3 MAJOR FLAWS? HiFiMan EF600 Review
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
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A review of the HiFiMan EF600 R2R DAC & headphone amp including comparisons with the Schiit Bifrost 2/64 multibit DAC and the Geshelli Labs A3 Pro headphone amp.
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WiiM Pro - $168 - amzn.to/4bpTDOw
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Topping E30 II - $149 - amzn.to/3JQyGkd
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Gustard R26 - $1,650 - amzn.to/3QyZ0mB
Schiit Yggdrasil - $2,299 - www.schiit.com/products/yggdr...
Chord TT2 - $5,295 - chordelectronics.co.uk/produc...
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Schiit Magni - $119 - www.schiit.com/products/magni...
xDuoo MT-604 - $169 - amzn.to/4bpNYrW
xDuoo TA-26S - $319 - amzn.to/3UJbfzx
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Aune S17 Pro - $699 - amzn.to/4a75v7b
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Burson Audio Voyager - $5,300+ - bit.ly/4a8Mwcq
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Moondrop Dawn Pro - $50 - amzn.to/3y2dd57
Simgot DEW4X - $80 - amzn.to/4b68rlK
Questyle M15i - $349 - amzn.to/4doMSyp
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Soundpeats Air3 Deluxe - $40 - amzn.to/3UIXQr4
Soundpeats Air4 Pro - $79 - amzn.to/3Wyj4tj
Edifier Neobuds Pro 2 - $130 - amzn.to/3WwMpEf
Sennheiser Momentum 4 - $379.95 - amzn.to/3WrEqZ0
HiFiMan Svanar Wireless - $499 - amzn.to/4amOhmx
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00:00 Introduction
00:20 Glamour video
01:23 Pricing & specs
02:27 Device tour
08:44 Sound quality
11:45 RCA vs XLR output
13:14 EF600 vs Schiit Bifrost 2/64
15:06 EF600 vs Geshelli Labs A3 Pro
20:46 Final conclusions
#audiophile #audioreview #allinone - Věda a technologie
Hey great review. Where you do you think this is vs the Aune 9SC Pro?
I haven't heard the S9C so I can't say - sorry
Brother you raise some interesting points.
I’d heard about the heat issue, but not about interference with smartphones. Very insightful.
Glad I could help! It's only a problem if your devices are close together, but still worth mentioning I thought.
Excellent one L! 👍🏾
This might be a hard one (at least if you go by memory), but how would the Himalaya stand against the Mojo 2?
Keep at it ❤️
Great question! I think they're probably on a similar performance level overall, but with very different sounds. The Mojo 2 will have a greater sense of transparency/texture and less smoothness/richness (not that the EF600 is super thick)
Ive just bought the ef600 and im not having any of the issues you mentioned. The volume control feels fine, just a bit different to what I'm use to. The pops or cracks and no interference. Ive not attached the antenna though.
I'm glad to hear that! Does the volume knob wobble a bit?
I didnt play with this amp but listened to the Arya Organic on it a canjam socal 2023 and it sounded excellent. Had plenty of power. Liked the footprint.
The footprint is great except that it tends to slide easily due to the small surface area securing it to the desk 🙂
I really value your opinions Lachlan and think they are spot on! I recently upgraded from the Schiit stack I've had for a few years now (Magni 3 Heresy & Modi 3+ DAC). I first bought the DMP-A6 for a Streamer / DAC and then purchased two amps - the EF600 and Archel 3 Pro - with the intent to keep the best one. I think they both sounded really similar but I found the Archel 3 Pro to be just a little bit better. I might've considered keeping both if the DMP-A6 -> EF600 (DAC) -> Archel 3 Pro sounded better to me than DMP-A6 -> Archel 3 Pro sounded, but I actually felt DAC in the DMP-A6 sounded better with the Archel 3 Pro.
If didn't have the DMP-A6 I would've kept the EF600 and called it a day. But with a decent DAC already, the Archel 3 Pro was less expensive and sounded a tiny bit better than the EF600.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with both amps, David! That aligns with my thinking too.
I just ordered EF400. Heard good things about it. Can't wait to try it out.
It's a nice unit. Hope you love it!
@@PassionforSound Thank you :)
So about 3 mos. ago I traded in my EF400 for the EF600, directly through HiFiMan. The first thing I noticed was the round volume knob on the 400 felt and sounded just like the bar knob on the 600...not quite channel matched the first 10 degrees of volume and a little loose feeling...not a big deal though. . With about 6 weeks listening on the 400 and now about 3 months with the 600 this is noticeably better, more detail and better stereo imaging.
