REVIEW: Head-direct.com HiFiMan EF2 tube Hybrid Amp with USB DAC - Page 18

Yup, definitely!

Indeed. I got a great deal! But it still costs considerably more than the EF2..

That would be a massive killing to compare those. I would still love to read that comparison though

I certainly hope so, lol

headphoneaddict: so pretending the EF2 and D10 were the same price and portability was of no concern, does the D10 still have the stronger amp and dac?

do you have experience with the audio gd compass? i'm doing some backreading to prepare for my denon 7000's and see everyone was pretty much in agreement that the EF1 and denon 2/5/7 make for a very nice combo, and with your review of the EF2 being what sounds like at the very worst the same familar ground with the addition of a DAC, i'd see the EF2 as a pretty sure bet. gd compass on the other hand seems to be held in higher regard. i suppose i'm just looking for the stronger unit in general as i'm also interested in 650's, higher end ultrasones, etc.

I got an email from head-direct saying they're shipping back the same amp to me. Anyone here running having a problem with the amp? I'm thinking this might be a problem with the power supply. Is it possible a faulty power supply could cause problems with the volume level?

If not, then this thing sucks if I have to turn the dial almost to the max to get a decent volume. Anyone else have it parked at the 3 o'clock to max setting?

Please clarify... You have been using the Grados with the EF2?.. and your getting Denons?... The Grados are not high impedence but they are not really low either. I can imagine that they mey need alot of the volume that the EF2 has to give. Especially is used in DAC mode. I glanced back at your previous posts but I wasn't sure.. Sorry if I missed any of this. I have to put out at close to high volumes with my Pioneers and Fostex T50Rp's. I think Headphone Addict suggested a more powerful DAC between the source and EF-2 instead of using the onboard DAC.. I definitly think that Head-Direct should upgrade the DAC in exchange for a bit higher price.

I have used my RS-1 w/ the EF2 w/ no problem and did not go past 9 o'clock or it would be too loud. Have you checked the position of the selector switch in the EF2?

Yeah, are you absolutely positive that the volume level on your PC wasn't set lower? There should be your master volume and also the EF2's DAC volume selectors in your volume control panel. Check it when you get your EF2 back.

I have used the SR80 and SR325i with the EF2 and the most I turn the volume is to 9-10 o'clock max. It's usually under 9 o'clock though. I even have the volume set slightly lower than max on Foobar2000 so I can have a little more volume control on the EF2 knob.

If they're returning it to you, I would think they would know what they were looking for when they inspected it. I'm not saying there could be a weird problem with your EF2, but it just sounds odd.

Quick question: If somebody were to be using the DAC portion as the main input source, would it make more sense to save up for the EF1?

I have a Mac and I've been using a speaker/DAC combo for the last 5 months. Simply unplugging the DAC from my speakers then plugging it into my EF2 shouldn't change a thing with the way it's setup. Going with the EF2's internal DAC is even worse as it's even harder to push my 125s. I also tried it with some Sennheiser 555s (50 ohms) with the same results.

I'm thinking the only thing that could've given Fang a different result is his power supply. He said he'd replace it if I was still having problems, but I think I may return it and get a little dot I+ if it doesn't work out this time.

If by selector switch you mean the USB/CD button, then yes. I've switched between them fine. If there's a gain switch somewhere I haven't seen then let me know. I should have it back by Tuesday.

btw, are you sure it's at the 9 position? According to Fang, he said the 12 position is where it was maxing out for him with 2 being very very loud with Grados.