HIFIMAN EF499

Disclaimer: I was not paid to say anything good or bad all thoughts are my own honest opinions.
Note:
All my listening was done with nos mode on.

Review of the HIFIMAN ef499

June 1st 2024

Small size mighty sound

Why would you be considering this unit?

Well if you need a powerful amp and are interested in getting into the world of r2r DACs this is a great introduction without breaking the bank. At 299$ USD this is a great starting point.

Now that I've got that out of the way onto my impressions and thoughts.

Build quality.

The ef499 is built like a tank. It's pretty heavy for how small it is. Fit and finish is very well done. Every part looks and feels well made. I don't find any rough edges or sharp corners. The unit is very well put together.

Sound quality:

Bass response:
Bass is very tactile and deep. It reaches well into sub-bass. The impact is meaty and thick but not muddy or bloated.
Mids:
Mids are very lush but not muddy or anything either. They are very full and textured with some rounded edges.
Treble:
Treble is very accurate and refined, possibly a tad bright but don't take this wrong it's not sibilant or fatiguing. It's very well done and extended nicely.

Now let's get into my listening notes..

Breathe by “little sound”

The track starts off with floating vocals and rolling baselines. The ef499 brings out her texture and ethereal quality of her vocals. The sub bass kicks in and you feel the rumble. The ef499 shows control and emotion throughout the whole track.

Levitate by “Sony Foldera & Martin Hørger"

The 4 on the floor rhythms of this track go deep into your bones. You can't help but tap your feet and bob your head.

Rusty Cage by “Sound Garden”

The song starts out panning the guitar riff left to right and you can really hear the positioning and image separation here. The ef499 has no trouble with this song. Chris Cornell’s vocals shine throughout the gritty tambor is amazing.

Last but not least.
Angel by “Massive attack”
This track is a staple in my test tracks and one of my favorite tracks period.

It starts off with the deep visceral sub bass thump. Andy's voice comes in and cuts through like a knife. This song is absolutely sublime on the ef499.

In conclusion:

Who is this unit for?
I'm going to start by saying this unit is for people who love musicality and natural sound with all the character and nuances. This is a unit that will bring out musicality regardless of the headphones or genre.

In addition this unit is able to keep up with very fast very complex passages all without losing musicality and tactility. ( Example: Angel Vivaldi.)

Who is it not for?
People who want clean analytical sound. If you are looking for a unit to use for critical listening and analyzing gaps between different headphones and other type of reference measurements. The ef499 is not for that, or about reducing THD , Sinad and other measurements.

Gear used
SJY starry night v2
Meze Liric
Kennerton gjallorhorn gh50

The Hifiman EF499, my first Dac/amp from them, I didn’t know what to expect, When I finally got it in my hands and took it out the box, This Dac/amp size surprised me, I didn’t think it would be this large, I went in expecting it to be around the same size and weight as my K11, I was wrong. It’s like a large square brick, grabbing the package from the delivery man, It surprise me with how heavy it was. The only thing you get with the EF499 is the power cable and the unit it self and a manual, there is no USB Cables included, you have to supply your own.



On the front of the device, starting at top, you see the gain knob, which you can change from High gain NOS, OS and then to the right Low gain OS and finally NOS. Under that is the volume knob which is larger then the gain knob. Below that is the 6.3mm and the 4 pin XLR balance connector.



On the rear you have Pair of XLR and RCA outputs, a USB A and USB C input (only one of them can be used at a time), Ethernet plug for the NAS functions, the lever switch to change between USB/Net and Cox input and finally the power plug. The EF499 it self sits straight up on its stand allowing you to use the device as a headphone stand. If you remove the four that holding the stand to the EF99 it, you can remove it and lay it flat on it side.



For now the EF499 is driver-less and is plug and play with Windows, I didn’t try Linux with it yet, but I didn’t have any issues with using it’s USB Input. I tried the net function but I didn’t know how to how to use it. My phone and the music streamer app I used simply didn’t see it. Maybe I doing something else wrong.



When I tried my hifiman Sundara with the EF499, I was shocked that the brightness that it normally has been tone down a little bit, normally with my Fiio K11, my Sundara would be too bright at times. I haven’t heard that at all with my Sundara and the EF499. The details are still there, but its easier to listen to. Even the low end bass still sounds good. Worked very well in games, I didn’t have any issues at all, and I notice the sound imaging in games was very good too. My Sennheiser HD660 S2 and Fiio JT1 also worked very well with it as well.



I attempt to see how well it worked with streaming music from my phone, but I couldn’t get my phone to see it in the network, there isn’t enough info on one goes about setting up the music streaming function, As I couldn’t figure it out.



Other then the network function, Other then that, it been working perfectly with my PC, no issues at all.



Over all I think the Hifiman EF499 is a very good Dac/amp for the price and I have no issues with recommending it. I’m happy that my Sundara’s sound so much better with it then what I had prior.