have a topping D90SE + g111 mkii and just got this last night and listened to it for a few hours doing some A/B testing, volume matched on an HE-1000se. It’s really good but honestly very hard to tell much of a difference. This is listening to a wide variety of prog rock/metal and I guess avant garde metal. I’ll try some more genres and reply back. I feel like I heard a smidge more sibilance coming from the Serenade but also small amount more detail. This morning after leaving it on, doing some more a/b tests, I struggle to find difference again. Debating keeping my current stack or returning the serenade. I like that maybe the serenade will have a modular design and should pair well with a prelude if I ever get some hard to drive headphones.
Hi there, I'm wondering how this stands as a stand alone DAC and I'm wondering how this stacks up to Topping E70 Velvet as a standalone DAC, wondering if this is a worthwhile upgrade if pairs with HE-1000 Stealth
Thank you for the review. I was thinking about getting serenade as a upgrade from mojo 2 for my he1000 stealth, but sounds like its a small upgrade if upgrade at all. How would you compare it with mojo?
Have my HE1000SE that I love and it sounds like I want a different amp than the Serenade if I want to grab a Susvara in the future without buying another probably pricier amp. I'll go for a better amp that does both the headphone I own and the one I might get sometime in the future. If that were this amp, it'd be a win for me for the price. Sorry, I'll pass on this amp. Great review!
Being bad at remembering sound cannot account for something sounding harsh, congested and thin out of the box and pleasant, lush and open after burn in.
@@johnenglishIII It depends…Chip DAC yeah, no burn-in needed. Large R2R DAC do tends to change it sound a little after burn-in due to large number of transistors and capacitors inside which does alter its sonic characteristic a little after some period of usage…. If your DAC is using tubes in its output stage… definitely burn in is a must.
@@LimePieMusic LOL, I can hear the noise, and I’ve seen many posts saying it has background noise. What's the point of lying about it? Whether it's a design issue or a quality control problem, I’m not going to bother with it. If you bought it and like it, that’s good for you, but don’t be a simp for a product just because you bought it.
only issue i find is tidal connect via ethernet sounds is excellent when working but it does not intermittently, i have informed Hifiman and they are in the midst of getting Tidal certification. Hope they get it soon!!
Oh, weird, I learned of this amp/dac today and was interested then boom your vid pops up on my feed. Nice timing.
21:51 i wish the Serenade was also fun and punchy like the EF series, but it looks like Hifiman adopted the neutral Topping/SMSL approach with their flagship dac amp
Thanks for the review! Just got the Susvara and am planning to use this as stopgap while figuring out what the final DAC/amp I will go with (as I've heard it described it can be a very involved process so wanted something that is just plug and play for now lol)
I have a topping D90SE + g111 mkii and just got this last night and listened to it for a few hours doing some A/B testing, volume matched on an HE-1000se.
It’s really good but honestly very hard to tell much of a difference. This is listening to a wide variety of prog rock/metal and I guess avant garde metal. I’ll try some more genres and reply back.
I feel like I heard a smidge more sibilance coming from the Serenade but also small amount more detail. This morning after leaving it on, doing some more a/b tests, I struggle to find difference again.
Debating keeping my current stack or returning the serenade. I like that maybe the serenade will have a modular design and should pair well with a prelude if I ever get some hard to drive headphones.
Can I ask for an update? Did the Serenade burn in and get better?
What about the soundstage, did you notice for example that the serenade had a bigger soundstage?
Seems decent for price!
Please please review the Modhouse Tungsten, everyone is raving about it.
Hi there, I'm wondering how this stands as a stand alone DAC and I'm wondering how this stacks up to Topping E70 Velvet as a standalone DAC, wondering if this is a worthwhile upgrade if pairs with HE-1000 Stealth
What gain setting was the G111 MKII at?
Hi.
Serenade or gustard r26?😊
better than smsl DO400 ??
Would love to see this sonically compared to EF600.
or EF400, at least from the sonic stand point
He compares it to ef400 here 21:45
Im curious how this sounds compared to the Soekris DAC.
hope u get the dan clark e3's in
Thank you for the review. I was thinking about getting serenade as a upgrade from mojo 2 for my he1000 stealth, but sounds like its a small upgrade if upgrade at all. How would you compare it with mojo?
Even the EF400 is a big upgrade from Mojo 2. And the Serenade is a big upgrade from the EF400.
@@PoGGi13 I have had both and didn't really like EF400 that much. Much preferred Mojo 2 with a little bit of EQ at least for my headphones! :)
Significantly better than the Ef600?
Much better then ef600
Have my HE1000SE that I love and it sounds like I want a different amp than the Serenade if I want to grab a Susvara in the future without buying another probably pricier amp. I'll go for a better amp that does both the headphone I own and the one I might get sometime in the future. If that were this amp, it'd be a win for me for the price. Sorry, I'll pass on this amp. Great review!
This is not just an amplifier. This is primarily a DAC
Thanks for the review! How long did you burn it up? In my experience, it began to play much better after 4-5 days of continuous burn-in.
No it did not. You are just bad at remenbering sound. I am too. Everybody is.
Being bad at remembering sound cannot account for something sounding harsh, congested and thin out of the box and pleasant, lush and open after burn in.
@@johnenglishIII It depends…Chip DAC yeah, no burn-in needed.
Large R2R DAC do tends to change it sound a little after burn-in due to large number of transistors and capacitors inside which does alter its sonic characteristic a little after some period of usage….
If your DAC is using tubes in its output stage… definitely burn in is a must.
This amp actually has a big warning in the manual not to burn it in with continuous audio as it can damage the device.
@@realegt that definitely sounds like it may have potential issue with dissipating heat to me.
09:36
So I can use 110v directly not necessary use 220v even though when I bought it from China?
Is this also a preamp?
Yes, with tons of gain
I would like to request a gustard a26 review pls!!
Could this drive modhouse tungsten?
I do not know why, but I would have sworn that you had already reviewed this.
previously it was the prelude
No bluetooth on mine...
I tot the dac and preamp was separated...
The background noise is unbearable for me, impossible to use it with my iems and I can even hear the noise with my hd800s… returning it😢
You're lying because there's no background noise. You received a defective product.
@@LimePieMusic LOL, I can hear the noise, and I’ve seen many posts saying it has background noise. What's the point of lying about it? Whether it's a design issue or a quality control problem, I’m not going to bother with it. If you bought it and like it, that’s good for you, but don’t be a simp for a product just because you bought it.
did you get to keep it for free ?
USB is pushed too much. Sdpif coax sounds better and is less acceptable to interference plus it is only one way communications and not two way.
"you probably might be able to put together a clearly better sounding 1000 dollars stack, maybe"
It’s 2023 and it doesn’t have WiFi!?! C’mon. I was on board until that. Bummer.
You can buy some wifi client for few bucks, no problem...
my hifiman serenade have wifi and bluetooth
airplay works perfect, also check other youtube reviews they clearly show the back having a wifi antenna
only issue i find is tidal connect via ethernet sounds is excellent when working but it does not intermittently, i have informed Hifiman and they are in the midst of getting Tidal certification. Hope they get it soon!!
sorry bluetooth no wifi as ethernet takes care of that including airplay