Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › REVIEW: Head-direct.com HiFiMan EF2 tube Hybrid Amp with USB DAC
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

REVIEW: Head-direct.com HiFiMan EF2 tube Hybrid Amp with USB DAC - Page 15

post #211 of 1225
8/16/09 at 8:56pm
kinda half tube half SS as the hybrid name suggests, but the flavor can be "Tube Rolled" to a wide variety of choices. for instance I put a 1952 Kenrad tube in my then EF-1 and came out with an incredibly smooth sound over the stock 12AU7's. That's the most exciting part about the hybrids. tube flavor and SS power
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Denon AHD2000 High Performance Over-Ear Headphones
$309.99 at
See it »
Hifiman EF2A Usb Headphone Amplifier
$199 at
See it »
Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
$1499.95 at
See it »
post #212 of 1225
8/16/09 at 9:14pm
Nice description by boomy3555.
Reply
post #213 of 1225
8/17/09 at 1:12am
yep.. thanks also.. will definitely get one..still waiting it to be ordered and delivered... can't wait already... but i wanna pair it with pico dac only..
Reply
post #214 of 1225
8/17/09 at 1:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
My 5.5G iMod with iMod LOD is better than the EF2 USB DAC (and most other USB DAC except the Pico)...
HeadphoneAddict,

are you including D10, D3, D2 Viper/Boa (all are Wolfson-based DACs) into "most other USB DAC" category? Is iMod really better than D10?
Reply
post #215 of 1225
8/17/09 at 2:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kostalex View Post
HeadphoneAddict,

are you including D10, D3, D2 Viper/Boa (all are Wolfson-based DACs) into "most other USB DAC" category? Is iMod really better than D10?
Yes, iMod with a good dock sounds very good and beats most portable USB DAC. I have not compared my D10 via optical vs iMod. But when I used the iMod in an ALO Jensen coper foil line out dock and A/B compared it with my Apogee mini-DAC, I was hard pressed to tell much of a difference (slightly better extension and air with the mini-DAC, but not huge).

Other desktop DAC that are quite good via USB like the Pico and Apogee include the Stello DA100 with up-conversion turned on, and PS Audio Digital Link III with either 96K or 192K up-conversion. I believe all of these via USB to be slightly better than the iMod, like the Apogee. Nobody at the Colorado meet 3 weeks ago noticed that my PS Audio DLIII was running the Eddie Current ZDT and Woo GES via USB, it's that good.

Madwolf has been doing some experimenting and finding that the PCM2906 that the iBasso amps use for USB to I2S or SPDIF are introducing some phase delay between the Lt and Rt channels. That might have something to do with it.
Reply
post #216 of 1225
8/17/09 at 3:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
I have not compared my D10 via optical vs iMod.
Have you compared D10 USB vs iMod?
Reply
post #217 of 1225
8/17/09 at 4:18pm
it amazing how fast this got to me

I ordered it on Thursday, it officially shipped on Friday, and I got it on a Monday!

So far the only improvement I've noticed is the rhythm seems better and the overall bassline is smoother. I haven't run it through my Keces yet. I'm going to give it a better overall impressions as soon as this baby is burnt in.

edit: tried to Keces and it sounds even better, can't wait to burn this amp in.
Reply
post #218 of 1225
8/17/09 at 5:20pm
^ glad you're enjoying it.. i agree that they're noticeably better when fed through a quality DAC.. the amp shines!
Reply
post #219 of 1225
8/17/09 at 5:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by koven View Post
^ glad you're enjoying it.. i agree that they're noticeably better when fed through a quality DAC.. the amp shines!
I'm going to reserve judgement on the DAC for now and try to see if burn in will make a difference. I don't expect it to beat the Keces but I expect to sound a bit better than it did when I first fired it up.
Reply
post #220 of 1225
8/17/09 at 5:43pm

Tube swapping?

G'day mates! I have been burning mine in for over 100 hrs or so. Both the DAC and the amp.

My question is, when is a good time to swap the tubes? I am curious to try the 5654Ws I got off ebay last week. But, I don't know when I should consider doing this to get a fair comparison of the two. My thought is anytime after 100 hrs, but I just don't know, so thought I'd ask .

Just to get this straight in my head: when you run pink noise through the usb to the DAC to the amp, that will also break in the DAC as well, right?