My reference stack is OPPO 83, MacBook Air, Pontus II (latest update firmware), Jot 2, Aria v2 (non stealth), Sundara, and Senn 560s phones. The Pontus is over 2x the price alone and is very noticeably more of everything, detail, air, etc. BUT, on some complex recordings the Pontus can sound like a bunch of very clear, isolate tracks but seems to lose what ever is the rhythmic, driving, uniting, cohesive, force to the music. The EF600 never does this, is almost as detailed and carries the "musicality" forward...it's also bit smaller, more intimate soundstage; and the Aria are never harsh on top.
I'm really liking the 600, it seems to just be getting better and better...burn in IS a thing!
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Yes, the EF600 has a certain something about it's sound that's extremely enjoyable. Glad you're liking it.
That's wild I literally cannot tell a sonic difference between my copy of the 400 and 600. I love them both! 400 stays at my desk, 600 in my den. Interesting take!
Glad that you're enjoying both equally - that's fantastic!
I got impatient waiting for your review so I ended up ordering a Burson Audio Playmate 2 with V6 Vivids, it's okay, but I'm still thinking about R2R DACs after seeing the Gustard R26 review. Maybe one day.
I'm hoping to have the Hifiman Goldenwave Serenade R2R DAC/headamp here soon so maybe that will be the one...
Nice review. I got the EF600 on Day one and wasn't impressed. Returned it immediately. Spend the money on a loaded Sparkos Geshelli Stack
I think it's amp stage holds it back a bit so I can understand that. I'm exciting try the HiFiMan Goldenwave Serenade soon which has the same DAC, but a Goldenwave designed amp AFAIK.
@@PassionforSound Yeah I wish they would just make a nice stand alone Himalaya DAC unit. Hifiman really hasn't figured out the amp stuff yet. Even the EF400 had amp problems with crackling and hissing type noise. It's pretty rare when both a DAC and an Amp perform equally well in an all in one no matter who makes it. Usually one section of the AIO is far superior over the other
I absolutely agree. I'm hopeful for the Serenade to be one such rare AIO.
Thank you for doing an honest and balanced review of this device.
My pleasure!
I have the EF600 for two weeks now and I have no pops or cracks. In combination with the Eversolo A6 and the HE-1000v2 Stealth it is a wonderful combo. Only thing is that you do not have much gain in Low gain / NOS mode (using USB input) because the volume is already really loud at 20-25% out of 100 !!! Don't know if that is a problem soundwise but for the rest I have no complaints. Thanks for the excellent review (as usual ) :)
So glad you're enjoying it and thanks for sharing that you're not getting any pops!
@@PassionforSound What USB cable do you recommend between the EF600 in combination with the Eversolo A6 as a digital transport? The Audioquest Carbon or the Supra Excalibur? Or do you prefer the Audioquest Carbon spdif COAX?
I am quoting Headfonia reviewer: "NOS exhibited a few more artifacts during my listening, adding unwanted “cracks” and “noise” at random moments"
@@user-qs9mv7dv6c So far I had none with Low Gain Nos . So strange ...
@user-mn7mk5tx6t I'm pretty sure I've answered this elsewhere for you
Excited fror the serenade review, wonder if its actaully better than the ef600.
I'm excited for that comparison too!
Do you think that the ef600 could also be a good match for Senn hd600 family?
It could be for sure. It's a nice standalone device.
I really hope you will review Hifiman Serenade one day.
The plans are in place. Just waiting on shipping. I have the Prelude here now and it's lovely.
I experienced subtle pops on the left side. Swapped the usb input cable with a newer one (decent quality high-speed data cable, not audio brand) and the pop went away.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have a feeling it was something else in my system causing it and this test would suggest the same.
Do you get an improvement by running it with HQplayer?
You could do for sure. Like with all DACs, HQPlayer will always potentially provide improvements because of the power of the processing and filtering options. It will still come back to personal preference though.
It's best to think about HQPlayer as a source, separate from the DAC. It's like using a higher quality source that will then make the most of whatever the DAC has to offer.
Was a bit unclear - do you prefer Bifrost 2/64 in NOS mode over EH600?
I haven't actually compared them with BF2 in NOS mode
I need a dac/ampli for my he1000se but i need all the nuances and microdinamics and instruments separation that i can have, what do you advice me? My starting point is ifi gryphon cause i already have it, thanks for your answer
hekse is one of easiest hifiman to drive, there are tons of options, even DAP will work.
tonally speaking you need something with smooth high to match with hekse bright treble.
if you are looking something below 1k usd, probably... this ef600 is the best match unironically
since most (chifi) dac sub 1k usd tends to have neutral bright tonality
or just get chord mojo 2 and use its excellent eq capability to smoothen the highs
wait for the Questyle 18p portable dac/amp. Unbelievably good. You will be surprised.
