Introducing the HIFIMAN EF400 Balanced Desktop DAC/Amplifier!

[peterinvan]

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[peterinvan]

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[gadus]

Hello guys,
Has anyone tried ef400 with dca expanse?

 

[boodi]

Is

I just got an EF400 for trying purpose and curiosity as it seems a no brainer for many power hungry heapdhones .
It's switched on Hi-Gain / NOS (most reference match to my ears) and I am letting it burn in for at least 2 days

Impression after just some hours for whatever it counts , is that performance from balanced out is very solid , quite authoritative on the bass section and articulate on mids, bit congested - gritty for highs- also shouty for some vocals ; quite expected this even though it already opened up for stage and definition it needs the required burn-in so ..I will be back in a couple of days and update

I'm still letting it burn in more as I still find some vocals ( not all bands and tracks , but not so rarely ) a bit overtoned / plastic and shouty , I feel burn in still has some time ..

I have a major issue though , the static is there and isn't going away with burn in .. and swithcing 4 different cables is the same . Not sure if is there any fast workaround
for this problem .

 

[FooFighter]

Is

I'm still letting it burn in more as I still find some vocals ( not all band and tracks , but not so rarely ) a bit overtoned / plastic and shouty .

I have a major issue though , the static is there and isn't going away with burn in .. and swithcing 4 different cables is the same . Not sure if is there any fast workaround
for this problem .

Static is reported to happen in NOS mode and stopped by turning device off and on.
In OS mode it shouldn't happen.
Regarding shoutyness it may be related also to the headphone.
I had the same issue with my Denon AH-D9200 and needed to return EF400 because of that.
With Meze Elite and Solitaire P that issue wasn't that much present. I could hear that EF400 though being smooth and organic was overall on the bright side compared to other sources I have demoed.
Connecting it to a different amp and using it as DAC only could also change that tonality depending on the amp

 

[boodi]

I hear static on both OS and NOS.
Static or what it is..

It is coming from music playing ( usb cable ? ); It is not there when music / play is paused

 

[juannycash]

I hear static on both OS and NOS.
Static or what it is..

It is coming from music playing ( usb cable ? ); It is not there when music / play is pauseddo yo

I hear static on both OS and NOS.
Static or what it is..

It is coming from music playing ( usb cable ? ); It is not there when music / play is paused

I was hearing some slight static when adjusting volume only and once I hooked up a power conditioner I haven’t heard it since. I got the conditioner because I’ve read the ef400 is sensitive to clean power. Hope that helps!

 

[cirodts]

I always hear static noise on the left side of the headphones when I adjust the volume from minimum.

 

[boodi]

The floor noise adds to through music but it is very clear only on start / end of tracks , or very low audio signal presence , on both channels , in all switches for gain and sampling. It is low but nevertheless is there with music play and it disappears on stop/pause . I contacted Hifiman before a review of EF400 deserved as the dac/amp output an interesting performance ..but the noise problem ( with both planars , and dynamic low gain headphones - to my ears ) I will want to solve it

 

[GoldenSound]

I've posted my review of the EF400 here.
There's some stuff about it I appreciate but there are also a number of issues unfortunately

 

[kRed]

I've posted my review of the EF400 here.
There's some stuff about it I appreciate but there are also a number of issues unfortunately

Great review (as always)!

May I ask how do you rate the ef400 as a DAC alone?

I personally have some issues with the amp part (via the headphones out) which is absent if I plug it as a DAC to my FiiO K9 pro.

As an AIO I prefer the k9 pro, but the combination of the two is also pretty enjoyable.

 

[peterinvan]

EF400 vs. RU6
I have both so I thought I would write up my experience.
I have been enjoying the RU6 for a while now, and am a fan of the "organic" sound of the R2R DAC. I have had the EF400 for a couple of weeks.
The differences (below) are not subtle, but the EF400 sounds nicer to my ears. YMMV.

