[gordon0986]

Hey guys I keep bounce between the idea of getting one and not getting one. So I want to check a few things.

I have a tube amp which I'll hook this up with, so I mostly likely just need to use it as dac only. So can the unit be left on all day or does it get hot? I guess when power is on it turns on both dac and amp right?

Also if I use the amp from this unit, can if be used with sensitive headphones? From another post it seems like some source it will be loud and some source it will be quiet. Or would it just be too loud too fast?

Thanks!

I actually use my EF400 with the stax SRM D50 dac amp because I use electrostatic headphones as well! And the sound I actually get out of them paired together is really impressive. It makes my Arya’s and He 1000 stealth even more detailed then they already are.

 

[Simon Patten]

I am a very happy owner of this wonderful DAC/Amp but now find myself needing one with an analogue input to use with my main Hi-Fi system. The Earmen ST-Amp has been recommended to me, or indeed the Angel, as it appears to do what the EF400 does as well as having an analogue input so I wondered if anyone has compared the two and can say which sounds better? There's nothing online. (In case it's not clear, if it's good enough I'd share the ST between my office and lounge rather than having both.)

Alternatively, can you recommend something that sounds as good as the EF400 but with an analogue input at a similar price point or might it be worth considering an A2D converter if such a thing is available without spending 1000USD/UKP or more? Thanks.

 

[Zonium]

You can get this new EF500 amplifier from china, but somebody know when its released worldwide?

https://m.hifiman.cn/products/detail/310

 

[Hyde00]

You can get this new EF500 amplifier from china, but somebody know when its released worldwide?

https://m.hifiman.cn/products/detail/310

I think it's DAC/AMP combo again, but I wonder what's different between this and EF400 and EF600.

I'm still waiting for a dac only EF200 or EF300 LOL.

EDIT: ￥2400 Chinese Yuan = $342 USD. This is cheaper than EF400 then. Maybe I'll consider buying this LOL.

 

[Polky74]

A terrifying combo for 1000 euros!!!
EF400 dual R2R Himalaya 4.4 watts + HE6seV2
Nothing in the world sounds better than this for the price and it's not even close. Thanks for existing Hifiman!!!

 

[Polky74]

Sorry to say what I'm about to say... but I have to. I have read dozens and dozens of messages from users complaining about the too high gain of this dac/amp but is it possible that no one has understood what this EF400 is for? This EF400 is an excellent R2R type DAC and so far we are, but beyond this it is one of the very few if not the only amplifier that at a simply ridiculous price makes two of the best and most difficult headphones sound in a decent and satisfying way never released on planet earth, namely the HE6 and even the Susvara. Do you know how much a HE6seV2 costs now? Very little indeed. And everyone tries to connect headphones to the EF400 which, if compared to the HE6, make a fool of themselves in every parameter and which perhaps even cost more without asking the slightest doubt of buying an HE6 which before the release of the EF400 was practically only driveable by amplifiers well over a thousand dollars. Have you understood that the EF400 is excellent in terms of how it sounds and amplifies? So spend a little and buy a HE6seV2 along with it and throw away the headphones you wanted to connect to the EF400. High gain problem solved.

 

[Polky74]

Last thing... above I said 1000 euros because in Europe it costs like this, but in the USA we are talking about perhaps even less than 800 dollars. We've been looking for an amplifier for the HE6 for years and now that we have it for $300 we don't know what to connect to it? Sorry but I had to say it.

 

[gordon0986]

Sorry to say what I'm about to say... but I have to. I have read dozens and dozens of messages from users complaining about the too high gain of this dac/amp but is it possible that no one has understood what this EF400 is for? This EF400 is an excellent R2R type DAC and so far we are, but beyond this it is one of the very few if not the only amplifier that at a simply ridiculous price makes two of the best and most difficult headphones sound in a decent and satisfying way never released on planet earth, namely the HE6 and even the Susvara. Do you know how much a HE6seV2 costs now? Very little indeed. And everyone tries to connect headphones to the EF400 which, if compared to the HE6, make a fool of themselves in every parameter and which perhaps even cost more without asking the slightest doubt of buying an HE6 which before the release of the EF400 was practically only driveable by amplifiers well over a thousand dollars. Have you understood that the EF400 is excellent in terms of how it sounds and amplifies? So spend a little and buy a HE6seV2 along with it and throw away the headphones you wanted to connect to the EF400. High gain problem solved.

I love the sound of this thing! It makes my Arya stealth and HE 10000 stealth sound incredible. Then again I use it as a stack with a stax electrostatic amp so could be why lol

 

[Gymboy]

I am using EF 400 with external amp Topping A70 Pro and I can tell how sounds opens more, stage grows bigger, getting more transparency, speed and impact. Hifimans R2R dac in that unit is not bad at all.

