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 20

post #286 of 1263
8/28/09 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by roker View Post
update, everything is fine now and I'm loving the sound.

I will say this however, the internal DAC sucks balls. My Keces really brings out the sound of these and I'm totally in love with the form factor. I thought I wasn't going to get an amp until I acquired speaker stands that take up less space on my desk (or a bigger desk for that matter), but this thing is a little wonder.

Perhaps I was a bit harsh, the internal DAC isn't that bad. It's great if you travel light as it works great as a means of giving you a direct line out from your computer, but for as little as 100 bucks on a decent DAC (diy DACs or a Fubar II) you'll see the true potential of the amp.

Larry found a winner for us and I'm hoping when the time comes, the D2000s will be my last major Headphone purchase (waiting for another sale on Amazon). My ears thank head-fi, my wallet does not.
Yeah, my $115 Super Pro DAC707 via optical from my macbook is a more detailed and spacious DAC, but via USB the EF2 is probably on par with the Super Pro USB DAC or 3MOVE DAC. It's like the difference between the DAC in the iBasso D10 or Pico vs the DAC in the 3MOVE or Predator - 2 different levels of performance, but I would say the lowest level still doesn't suck. One can be decent but there is always better out there.
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Denon AHD2000 High Performance Over-Ear Headphones
Powered by NexTag
Hifiman EF2A Usb Headphone Amplifier
Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
Powered by NexTag
post #287 of 1263
8/28/09 at 8:38pm
Larry, I apologize if youv'e answered this question in another thread, but have you had a chance to evaluate the JH13's and your other high end Customs on both a tube hybrid, (EF2) and Solid state (P-51) and is there a noticable difference in the synergy? Also what tubes are you rolling in the EF2 at the moment
Reply
post #288 of 1263
8/28/09 at 10:31pm
I actually like the internal dac in the Hifiman EF2 a lot more than you and most of the posters here. I guess I put it in context of what you get for the price.
Reply
post #289 of 1263
8/28/09 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post
I actually like the internal dac in the Hifiman EF2 a lot more than you and most of the posters here. I guess I put it in context of what you get for the price.
X2 The Dac is adequite but I hope they upgrade the DAC soon. I know I would be happy to pay more for a better DAC, a 3.5 input (in addition to the RCA's), and maybe a bit more power overall.
Reply
post #290 of 1263
8/29/09 at 3:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post
I actually like the internal dac in the Hifiman EF2 a lot more than you and most of the posters here. I guess I put it in context of what you get for the price.
I'll be putting my time with when I go home for 2 weeks, so we'll see if I change my mind. Once you pair a quality DAC with it, you'll end up forgetting about the internal DAC quickly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by boomy3555 View Post
X2 The Dac is adequite but I hope they upgrade the DAC soon. I know I would be happy to pay more for a better DAC, a 3.5 input (in addition to the RCA's), and maybe a bit more power overall.
it just came out, I don't think you'll see that for a while.
Reply
post #291 of 1263
8/29/09 at 3:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by boomy3555 View Post
Larry, I apologize if youv'e answered this question in another thread, but have you had a chance to evaluate the JH13's and your other high end Customs on both a tube hybrid, (EF2) and Solid state (P-51) and is there a noticable difference in the synergy? Also what tubes are you rolling in the EF2 at the moment
I discussed some of this with those two amps in my flagship custom IEM review. The two amps sound different with the JH13Pro. The P-51 is more aggressive or energetic, the EF2 is more musical and smooth. The P-51 is more spacious and the EF2 is a little more forward. The P-51 is a little more detailed, the EF2 is still detailed enough to please. I have the Raytheon 6AK5 tubes in the EF2 after I burned it in with the stock tubes for about 250 hours, and I've not changed it since my EF2 review a month ago. I still like both amps but there is no mistaking the difference.

I spend most of my "small amp listening time" with either my iBasso D10 with AD744-OBCA/EL8201 opamps, or Pico DAC-only>Amphora because of how my laptop rig is set up in my bedroom. The P-51 pretty much lives with my iMod rig for when I am going to be somewhere for a while (like a kid's sports practice) and want to listen without draining my iPhone battery. The EF2 serves as a spare amp that I can use in the basement or family room with my Macbook if I want to use my HF-2 or HD600 and don't want the isolation of IEM because I have to interact with my family. It's much easier to move around than the DV336i that I used to keep in the basement rig, which was replaced by the EF1 and now the EF2.
Reply
post #292 of 1263
8/29/09 at 12:54pm
Thanks again.Larry. Always informative.I'll let you know about the Mullards once they burn in. Already over 72hrs. opening up, but still pretty muddy and veiled.
Reply
post #293 of 1263
9/1/09 at 10:14pm
Hello everyone,

New EF2 owner here, and I come with a question - is low hissing that I can clearly hear with the ATH-A900, and especially with SE-530 normal and is to be expected? It is the same, no matter if I have USB input connected or not.

Thanks
Reply
post #294 of 1263
9/2/09 at 1:25am
Both of those headphone are sensitive and as such are vulnerable to low volume hissing. Make sure that your source is running at 75% to 90% output going into the EF-2 ( both USB and RCA inputs ). It may be too loud even with the EF2 at low volume, in which case you may need an inline attenuator between the EF2 and the phones. The ATH's will probably not need one but the SE530's may.
Reply
post #295 of 1263
9/2/09 at 1:48am
Boomy,

Thanks for the suggestions. The hiss is there even if no source is connected. I can also hear it with my DT770 Pro 250, although I do have to crank up EF2's volume to higher levels.

Maybe my expectations of what the SNR should be are too high, coming from Xin's SuperMini IV - it is *absolutely* black at any volume level, even with SE-530.
Reply
post #296 of 1263
9/2/09 at 1:55am
You may also want to make sure that the Power block ( Walwart ) and cord are routed far away from the signal. I hear nothing from the EF2 with my Customs, Victor FX500's, Pioneers SA305's, etc. when there is no source and the Victor's especially are very sensitive. Sorry, but I'm running out of thoughs. Headphone Addict may have some ideas when he next posts so we'll see.
Reply
post #297 of 1263
9/2/09 at 3:54am
Thread Starter 
Many amps (not all) will make noise when you turn up the volume with no music. It's not an issue if the noise is barely detectable between songs. At normal to high listening volumes, I hear no noise during the quite time between songs.
Reply
post #298 of 1263
9/2/09 at 4:41am
Boomy/Larry,

Thanks for the thoughts, certainly appreciated! As Larry pointed out, when the EF2's volume is set to "normal listening level", the background hiss is barely audible, so I guess it is normal.

Now, back to listening.
Reply
post #299 of 1263
9/2/09 at 11:36am
I've been using this amp from my audio out of my TV and playing some Xbox games, surprisingly, my Grado's sound better than the Sen 555s. Funny thing is never pinned Grado's at being good at gaming sounds.
Reply
post #300 of 1263
9/3/09 at 5:13am
Wait, I just thought of something. Would swapping out the tubes be worthless if you're only using the DAC portion?
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
Powered by NexTag
Hifiman EF2A Usb Headphone Amplifier
Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
Powered by NexTag
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › REVIEW: Head-direct.com HiFiMan EF2 tube Hybrid Amp with USB DAC