HIFIMAN EF-400 HEADPHONE AMP/R2R DAC (FULL REVIEW) OUTSTANDING SOUND FOR THE PRICE.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- An exceptional dac, and great headphone amp for $599.00. Too bad it only has a USB input.
Available from APOS AUDIO... apos.audio/col...
Time stamps.
2:10 Details and specks.
12:08 The Sound.
18:10 Comparisons.
30:50 Conclusion.
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I was anxiously waiting this review. I purchased EF400 after hearing it at Can Jam Chicago last spring. I was perfectly happy with my Schiit stack but hearing this ruined me.
You are exactly who I wanna hear from. I’ve been eyeing the ef400 and currently have a schiit stack. So it was that profound?
Good channel. I always check your opinion because your hearing seams to align very closely with what I hear.
Thank you.
Drive the EF 400 with my Arya Stealth, MM 500’s and moondrop blessing 2 and Oracle 2 as my iem’s and couldn’t be more satisfied. This thing is a beast
The EF400 is easily the best DAC/Amp All in One I've heard under $1K. Unfortunately some have had some noise/buzzing issues in NOS High Gain mode. This Himalaya R2R DAC sounds great though. Another bummer is that it's only USB. No digital inputs like Optical and Coaxial which could be a deal breaker for some. Hopefully Hifiman does another version at some point with the Digital inputs. As it is now it's basically just for those looking for a Desktop All in One. Nice Review 👍
I totally agree.
I figured out how to fix the NOS mode buzzing issues, which seem to only happen on CD quality tracks when using an iPad or iOS device as source. The way to fix it is to use Roon and turn on Sample Conversion and set it to Max. I went back and forth turning it on and off and it really does work, made the buzzing go away, and the buzzing comes back when you turn it off. Glad I finally found a workaround.
@@Reeeepicheep Nice. I would consider getting the EF-400 again if they did another version and added an optical input that I could hook to the TV
@@JTB-- It’s now $499 which makes it a steal
@@Reeeepicheep No Doubt. I think the Himalaya DAC alone is probably worth the price
Outstanding analysis as usual. I just bought the EF400 and I wholeheartedly agree with your review. Keep up the great work..
How good is it to pair the EF400 with a Hifiman Edition XS? Planning to get that, but wanted to understand if that'd be a good pairing.
Sir, very nice and useful review. For me ..personally I am glad that I have the same ifi stack, Hifiman Edition XS you mentioned and now waiting for EF400 with Arya stealth to be delivered to me 🙂🙂🙂
Thank you. The EF-400 and ARYA Stealth are a great combo.
Sir..I received EF 400 a couple of weeks back, but voltage selection switch was highly misleading. I switched on and unit dint work. I had to return the unit. So, at present I am using my IFi stack..signature one dac and signature HFM can to drive Arya. Is EF400 worth over this stack to give one more try sir ?
Sir, I got EF 400 one day back and listening with Arya stealth. Now, I am able to understand and appreciate what all you said in your review to be true... like EF 400 sounds analog with details etc....but to come to this point I got my "pocket burnt with a hole" which also true about audiophile community as commented by several others. Thanks a lot for good genuine reviews you give which are very useful for people who take interest in this field.
Thank you william you always give me the best comparaisons and reviews that I need. I love your ways of speaking slowly and your attitude. See you !
Great review as always! Going to make this amp/dac my Christmas gift!
This amp is on top of my wish list for Christmas.
I got one for gaming and paired with the Empys, low gain NOS already has more than enough power to drive the Empys home.
I have the Holo Spring 2 KTE for my main rig, and got this since its on sale for $4300 HKD
Thanks for your detailed review.
1) It's a little bit of a kluge but you could play CDs on an optical drive connected to your computer.
2) How does the EF400 compare to the D70s when they are both feeding the same amplifier?
3) My guess for the 'USB only' input is that this is adapted from the Himalaya dongles that were developed for their headphones, which support USB input. So they could assemble the EF400 without having to do new engineering to support other digital inputs. This raises the question of why no Bluetooth support, since that is built in to their headphone units. Also it would be fun to connect the analog out of one of their headphone units to a proper amp and compare it to the DAC in the EF400.
1. Yes, I have a Cd drive on my computer, but that still means I am limited to my desk top system, and not my audio rack.
2. I connected the EF-400 dac and the D70s to the Singxer SA-1 and thought they were of equal quality. That is saying a lot for the EF-400 dac, because I love the D70s.
@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 William, can you also try to compare the FIIO K9 PRO ESS in the stack with the singxer sa-1?
@@p2h7fiw Sorry, I had to send the Singxer SA-1 back before I got the FiiO.
@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 May be you can compare the DAC of K9 with d70 and DAC of the ef400 and AudioGD
It's pretty obvious that Hifiman really focused on putting most of their resources on the sound performance, and to keep the price at $600, they really had to go bare bones when it came to features. So only USB, no display, fairly cheap feeling pentameter, etc.. The sound though........!!!!!! To me it sounds like an at least $1000 Amp/DAC combo. Since my setup is only desktop running off of a Mac Mini, the USB only input doesn't affect me, although I can see how it could be a deal breaker for others. If this thing had more inputs and features I bet this thing would cost close to a Grand. If this cost more than $600 I wouldn't have been able to afford it.
now you can get it for 300-400 bucks!
