[bergman2]

I saw this and thought I'd pass it along ...



techPowerUp :: Head-Direct HiFiMAN EF2 Headphone Amplifier Review :: Page 1 / 3

 

[Zephoku]

Thanks for passing it along, good read.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

lol those Cons are not really "Cons, but more like "Well...duh."

Thanks for the read, and that made me all the more impatient for my own unit to arrive!

 

[yukihiro]

I think another Con should be that you can't use the DAC on it's own. It's not a big problem, but that would've been a nice feature. I love this amp though... It really tightened up after some burn in. It sounds great with all of the headphones I have, which I wasn't expecting.

 

[koven]

^ Wasn't a big deal to me, the EF2 DAC is mediocre at best IMO. Ideally you'd have a separate DAC feeding into the EF2's amp for optimal performance.

 

[yukihiro]

Yeah, but I don't have another DAC. So it would've been nice to use the EF2's DAC separately. It's okay though. I bought it knowing this. I only use the EF2 for my headphones anyways.

 

[moodyrn]

I'm really itching to pull the trigger in this one. I need a good system for my bedroom. This sounds like the perfect all in one solution. But how good can this be for less than 200.00. It is very tempting though.

 

[roker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moodyrn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm really itching to pull the trigger in this one. I need a good system for my bedroom. This sounds like the perfect all in one solution. But how good can this be for less than 200.00. It is very tempting though.

I ended up being really happy with it, then again, this is only my 2nd amp and my last was pure solid state (as opposed to the EF2 being a hybrid)

I'm really curious how this sounds with higher impedance phones after reading the review, but I mainly bought it for my Grado's.

 

[koven]

^ Really good, your next purchase should be HD600 or 650

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by koven /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Wasn't a big deal to me, the EF2 DAC is mediocre at best IMO. Ideally you'd have a separate DAC feeding into the EF2's amp for optimal performance.

The EF2 DAC needs to be burned-in in addition to the amp section. It's not as mediocre after you put some hours on it.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Well, in the past 24 hours, I have dedicated myself to purchasing a Pico DAC, and contacted Head-Direct on how to return the EF2 for a refund.

But I need to open the darn package ANYWAY to put in the order receipt and a note saying that I wish to return the product for a refund, so I guess for the next two weeks or so I'll be keeping this thing to see how it sounds. But considering I'm having the Gilmore Lite from home mailed to me in a few days, I doubt this unit will be hanging around for very long.

And I'll try my best to compare it to the Little Dot I+ I have at home, since I have some suspicions that the EF2 shares some sonic similarities to it.

 

[musicmind]

Thanks for the link.

Nicely written review by Frederik, very informative with useful comparisons to the EF1.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, in the past 24 hours, I have dedicated myself to purchasing a Pico DAC, and contacted Head-Direct on how to return the EF2 for a refund. But I need to open the darn package ANYWAY to put in the order receipt and a note saying that I wish to return the product for a refund, so I guess for the next two weeks or so I'll be keeping this thing to see how it sounds. But considering I'm having the Gilmore Lite from home mailed to me in a few days, I doubt this unit will be hanging around for very long. And I'll try my best to compare it to the Little Dot I+ I have at home, since I have some suspicions that the EF2 shares some sonic similarities to it.

EF2 needs 200-250 to burn-in, so it may not be too helpful. It needs the time to smooth/lessen the highs and develop more bass.

 

[Ntropic]

I find TPU's reviews to be, overall, objective enough (well, as far as computer parts go) and informative, with good pictures. However, their overall rating and pros/cons are heavily slewed and hardly worth reading. I don't think I've ever seen anything go below 7 in a long time, and a lot of things become "recommended". The pros and cons point out some very obvious things as well. Whether or not the ratings are worth it is up to the reader, really.

Wouldn't mind an EF2 myself... if I had the space.

 

[bergman2]

reviewer inflation seems to be as endemic as grade inflation in the schools ... the trick is to appreciate the granularity bw 7-8, 8-9, and etc.