Also, it seems that L7audiolab measured a Goldewave Serenade in December 2021, but the front has dual 3-pin xlr/6.35mm instead of just the 6.35mm. Also, it's not specified if the DAC was the Hifiman R2R one or something else, and I can't find any specifics on that unit in particular... If anyone has any news, let us know, because if it was an early prototype with an R2R dac inside it actually measures quite a bit better than even the EF400 !
Found something: seems like it's a completely different design for the dac: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/495192974
The original Goldenwave Serenade didn't have an R2R ladder, and also it seems like it came in three different options: pure dac / dac-amp / dac-amp with dual xlr
Hifiman even took over Goldenwave entirely so now they probably focus on improving the Hifiman amp lines.
I also saw the L7audiolab measurements a while back and immediately remembered it, but I liked the old side design a bit better
The manual of the Hifiman Serenade is also pretty .... short
These 2 is totally different unit... Goldenwave's version of Serenade uses ES9038PRO (there is 3 version of this device, pure amp, pure dac (different dac chip) and dac/amp) and Hifiman's uses R2R... not really new vs old but different company (ignore the takeover part)..
Hifiman even took over Goldenwave entirely so now they probably focus on improving the Hifiman amp lines.
I also saw the L7audiolab measurements a while back and immediately remembered it, but I liked the old side design a bit better
The manual of the Hifiman Serenade is also pretty .... short
Actually didn't know they took over ! But goldenwave amps are pretty good from what I heard, so let's hope they'll be more easily available !
Also yeah, very minimalist manual they got there~
But all things considered I can't wait to hear some reviews, it really looks interesting on paper. Especially since it's an R2R sac/streamer/class A amp, that's quite a rare combo !
These 2 is totally different unit... Goldenwave's version of Serenade uses ES9038PRO (there is 3 version of this device, pure amp, pure dac (different dac chip) and dac/amp) and Hifiman's uses R2R... not really new vs old but different company (ignore the takeover part)..
Yeah you're right, from what I see now it's pretty much a different product apart from the headphone amp section. The dac, the digital input (and even the power supply if only a bit) are different, even if built on the original model.
But at least this way it makes it a bit more interesting to see how it's going to sound!
Looks pretty interesting, as I've been curious about a streaming-capable DAC/amp combo for a bit. I noticed that the store page showed the Roon UI as part of its streaming app advert, but the specs don't mention Roon Ready. Also no indication of Spotify/Tidal Connect or Airplay, just DLNA and Bluetooth. And I wonder if it has a remote; it would make a great living room streamer unit if it did, but it seems like it's meant for desktop usage.
Other things I'm curious about are how they measured the output power; I recall there being some confusion with the EF400 where the Hifiman specs were for <10% THD while most manufacturers quote numbers for <1% THD. The output impedance is another thing I'm interested in, as the oddly high OI of the Matrix Audio Element i2 - a functionally similar product - is one of the things that made me wary of it.
There's another collaboration between GoldenWave and Hifiman already for sale on Taobao: the Prelude. It's a pure headphone amp/preamp, no DAC. The amp is more powerful than the Serenade. I hope Hifiman will offer this in the US soon.
The prelude is an amp I've been wanting to try since it came out, since it seems like it would be perfect to driver big power-hungry planars, but getting one in Europe is pretty difficult, so let's hope this acquisition will lead to Goldenwave amps being released in Europe too through hifiman !
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