REVIEW: Head-direct.com HiFiMan EF2 tube Hybrid Amp with USB DAC - Page 54

Ya, take off the top plastic plate, then roll the tubes out, its very easy. Just be gental with the tubes.

As for the bass, the EF2 is clear and very unboomy (which is good). I really saw this when I AB'ed a cdplayers amp that I had vs the EF2. If you want some extra bass, I found that win7, and possibly vista have a boost bass option that actually gives it a higher bass impact without sounding to boomy. However, I encourage you to gradually reduce the bass and go to a more neutral sound. I use to be a ridiculous bass head and I didn't realize how excessive it was until i got into head-fi. Some recording really lack bass and could use a little boost, but I pretty much always leave mine completely neutral. Also the Denon D200 naturally should have pretty good impact without tons of eq. Same with Ultrasones.

Just started playing deathmetal on my EF2 for the first time.

Is it me or does it seem like the tubes HELP the sound of metal?

Well sadly, each of my headphones have a totally different rendition of death metal on the EF2, which is odd, it's a TOTALLY different tune..

stock tubes: very bright
1930's western electric 6ak5 NOS: very strong in the mids (I find THESE tubes to help the most with the guitars, even possibly enhancing the distortion on the guiars)

pioneer SE-2p: strong mid and a controlled high
ratshack phones: boomy bass (as these always over do)
imetal 490s IEMs: ear piercing treble

it's SO different, i actually found just using the western electric and pioneer se-2p sound the nicest for death.. no need for bassy booms or ear piercing treble.

x2

@ufotofu: I haven't got the raytheons but WE 403A (mine 1951 I think) are good. I use the amp solely via DAC input now, and so far I'm not missing the 6dB bump at 100Hz Equalizer. The people in the basshead anonymous are very friendly.

I've a question: If I buy unmatched tubes, is there a big chance they won't work? won't bias? I'm thinking of buying a sleeve of 5x GE 5654 vs two matched RCAs.

has anyone compared the EF2(A) to the MF X-CAN v3 with the denon headphone?

UPDATE :
I am not very impressed with the stock EF2A tubes even after ~200 hrs .Though the overall sound is definitely a step-up from entry level DAC /sound card hey are too bright for me and don't handle the bass very well.
So I have planned to get replacement tubes, most probably a pair of 6AK5 / 403B . I have no idea about tubes so , need some guidance here. I am looking for a warm , forward sound with good treble (NOT bright) , detailed sound and need to keep the price as low as possible Is it possible to get anything for ~30$ for a pair.?

I see a lot of different versions of tubes available for 403B/6AK5 on ebay . ranging for 5-10$ a tube to even 50$. Can someone please explain what is the difference between them and which one would suit me best keeping the sound preference and budget in mind ?

Here are some of the options , i have.
2x NOS MULLARD CV4010 VALVE EF95 M8100 6AK5 5654 Tubes - eBay (item 270506323434 end time Jan-24-10 13:20:14 PST)

GE 5684 6AK5 W Vacuum Tube MatchedSet 5 STAR Little Dot - eBay (item 160393776900 end time Feb-09-10 09:06:07 PST)

These seem to be cheap, are they any good ?
LOT OF 2-6AK5/5654/EF95 NOS - eBay (item 260535987694 end time Feb-09-10 12:35:26 PST)

JAN 5654 (6AK5 W) Tubes General Electric NOS ~ Strong - eBay (item 360227960471 end time Feb-19-10 08:36:01 PST)

VACUUM TUBE ~ 5654W ~ GE / JAN ~ NOS ~ CROSS TO 6AK5 - eBay (item 370260509484 end time Feb-11-10 17:03:00 PST)

GE 5654W 6AK5 EF95 - 2 MATCHED NOS YAQIN 6J1 Little Dot - eBay (item 360153931164 end time Feb-03-10 13:43:26 PST)

Philips 5654 6AK5 CV4010 EF95 6J1 NOS NIB Pair - eBay (item 290393522658 end time Feb-18-10 19:34:04 PST)


Sorry for so many links , but so many options confuse me :|.

Go for these:

2x NOS MULLARD CV4010 VALVE EF95 M8100 6AK5 5654 Tubes

Only $20/pair, and they sound great. It's what I use in mine. Best bang for the buck. I have the WE 403B, but didn't think they were as good as the Mullard, and they are expensive.

Nice! Thanks Skylab! This is what I wanted to know as well. I, too, have found the stock 6J1s a tad bright. I was thinking it was my Grados, but maybe they aren't 100% to blame. Hopefully, these Mullard CV4010s will do the trick. Can't wait to plug them in. I read on another thread regarding these in the LDMkIII that they had the best low end punch and definition as well.

Thanks a lot Skylab. Will order them soon !

This might be a stupid question, but since I'm new at the amp thing I was wondering how, if I get this amp or a similar tube amp for my Beyer DT880/600Ohm, can I hook up my ibasso D4 dac to one of these amps? Would it be a 3.5 split into 2 coaxial cables? That's what it looks like. Sorry, I'm ignorant.

Thanks for the tip. The WA6 is way over my budget though. I have been reading about the LD MK111 and the Darkforce 336 because they are within my $250 limit. What do you think of them as far as the 600Ohm DT880s go? Your thoughts have already been very helpful in some of my purchases so far.