 

[Polky74]

I fell in love with the R2R sound when I bought one of my first dongles, the RU6, and I immediately spotted the EF400 whose dac was spoken highly of. However, thanks to having purchased other dongles in the meantime immediately after the RU6 (M15-RU7-W4-DC04PRO), I was looking for an amplifier with which I could use them all. So I bought a Cayin iHA-6, but my heart still beat for the EF400. Then Hifiman thought well, as often happens, of making an offer on the EF400 and bringing it to 309 dollars. I couldn't resist and here I am, on this thread after purchasing it already knowing that I would be very happy with it. For now I have tested it with my three flagships HE6seV2 (practically "its" amplifier), HD800S (spectacular synergy) and the HEK Stealth (heart and brain). Having purchased it open-box and after quite some time since its release, mine has the number 2 and date 2023 on the internal quality control tag... watch out for those with the number 4 (they could be the faulty batch) but you can always send it back to Hifiman which never shirks its warranty obligations, as others do. When I want to listen to my IEMs there is always the excellent RU6 made especially for them.

 

[Simon Patten]

As much as I love my EF400, I am being seriously tempted by the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. Have any of you heard it and can give me an idea of how it compares? I tried asking in the ADI-2 area to see if anyone had upgraded from an EF400 but no replies so far. It would seem to be a logical upgrade but there's enough price difference for it to be hard to find comparisons. There is also the EF600 to consider but the response to it online has been rather underwhelming. I'm interested in your thoughts.

 

[Polky74]

As much as I love my EF400, I am being seriously tempted by the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. Have any of you heard it and can give me an idea of how it compares? I tried asking in the ADI-2 area to see if anyone had upgraded from an EF400 but no replies so far. It would seem to be a logical upgrade but there's enough price difference for it to be hard to find comparisons. There is also the EF600 to consider but the response to it online has been rather underwhelming. I'm interested in your thoughts.

I don't know the RME you're talking about... but since you like the EF400, honestly more than changing the DAC, with that money I'd get a HE6seV2. I also have an EditionX but it is too sensitive to use with the EF400... however the HE6 is made specifically for it. Besides the fact that you will go up several categories compared to the Edition XS, in my opinion. You won't just get another Hifiman headphones... you'll get "the" Hifiman headphones. In addition to having the amplifier that can drive it as it deserves. This is obviously just my personal opinion.

 

[Polky74]

When you connect the EF400 to the HE6 you will be speechless, because your jaw will go down in a nanosecond... the RME will disappear forever from your thoughts... there is no doubt about that. For the EditionXS instead I would see a good dongle... you are spoiled for choice, but being a planar loves the current amplification so I would say Questyle M15, also because you already have a special R2R (EF400) and the XS is already hot of its own.

 

[Simon Patten]

Interesting ideas, thanks. The ADI-2 is widely held to be one of the best DACs available and has a very good headphone amp built in like the EF400 so it's a simple upgrade. I come from the school of thinking where the front end is the most important (I still have my beloved Linn Sondek) so my instinct is to get that right first. You do seem to be a fan of the HE6seV2 so I will certainly do some research into them, although one day if/when I can afford it I hope to end up with a pair of Aryas so I'd probably wait and go straight for them. However I'm interested in why you think the Edition XS is too sensitive to go with the EF400, they seem like a great match to me, I love the combination.

 

[Polky74]

Interesting ideas, thanks. The ADI-2 is widely held to be one of the best DACs available and has a very good headphone amp built in like the EF400 so it's a simple upgrade. I come from the school of thinking where the front end is the most important (I still have my beloved Linn Sondek) so my instinct is to get that right first. You do seem to be a fan of the HE6seV2 so I will certainly do some research into them, although one day if/when I can afford it I hope to end up with a pair of Aryas so I'd probably wait and go straight for them. However I'm interested in why you think the Edition XS is too sensitive to go with the EF400, they seem like a great match to me, I love the combination.

I too am old school and I thought everything revolved around the amplifier and the dac (as you can see in my signature) then I realized that the thing you listen to is the headphones/iem and then I changed direction. If you read around you will see that what you dream (Arya) are literally destroyed by the HE6 (with the right amplification of course). The only thing they are superior to is the soundstage... for everything else the comparison cannot be made on any aspect. Yes I am a lover of HE6 because, with current prices should cost triple and instead fortunately it is not so. As for the EditionXS, it is recommended as for the EditionX V2, an amplification around the watt of power. (Fang Bian) The EF400 I think that at one watt does not drop even when it is turned off, then it is possible that I’m wrong. Question: How much can you turn the volume knob of the EF400 (low gain) before the XS magnets melt? But then, here we discuss... who am I to tell you how to spend your money?