[lowtwo]

hey, i just got some full sized headphones for my fiio m17 portable player. someone recommended getting a desktop amp for it. so I got the hifiman EF400.

It just got here. I plugged my player usb into it and allowed connection. then I plugged my headphones into the front of the amp but im getting no sound.

am i missing some cables or something?

 

[msing539]

hey, i just got some full sized headphones for my fiio m17 portable player. someone recommended getting a desktop amp for it. so I got the hifiman EF400.

It just got here. I plugged my player usb into it and allowed connection. then I plugged my headphones into the front of the amp but im getting no sound.

am i missing some cables or something?

How have you connected it? USB C to B cable? Only one of the ports on the FiiO supports a DAC, I think.

 

[lowtwo]

How have you connected it? USB C to B cable? Only one of the ports on the FiiO supports a DAC, I think.

I've got usbc leaving the m17 and thats plugged into the hifiman usbc i tried both usbc outs on the m17, still no sound coming out and ive turned both volume knobs to almost max just to be sure.

 

[lowtwo]

it even says hifiman-ef400 on my player above the album title

 

[msing539]

I've got usbc leaving the m17 and thats plugged into the hifiman usbc i tried both usbc outs on the m17, still no sound coming out and ive turned both volume knobs to almost max just to be sure.

Well certainly don't turn the volume to max... you'll destroy your hearing.

Try a different source/cable, I think the EF400 takes both USB C and B in so try both inputs with different cables.

 

[lowtwo]

lol im not wearing the headphones, they're sitting on their stand but thanks for that. ok ill try another cable

 

[lowtwo]

Well certainly don't turn the volume to max... you'll destroy your hearing.

Try a different source/cable, I think the EF400 takes both USB C and B in so try both inputs with different cables.

So i did the usb B and same thing. when i plug it into the fiio it asks if i want to connect to hifiman and I accept. but zero sound

 

[lowtwo]

now I plugged usbc from hifiman amp into my macbook pro. set sound driver to hifiman and im getting 0 sound again.

 

[lowtwo]

im thinking its broken or something. the box looks pristine, it's packaged well. the light is on....this makes no sense

 

[lowtwo]

ok now its working. but the volume is extremely low. doesn't matter what my player is set on but I have the amp on max and it's barely loud enough to enjoy. i guess ill give it some time to warm up maybe?

 

[Cheesebuggah]

ok now its working. but the volume is extremely low. doesn't matter what my player is set on but I have the amp on max and it's barely loud enough to enjoy. i guess ill give it some time to warm up maybe?

Never had a MacBook before, but on Windows, there is an audio/sound setting in the settings which shows the available speakers/amps/headphones. You have to raise it up (I have mine set to 85/100). Maybe there is a setting similar on the MacBook? I don't think it's the EF400's fault since I heard those can run HE6SEs and Susvaras, two of the most power-hungry headphones.

I am not sure about solid-state amps needing to warm up. My stack is ready to run after 5 seconds it is turned on. I have heard theories on how tube-amplifiers have to warm up to get the best sound, but it still produces sound after it is turned on.

 

[Cheesebuggah]

im thinking its broken or something. the box looks pristine, it's packaged well. the light is on....this makes no sense

I was going to ask if restarting the device would work. On a few occasions, my amp/dac doesn't play any audio until I restart the PC. Also, I am sure this a stupid question, but: you are running single-ended (3.5/6.5mm), right? The EF400 can run balanced but it needs specific cables.

 

[msing539]

Switch on the bottom is set to 115v, right? In the EF400 thread, someone was having playback issues on Windows--they emailed Hifiman and got drivers apparently. Maybe there's a Mac driver?

 

[lowtwo]

I was going to ask if restarting the device would work. On a few occasions, my amp/dac doesn't play any audio until I restart the PC. Also, I am sure this a stupid question, but: you are running single-ended (3.5/6.5mm), right? The EF400 can run balanced but it needs specific cables.

so its working with my fiio player usb to usb. I have the amp on max volume and its probably 1/3 as loud as the fiio m17 player is without an amp. that doesn't add up

I have the XLR thing plugged into the front of the amp. the 1/4 connector wasn't as loud as the XLR option

Im really confused. Is this thing going to warm up and blow my ear drums off? Noway is this $600 so weak. so much weaker than my portable player

 

[msing539]

so its working with my fiio player usb to usb. I have the amp on max volume and its probably 1/3 as loud as the fiio m17 player is without an amp. that doesn't add up

I have the XLR thing plugged into the front of the amp. the 1/4 connector wasn't as loud as the XLR option

Im really confused. Is this thing going to warm up and blow my ear drums off? Noway is this $600 so weak. so much weaker than my portable player

No, something's not right--that EF400 gets silly loud.