[juannycash]

Hello all! Been lurking here for some time. Great to be a part of this community. I have a Meze Elite on the way to me, and I currently have a K5pro ESS which has been great for me. Any recommendations to get the most out of a dac/amp combo (desktop preferred) that is in the $500 region to 1k? Thank you in advance!

 

[msing539]

Welcome! Give it a listen on the FiiO and see if you feel it's lacking. I've heard the Elite on several setups but all over $1000.

 

[drsarana]

Hi! My experience with Elite since March 2022.

I have a monoprice THX, an ifi hypdac 2 , a Ferrum stack (Oor+ hypsos), a chord Mojo 2 and a Schitt Folkvangr

For desktop the Ferrum Stack is sublime and musical, and portable, the Mojo 2 is a pair for heaven for Elite.

 

[juannycash]

Welcome! Give it a listen on the FiiO and see if you feel it's lacking. I've heard the Elite on several setups but all over $1000.

Thank you for the feedback! It actually sounds pretty good (granted, haven’t compared to a whole lot). I decided to try out the Hifiman ef400 and will have them together later today to compare and contrast. Of the setups you have heard the elite on, how would you rate them generally? Thanks!

 

[juannycash]

Hi! My experience with Elite since March 2022.

I have a monoprice THX, an ifi hypdac 2 , a Ferrum stack (Oor+ hypsos), a chord Mojo 2 and a Schitt Folkvangr

For desktop the Ferrum Stack is sublime and musical, and portable, the Mojo 2 is a pair for heaven for Elite.

Awesome, thank you for the advice! A lot of what I read about the mojo 2 and elite combo seems to just love it all around. I just ordered the Hifiman ef400 based on an elite/ef400 combo here and am looking forward to seeing what it sounds like. I haven’t heard much about the Ferrum stacks, I will do some homework! Thanks for the feedback, the elites are really stellar.

 

[msing539]

Thank you for the feedback! It actually sounds pretty good (granted, haven’t compared to a whole lot). I decided to try out the Hifiman ef400 and will have them together later today to compare and contrast. Of the setups you have heard the elite on, how would you rate them generally? Thanks!

I've heard the Elite on amps from Questyle, Woo Audio, Chord, and my iFi Pro iCAN. Of those, I liked it best on the iFi and Woo Audio tube amps. I also have an Ampsandsound Kenzie OG Rev 2, but prefer it on the iFi. The differences are subtle though--the Elite seems to be great on just about anything.

 

[juannycash]

I've heard the Elite on amps from Questyle, Woo Audio, Chord, and my iFi Pro iCAN. Of those, I liked it best on the iFi and Woo Audio tube amps. I also have an Ampsandsound Kenzie OG Rev 2, but prefer it on the iFi. The differences are subtle though--the Elite seems to be great on just about anything.

Understood, and so far between the K5pro ESS and the Hifiman ef400 it sounds pretty damn good on both! Surprisingly, with the EF400 I did notice the sound was a bit better with the power conditioner as I saw they mentioned in the EF400 thread. I suppose my biggest reservation is reliability of the Hifiman, but fwiw I can find threads about pretty much any amp high end or low with faulty issues here and there. I’m in the exchange period for the ef400 and debating on if the burson conductor performance would be a worthy upgrade for sound/reliability. Man, this rabbit hole gets deep quick! Super happy with the Elites so far, you really just get lost in the music and I’m falling in love with music all over again!

 

[dlelikov]

Give the ef-400 200 hours to warm up, it will get even better. Use balanced output, hi-gain-os mode for more detailed sound. I also recommend a bundle of ef-400 + a90d (or k5), for a different sound signature.

 

[juannycash]

Give the ef-400 200 hours to warm up, it will get even better. Use balanced output, hi-gain-os mode for more detailed sound. I also recommend a bundle of ef-400 + a90d (or k5), for a different sound signature.

Thank you for the feedback. I have been thinking about balanced for sure. I have the cable it was supplied with, 1/4 inch. Is the Meze branded balanced cable the best one to go with? Is 4.4 balanced any different than the XLR balanced outside of length or price? Thanks man

 

[juannycash]

Just an update here, after A/B testing the k5pro ess and the ef400 the ef400 was absolutely better all around. I still am pondering the burson conductor or RME as I don’t want to feel like I’m chasing the dragon. Also, there was a somewhat critical review that just came out this past week for the ef400 that also has me mulling things over. Just for those who search in the future for a similar pairing!

 

[Slackaveli]

Judging by your sig you have them on an RME ADI-2 (eq goodness); how's that treating you? Final one or still hunting?
I may have a chance to snag the Elites soon and Im super tempted to go for a better amp/dac than my current K9 Pro ESS.

 

[juannycash]

Judging by your sig you have them on an RME ADI-2 (eq goodness); how's that treating you? Final one or still hunting?
I may have a chance to snag the Elites soon and Im super tempted to go for a better amp/dac than my current K9 Pro ESS.

What’s up man! Yes sir, that is correct! The RME quality is 10/10 easily, and the sound is very clear and “correct” sounding to me. The adjustments, especially the loudness one, are awesome for lower volume listening. It’ll definitely stay in the stable, but I am looking for an R2R setup as I loved the ef400 sound so much. I’m patiently waiting for reviews of the ef600! As far as the RME, it’s been great so far with the cans I have.

 

[HONEYBOY]

In that price range a Mojo 2 will be an excellent choice.

 

[Slackaveli]

What’s up man! Yes sir, that is correct! The RME quality is 10/10 easily, and the sound is very clear and “correct” sounding to me. The adjustments, especially the loudness one, are awesome for lower volume listening. It’ll definitely stay in the stable, but I am looking for an R2R setup as I loved the ef400 sound so much. I’m patiently waiting for reviews of the ef600! As far as the RME, it’s been great so far with the cans I have.

appreciate it bro

 

[juannycash]

appreciate it bro

No problem bro. Hopefully you land on the elites soon, they are definitely an end game set of cans! Any other questions don’t hesitate to touch base.