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HEAD-DIRECT EF-5 Headphone amplifier - Page 7

post #91 of 295
11/28/09 at 9:45pm
Ah dang! when this thread started I was contemplating buying an EF1 with AD743JN's.. I have now and its in transit. If the EF5 is that much better I might have held off for a couple days hahaha.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Hifiman EF2A Usb Headphone Amplifier
post #92 of 295
11/29/09 at 12:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
The unit is small enough that I can fit the EF5, plus the SAC amp, and HEV70 stat amp laying flat, all on top of my Marantz CD5001.
I have a lot of stuff on my college desk, I should invest in a bookshelf.

Problem is that the internal amp inside the Musiland Monitor 02 US is more than enough for my needs. I don't even play it at high volumes. Does a great job for everything.

Also I never used a hybird unit in my life so I'm still not too sure if I could really use a $400 EF5.

Not to mention that I'm looking to buy some speakers for the DAC (Audioengine A5s).

Quote:
Originally Posted by tintin47 View Post
The EF-5 was much smaller than the little dot series, if you are speaking of the newish little dots, the mkIII/IV etc.
The problem with the later Little Dot series is that it doesn't give that much power for 32ohms cans. The I+ gives like 800mw while the other ones is I believe is at 100mw.

Personally I wonder how much power it gives at 32ohms?

Or somehow get the tube amp outputted to the A5 if I get it, but that might be overkill.


Of course the I+ is a lot cheaper, but the EF5 comes with a PSU which will improve performance.

What to do, any ideas?
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post #93 of 295
11/29/09 at 2:57am
I think the EF1 was a pretty good step over the Littel dot I+, the EF5 is in another league alltogether.
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post #94 of 295
11/29/09 at 12:59pm
I wouldent sweat it to much, that's a fine amp. It's possible the major difference between the two is just the power supply DY-1. Maybe Head Direct will sell it independantly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by renugaid View Post
Ah dang! when this thread started I was contemplating buying an EF1 with AD743JN's.. I have now and its in transit. If the EF5 is that much better I might have held off for a couple days hahaha.
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post #95 of 295
11/29/09 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeW View Post
I think the EF1 was a pretty good step over the Littel dot I+, the EF5 is in another league alltogether.
That's the problem. I never had an amp before and I believe the EF5 might be overkill for the SR225i. I might be better off with a LD because it would be my first tube amp and it is a lot affordable.

I can still afford the EF5 in January but really my Monitor 02 US DAC does a great job driving the SR225is.
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post #96 of 295
11/29/09 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyperDuel View Post
That's the problem. I never had an amp before and I believe the EF5 might be overkill for the SR225i. I might be better off with a LD because it would be my first tube amp and it is a lot affordable.
.
overkill...? if you want a great amp for your grados and have the money to get it, than why shouldn't you?
I say, get the best you can within your budget, you also may want to upgrade you headphones or get another pair someday and you will need a good amp for them.
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post #97 of 295
11/29/09 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by plonter View Post
overkill...? if you want a great amp for your grados and have the money to get it, than why shouldn't you?
I say, get the best you can within your budget, you also may want to upgrade you headphones or get another pair someday and you will need a good amp for them.
College money is my reason.

Plus I might just stick for Grados, just like the sound too much.

And the LD fits my budget more nicely.
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post #98 of 295
11/29/09 at 4:07pm
who are you trying to convince, sounds like you've got your mind made up. Everyone's got a budget to stick to. I say get the Little dot, im sure you'll be quite pleased.
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post #99 of 295
11/29/09 at 4:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeW View Post
who are you trying to convince, sounds like you've got your mind made up. Everyone's got a budget to stick to. I say get the Little dot, im sure you'll be quite pleased.
Yeah I should get that, I need money for food so sadly the EF5 is out of the question.
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post #100 of 295
11/29/09 at 5:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HyperDuel View Post
Yeah I should get that, I need money for food so sadly the EF5 is out of the question.
Why not consider the EF2, which you could feed the headphone out to your audioengine speakers and use it as a DAC. It's small, and good with low impedance phones with enough power for Grados, Denon and Ultrasone or HD600, just not powerful enough for the HE-5.
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post #101 of 295
11/29/09 at 5:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict View Post
Why not consider the EF2, which you could feed the headphone out to your audioengine speakers and use it as a DAC. It's small, and good with low impedance phones with enough power for Grados, Denon and Ultrasone or HD600, just not powerful enough for the HE-5.

I have a Musiland Monitor 02 US DAC which handles 24-bit/192khz sound perfect via ASIO (which I believe the DAC in the EF2 doesn't handle). It also has a built-in amp which does a good job. The main reason for me to get an amp is to hear what a tube amp sounds like.
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post #102 of 295
11/29/09 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeW View Post
I wouldent sweat it to much, that's a fine amp. It's possible the major difference between the two is just the power supply DY-1. Maybe Head Direct will sell it independantly.
Hopefully thats true. If anybody with both could do a comparison using the DY-1 with the EF1 and see how that fairs it'd be great!
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post #103 of 295
11/30/09 at 12:24pm
I have an EF-1 that I'm selling for $200. Includes the upgrade kit from HiFlight as well (ECC 82 tube, washers, AD743JN op-amps). I'm throwing in the RCA cleartop tube and the two other op-amps (OP275 and AD8599) I have for it as well. Don't want to 'spam' this thread with my sales, but just thought I'd give a few guys in here a heads-up.

Getting out of the headphone game and moving to speakers (trying to replace these RC10s with something a bit more substantial)! Also selling an HD600 with Equinox cable with mini-termination with a 1/4 adapter for $350. Stock HD600 and 650 cables included as well.

May part with the Grado SR80s for $50 as well. PM me if you have any interest in any of that. If not, I'll put up a for sale page.
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post #104 of 295
12/2/09 at 9:17pm
I threw an AKG K701 onto the EF-5 today after about 150 hours of burn in and all the base and life that was lacking in the K701's showed up.
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post #105 of 295
12/2/09 at 9:23pm
That's good to hear, because the 701s are quite capable phones and I've been thinking of getting them as reference. What I like most about them is their ability to play notes clearly.

Oh, and the 701 have always had bass. I think that people seeking "stronger" bass are looking for a different sensation altogether than listening to the music itself.. I hope you don't mean that that part of the spectrum is now unnatural and overemphasized..
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Hifiman EF2A Usb Headphone Amplifier
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