Using my most hard to drive phones, Audeze LCD-XC (2019) closed.
My test track for Classical: Mozart Clarinet K.662 (Russian National Orchestra).
What I notice right away is that the EF400 gives much better ambience than the RU6. The reverb sounds natural and spacious. Isolation and "air" around the instruments is noticeably better. The bow across the double bass sounds natural. The clarinet is much improved, clearer, and forward. I was moved to listen to the entire track on the EF400.

My torture test track: Easy Money, Ricky Lee Jones. Again the ambience is better on the EF400; the stage is wider and isolation is better than the RU6. Ricky's voice is more forward and crisp (almost piercing) on the EF400, and warmer on the RU6. The opposite for the xylophones - they sound crisp and have a lovely ring on the EF400 and are too piercing on the RU6.

With more easy to drive Meze 109Pro the EF400 shows a clear, warm, full bass line, whereas the RU6 bass is a bit more tight and fast. On the EF400 Ricky's voice is forward and crisp, but without sibilance. The vocals are more sibilant (piercing) on the RU6. Similarly, the xylophones and snares are crisp and clear on the EF400, but more sibilant (piercing) on the RU6.

My only issue with the EF400 is that the gain is designed for the hard-to-drive HiFiMAN headphones. My phones are all under 50 ohms, so the volume control can't be turned up. I have ordered the iFi ieMatch4.4 and will report on the changes when it arrives.

It appears that the extra power out of the EF400 drives both the closed planars and the open dynamic drivers with more authority.

EDIT: returned the EF400 and am sticking with my FiiO M11 Pro.

 

[Nooborghini]

I've posted my review of the EF400 here.
There's some stuff about it I appreciate but there are also a number of issues unfortunately

I wonder how they'll respond to the issues reported here.
@TeamHiFiMAN is it possible to correct this in a firmware update?

 

[peterinvan]

I've posted my review of the EF400 here.
There's some stuff about it I appreciate but there are also a number of issues unfortunately

Hi
I listened to your review and am puzzled. I have been testing my EF400 to see if I can hear the issues you mention. I am using sensitive headphones (LCD-XC and 109Pro), and I am swapping from the EF400 to my FiiO M11Pro (twin AK4497EQ DACs). Using 4.4mm balanced in both cases. NOS low gain on the EF400.

I cannot discern the issues you refer to. The EF400 sounds overall a bit brighter than the M11Pro, but the spacial ambience is about the same (to my ears).

The volume knob on mine is just fine. I am wondering if you tested a faulty or older unit? My QC Tag (in the box) says 24-Oct-2022.

At the end, you say that "you have confirmed that these are design faults". Who did you confirm with?

Thanks.

 

[GoldenSound]

Hi
I listened to your review and am puzzled. I have been testing my EF400 to see if I can hear the issues you mention. I am using sensitive headphones (LCD-XC and 109Pro), and I am swapping from the EF400 to my FiiO M11Pro (twin AK4497EQ DACs). Using 4.4mm balanced in both cases. NOS low gain on the EF400.

I cannot discern the issues you refer to. The EF400 sounds overall a bit brighter than the M11Pro, but the spacial ambience is about the same (to my ears).

The volume knob on mine is just fine. I am wondering if you tested a faulty or older unit? My QC Tag (in the box) says 24-Oct-2022.

At the end, you say that "you have confirmed that these are design faults". Who did you confirm with?

Thanks.

With regards to the power issue, that it turns out is because hifiman is apparently going by 10% THD instead of 1%. Hence a considerably higher number.

With regards to the phase issue, I talk about why this is occurring in detail at the end of the written post. Its an issue with design in terms of how the dual dac architecture is handling the I2S signal causing one channel to be exactly one digital sample behind the other. It's not a QC/single unit thing.

https://headphones.com/blogs/reviews/hifiman-ef400-review-measurements

L7 Audio Lab has also tested the EF400 and shown the same issues

https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/hifiman-ef400/