Hifiman EF2A USB DAC/Amp appreciation thread
Mar 23, 2013 at 6:02 PM Post #16 of 61
demonfox said:
Welcome to Head-Fi!! It really is a great little amp. Wonderfully smooth tube goodness. What kind of headphones are you going to be running through it?? 
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Thanks! I currently own the Sennheiser HD800 and Sony MDR 1rncs. I also just purchased another amp/ Dac combo the udh100 by nuforce
 
Mar 23, 2013 at 6:05 PM Post #18 of 61
demonfox said:
Agreed... I would stick with higher impedance cans tho. They sounded amazing with my Denon's but I had to keep the volume very low to stop my head from exploding. So smooth though. I wish the DAC would have been a little better but still its a great starter tube amp that looks and sounds great.

Thanks for the input! I appreciate it!

Enjoy
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Apr 8, 2013 at 12:45 AM Post #19 of 61
I recently acquired the Audeze LCD-2 and brought the HifiMan EF2A with Raytheon 6AK5 Tube.  Honestly, I believe the stock iPod Video 5th standard output is better.  However, the EF2A did provide more power and louder output.
 
Apr 14, 2013 at 6:48 PM Post #21 of 61
Has anyone used this amp/dac with an iPad and CCK? I understand that the Aune T1 needs a powered hub to work with the iPad. I assume that its dac is powered by the USB and not the plug. Is this a limitation of the EF2A as well?
 
Apr 14, 2013 at 11:56 PM Post #22 of 61
Well I just bought one of these, got a really good deal on it or I wouldn't have got it. I needed something to kind of tide me over until I get enough money saved to get a really nice dac/amp. Once it gets here I will post my impressions with my HD580 headphones. Only thing I have to compare it to however, is my Headroom Home amp and as that cost about 10 times what the HiFiMan did, not really a fair deal, but we will see once it gets here.
 
 
Apr 15, 2013 at 5:23 AM Post #23 of 61
Quote:
teb1013 said:
Has anyone used this amp/dac with an iPad and CCK? I understand that the Aune T1 needs a powered hub to work with the iPad. I assume that its dac is powered by the USB and not the plug. Is this a limitation of the EF2A as well?
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I believe that the DAC in this is also powered from USB as the DAC is detected when you plug in the USB cable. This happens even when the main power cord is not plugged in
 
Apr 22, 2013 at 9:02 PM Post #24 of 61
Finally I can comment on this dac/amp unit as I just got mine today. What a fantastic sounding amp and the dac isn't bad either. Listening now with my Senn HD580's. The amp has plenty of power and the sound is very nice, bass and mids are really good. I hear just a tiny bit of harshness in the highs, but I am talking very very small amount, probably some jitter from the dac. There is zero background noise that I can hear, I read that tube amps tend to produce a small amount of audible hiss, but I don't hear any.  I wasn't expecting anything nearly this good after reading some of the comments people have made, and maybe I got lucky and got a good one. One thing is for certain, I am very happy I got this unit!  Now I need to see how long it is before I can't resist the urge to start swapping tubes! Right now I think it will be a while as I really like what I am hearing with the stock setup.
 
 
Apr 23, 2013 at 2:54 AM Post #25 of 61
Quote:
hpiper said:
Finally I can comment on this dac/amp unit as I just got mine today. What a fantastic sounding amp and the dac isn't bad either. Listening now with my Senn HD580's. The amp has plenty of power and the sound is very nice, bass and mids are really good. I hear just a tiny bit of harshness in the highs, but I am talking very very small amount, probably some jitter from the dac. There is zero background noise that I can hear, I read that tube amps tend to produce a small amount of audible hiss, but I don't hear any.  I wasn't expecting anything nearly this good after reading some of the comments people have made, and maybe I got lucky and got a good one. One thing is for certain, I am very happy I got this unit!  Now I need to see how long it is before I can't resist the urge to start swapping tubes! Right now I think it will be a while as I really like what I am hearing with the stock setup.
 
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did you buy a used amp or a new one?
 
Apr 24, 2013 at 9:06 AM Post #27 of 61
Quote:
hpiper said:
 
  It is supposedly used but I find that hard to believe, all the original packing, box and everything, and not a mark on it of any kind. If any one used it, they were very very careful with it.
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Well in my experience the EF2A has some shrillness in the highs in the beginning and as the tubes get burned in, this slowly disappears. I guess if your amp has not been used much, it will improve even more.
 
Apr 24, 2013 at 11:16 AM Post #28 of 61
Anyone tried Sylvania, Amperex, or Phillips tubes?
 
Apr 28, 2013 at 10:28 PM Post #29 of 61
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Nov 9, 2013 at 5:44 PM Post #30 of 61
lithium1085 said:
  Hi everyone,
 
I am a regular lurker and sometimes advice seeker who has been using the HD598 and Hifiman EF2A for over a year now. I just wanted to start this thread to point out how great the EF2A is as a beginner level single box desktop amp/dac solution.
 
I will point out the deficiencies upfront too.
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This was my first amp/dac and a great introduction to the hobby. And yes, it has some big problems (horrible volume control, channel separation, and gain) and the DAC is pretty bland. But still a good way to start off for not much money.
 
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