I’ve had the pleasure of owning Hifiman’s new balanced Dac/Amp, the Goldenwave Serenade, for a couple of months. It’s quite an aesthetic build and the minimalist black casing gives a reassuringly solid feel. All the connectivity options one might require are snugly packed onto the back of the unit, including balanced and unbalanced outputs. For my listening, I’ve connected the unit to a MacBook Pro using Wireworld’s Supernova optical Toslink-3.5mm cable – an expensive option, but worth it for the noticeable improvement in sound.
On the front panel we have XLR and 4.4mm Pentacon balanced outputs as well as the standard unbalanced 6.35mm stereo plug. I had fun using two outputs simultaneously, connecting my Hifiman Arya Organic and Sennheiser HD650 via XLR and 6.35mm respectively, using high-quality OCC copper cables by GAGACOCC for both.
Both headphones sound great with the Serenade, but what struck me first of all was the volume difference between the two – comfortable listening on the Sennheisers being around 12 o’clock and 10-11 o’clock on the Arya. The HD650 is meant to be quite an efficient headphone so it goes to show just how easy to drive Hifiman’s more recent headphones really are.
The serenade has a very enjoyable sound signature which reminds of a tube-amp warmth and fluidity. Transient and airy sounds are just fantastic with the Arya; there’s a real tangible feel to experimental electronic music by artists such as Bernard Parmegiani and Autechre. On some brighter recordings, I did feel the treble was too much and found myself switching to the HD650. The sibilance on Anderson .Paak’s vocals in Oxnard was much easier to bear with the Sennheisers and the silky smooth delivery of bassline and back-up vocals had me tapping my foot. The Serenade is excellent with dynamics so your pop and rock will really have the rhythmic kick to give it that fun factor.
While the Serenade brings the best musicality and smoothness out of the HD650s, the Arya’s hyper-detailed sound can be fully enjoyed too. I perceived sounds in some recordings I had no idea even existed before, and found it hard stop listening to very well-edited albums such as Radiohead’s King of Limbs. There’s a three-dimensionality in tracks such as Bloom or Codex where subtle editing and stereo effects in background electronics would be totally lost with headphones not capable of such resolution (probably in part due to the Arya’s remarkable treble extension, up to 65khz). This doesn’t mean the sound is clinical – there’s a very pleasing feeling that the instruments are floating naturally in a holographic picture, with an aforementioned tube-like effortlessness that my Chord Mojo doesn’t even come close to. The Arya’s wide soundstage is also brought out very nicely, and they can perform the ‘disappearing act’ headphone enthusiasts yearn for, in a way that the HD650, for all its excellent qualities, isn’t quite capable of.
Easily one of my favourite things about listening to music with the Serenade, is the loving way instrumental sounds are presented, particularly stringed instruments such as guitar - I especially enjoyed listening to Ravi Rhankar's Sitar playing. Without wishing to get too poetic, it genuinely feels as as if the instruments were smiling, enjoying the proper presentation of their textures and dynamic range.
To sum-up, the Serenade is clearly a very capable unit and delivers an excellent price to performance ratio. The sound is controlled and authoritative but nonetheless feels liquid and natural, with a three-dimensionality and tangibility that can be quite addictive! I’d absolutely recommend giving it a try with your favourite headphones.