Thanks guys, loving this thing with my Shure 840s!
Reply
post #221 of 1225
8/17/09 at 6:12pm
Hello! Wonderfull review and replies. Thanks to ya all!

One question though: does it make any sense to use RCA output from my Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Advance DE and plug it into EF2? The card uses AK4396 DAC and triple op-amps on it's line-out OPA2604 and 2xOPA2134 ? I'm not an expert in this matter but wouldn't it make the sound too much coloured? It would go through these 3 op-amps and then through another set (tubes) in EF2. Isn't that too much?

Planning to get an amp for HD650's and researching my possibilities. Enlighten me please
Reply
post #222 of 1225
8/17/09 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
This is a good amp for Grados and the SR-325i should get along well once the amp is burned in to get rid that initial brightness (esp with the stock chinese tubes). Once burned-in even the stock tubes sound nice, and some upgraded tubes later for $40 will take it another step higher. With the Raytheon 6AK5 tubes the EF2 now tames the treble on my RS-1 with bowls, and also takes the zing out the the Westone 3 with silicone tips.
I don't mean to sound like an idiot, I'm pretty new to this.. I was originally looking for a portable amp, but from about 20 hours of Head-Fi forum reading I've decided against it.. I've taken the plunge and ordered an EF2 and really can't wait..! I understand it's in no way a top of the range amp, but it's a start Anyway... I just have a few questions. 1) Which Tubes are best to upgrade to.. 2) Where can I find them.. and 3) Are they difficult to upgrade..??

Cheers in advance Guys

Dan
Reply
post #223 of 1225
8/17/09 at 6:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kamme View Post
Hello! Wonderfull review and replies. Thanks to ya all!

One question though: does it make any sense to use RCA output from my Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Advance DE and plug it into EF2? The card uses AK4396 DAC and triple op-amps on it's line-out OPA2604 and 2xOPA2134 ? I'm not an expert in this matter but wouldn't it make the sound too much coloured? It would go through these 3 op-amps and then through another set (tubes) in EF2. Isn't that too much?

Planning to get an amp for HD650's and researching my possibilities. Enlighten me please
I'm not sure what you're asking, but using your DAC/soundcard to this amp is ideal. When you use it as an amp, you bypass the internal DAC in the EF2. The tubes are only there for amplification reasons.

Hope that helps. I will say however that this might not be the DAC to use for the 650. You'd have to ask someone who owns both, but I think this DAC is better suited to headphones with low impedance.
Reply
post #224 of 1225
8/17/09 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dgilmartin View Post
I don't mean to sound like an idiot, I'm pretty new to this.. I was originally looking for a portable amp, but from about 20 hours of Head-Fi forum reading I've decided against it.. I've taken the plunge and ordered an EF2 and really can't wait..! I understand it's in no way a top of the range amp, but it's a start Anyway... I just have a few questions. 1) Which Tubes are best to upgrade to.. 2) Where can I find them.. and 3) Are they difficult to upgrade..??

Cheers in advance Guys

Dan
Have you read the stickies about introductions to tubes?
Reply
post #225 of 1225
8/17/09 at 6:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dgilmartin View Post
I don't mean to sound like an idiot, I'm pretty new to this.. I was originally looking for a portable amp, but from about 20 hours of Head-Fi forum reading I've decided against it.. I've taken the plunge and ordered an EF2 and really can't wait..! I understand it's in no way a top of the range amp, but it's a start Anyway... I just have a few questions. 1) Which Tubes are best to upgrade to.. 2) Where can I find them.. and 3) Are they difficult to upgrade..??

Cheers in advance Guys

Dan
these are the ones i bought

2-6AK5/5654 NOS - eBay (item 260439100147 end time Aug-29-09 18:00:49 PDT)

but i believe any 6ak5 tube would work.. and for changing them, it's a simple plug and play.

however, i wouldnt worry too much abuot tubes at first since the stock ones sound great, just enjoy it
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphone Amps (full-size)

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Denon AHD2000 High Performance Over-Ear Headphones
$309.99 at
See it »
Hifiman EF2A Usb Headphone Amplifier
$199 at
See it »
Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
$1499.95 at
See it »
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › REVIEW: Head-direct.com HiFiMan EF2 tube Hybrid Amp with USB DAC