This was a really good review, thanks. Unfortunately there's a sort of recall of the hifiman amp which hurts and does nothing but affirm for many that hifiman has horrible QC. But it's so intriguing!
Thank you very much!!!
T.H.E. member here. Great review! Feels kinda like I missed the boat on this, but the lack of functionality is what killed it for me. I hate that the amp is permanently tied to its DAC with no other input options. I need a headphone amp that can function as a pre as well.
I agree. More inputs would be great.
Incredible review man. Thank you it is really helpful.
Are you going to review ZMF Caldera?
Thank you, and I would be happy to if ZMF sends one my way for review.
@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 Hopefully. I also want to ask you about Atrium EF400 pairing. I have been reading that the Atrium needs an OTL to shine. What do you think about its pairing with EF400.
@@abhik6503 The Atrium sounds very good with the EF-400, but it really shines with OTL tube amps. The Feliks Audio Echo does a really good job.
@@theheadphoneexperience-wil2250 thank you
Having only usb inputs is a deal killer for me
I upgraded from (Gaming) Asus Delta Core headset + SoundBlaster X G6 soundcard to a full HiFiMan Setup including EF400 + HiFiMan XS headset.
Basically going from 250$ to ~1000$ gear.
And let me tell you, I saw many reviews, some saying it's super good, some saying it's "trash". Here's my 2 cents :
If you are a pro audio guy / engineer : okay, perhaps this setup has flaws, I haven't tried more expensive stuff... I get it. And when i read / hear "'harsh" critic, I really think it's "exagerating" the issues.
If you are a regular sound amateur / audiophile like me : you'll be blown away, REALLY.
My experience : I went from a COMPLETE ARTIFICIAL and synthetical sound enhancement (soundblaster) which, yes, was a clear upgrade from using a bad motherboard-provided soundcard, but nowhere near the clarity, crispiness and quality of the setup I now have. With my past setup, electronic music was a clear MESS, frequencies mashed up... artificial, nothing more I can describe it. Only advantage was the easy soundblaster UI allowing for surround / crystallizer / etc settings...
With HiFiMan gear, I only needed a few hours to read guides about EQ (I STRONGLY RECOMMEND the one from Oratory1990 on Reddit, really worked the best for me). Then if you want, according to what type of music you are listening to, or if you watch a movie, you can enhance the experience with HeSuVi using HRIR setups (some Sydney / NYC hrirs for studio opera/ voice leading music, and atmos or atmos- that I use for electronic music) if you want different surrounds / "crystal" variants on top of that.
Now, My new Setup really shines when you are listening to music loud, or very loud (please don't do it too often, it really gets loud, so you can quickly feel pain) !! But you'll feel this is authentic, and teleports you to space. You will really love it.
Now a few "cons", but really it's not about the setup. I really don't regret spending 1000$ on that setup, but really, if that's not money you don't care about, DO NOT BUY THAT, it's good yes, I LOVE it, but it's not a life game changing stuff (except if you are a real music lover). Also, if the audio quality / recording / master is not already WELL DONE, you won't get the full benefit from such a setup. I've had opera music sounding transcending in my soul, and some remastered Queen musics sounding, great, but definitely not awesome... almost disappointing. Keep that in mind.
Some pros : ofc insane authenticity and fidelity to sounds, and you can fit it to your taste using EQ, it only requires a little bit of time. You can almost recreate a movie theater feeling with that sweet warm in the low audio (basses, mid range frequencies...) you know what i mean... (sorry i'm not a pro in audio), and I tried almost all music types, I found none benefiting the upgrade. Maybe vocal oriented songs benefit the most to me...
If given all that you are still convinced, what should I say, QUICK GRAB SOME HIFIMAN COMBO SETUP ! Especially XS + EF400 holy molly !!!
That little EF-400 amp/dac is capable of even more than the Edition-XS will ever show you. It is worthy of Headphones like the Arya and HE1000.
the sound quality for the price is fantastic but many units have given noise problems in nos mode, both in high gain and in low gain, listening to a very unpleasant distortion. I have returned my unit and am waiting for another. prayed that it doesn't happen again because if this problem happens again I won't keep it. it has happened the same issue?
Greetings.
Fortunately the unit I received has not had this problem.
How does it drive the Hifiman He-1000 v2? Is it a good match? Thanks
I don't have an HE-1000 V2 so I can't say for sure, but I'm positive the EF-400 has plenty of power.
Did you notice a lower volume on line outputs compared to other dacs? Is it normal? I own EF400 and it sounds fantastic, but weirdly enough it's much quieter from XLR line out than my old fiio e10 from single ended.
I only tried the SE outputs. I noticed no problems into the Burson Conductor 3 Reference, or the Singxer SA-1.
ef400 warmer than zen stack and k9pro? i need warm
All three are warm sounding. The EF-400 probably the warmest, then the K9 PRO ESS.
Ef400 or k9 sounds more enjoyable? Haha. Not taking price and features into consideration.
Topping a30 pro and d30pro stack will be less warm than ef400 , zen stack and k9 pro?
Mind boggling that it's only USB.
That is pretty much how I feel.
pքɾօʍօʂʍ 😪
Bad dac/amp with bad design problems.
Please check the new review by headphoneshow.