I own the Hekse and you could drive it from your phone so indeed easy to drive. BUT... If you really want to get the most out of it you should pair it with a quality dac/amp. It really scales and will reward you and show it's true potential! The good thing is that you can upgrade when your budget and commitment grows. Njoy!!!
I agree with much of what's said here. The HEKSE is about finding quality sources, not high power. The EF600 will be lovely, especially in NOS mode. The Hifiman Goldenwave Serenade might also be a good option because it's got the same Himalaya Pro DAC as the EF600, but a better amp stage. I have one coming soon, but haven't received it yet.
Before we lock anything down though, what's the budget?
near 1000 $ ....a few days ago i made this experiment i attached my ifi gryphon to the rca input of a small kingrex preamp and then i took the rca output with an adapter rca->female3,5mm and tried hekse.... wow now i can see how much the bass could be better and slamming with a better amping...this was only an experiment but the visceral sound i got surprised me a lot, so i'm saving for serenade cause it has native qobuz player, but also aune s17pro intrigue me... but there is not a dac inside and you need a streamer... now i'm using my phone into gryphon and yes hekse could sing also from a phone but the more you give the, the more they sound better.... wonderful headphone.@@PassionforSound
Direct compare with EF400.. What different in terms of sound ??
I didn't keep the EF400 because it didn't offer me sufficient performance and features to make it worthwhile. The EF600 is a clearly better device in every way though (except interference from mobile phones). It's got better detail retrieval/resolution and a better amp stage that's able to drive all types of headphones effectively. The EF400 seemed to have trouble with high impedance dynamic headphones.
Even though I haven't compared them directly, the EF600 is matching and beating other higher level units in my collection (as per this review) that the EF400 was still a fair way behind.
How do you like it compared to the Burson Conductor 3 GT?
I'd definitely take the Conductor over it for the sake of the Conductor's amp quality because that lifts the whole experience in terms of resolution, authority, etc.
Thanks, Burson is sending me an ex-demo unit of the Conductor 3 GT. I might have to return the EF600 though it does sound very musical and easy to listen to. I appreciate the detail of the Conductor 3 Reference but it doesn’t have the low end weight of the EF600. Burson expects the Conductor 3 GT will close the gap and give both the detail and low end authority I’m getting out of the EF600.
I think you'll be very happy! Drop back in and let me know. 🙂
Sorry if you go over this in the video can’t listen atm, but does this sound good with the ananda nano?
Simple answer? Yes. 🙂 I particularly like it in NOS mode, but that's the complicated answer that you're best watching the video to fully understand.
@@PassionforSound fair enough haha! I am excited to watch it. Love your content man been binging it the past few weeks since I’ve found you. Just bought the nanos after watching your review like 4 times 😂
Though if you don’t mind also answering this, I have the schiit magni+ and modi+ and have been loving your dac/amp videos, do you have recommendation for upgrade path? Or is there any real reason to upgrade? Thanks!
Glad you're loving the channel! Yes, there's a reason to upgrade for sure. The Modi/Magni are great, but stepping up to something like the Geshelli A3 Pro and J2S AK4499EX would be a nice upgrade
@@PassionforSound awesome thank you!!
I'm thinking of getting the Hifiman Serenade, which is basically the ef600 plus streaming capabilities in a more hi-fi form factor. The thing that is putting me off is it has no gain control. Why would they make a decision like this on a headphone/dac/ streaming device?
If the volume control is well implemented, gain control isn't really necessary. It's really only there to help balance the volume required for sensitive headphones and higher impedance headphones that need more voltage. So long as the regular volume range can cover it effectively, gain control isn't needed.
@@PassionforSoundthat's why I like the Chord Mojo 2, it has no gain control. I still don't fully understand gain and volume. The same with filters. It just makes me more confused and gets in the way of listening.
Yes, I tend to agree. A simple explanation of gain is that it defines how much louder the amp makes the incoming signal at any given volume level so think of it as changing maximum and minimum loudness.
@@PassionforSound the amp side of things looks better on the serenade it looks like.
Better than what? The Serenade is more powerful than the Mojo 2 if that's what you mean.
I am quoting Headfonia reviewer: "NOS exhibited a few more artifacts during my listening, adding unwanted “cracks” and “noise” at random moments"
The downside for me is the size of these units. Aune new amps and HIFIman's here just seem too large for desktop solutions. I didn't realize how large this unit was until your review with you sitting beside it, my goodness ...
Yes, they're a bit chunky. Unfortunately, there's nothing else I can think of that's both a DAC and amp, as good and smaller right now
With just $200 more (as for now), there’s also the Hifiman/Goldenwve Serenade. I wonder where the EF600 would lie in comparison. Since the price is so close and they are both all-in-one, I feel like that would put both products in an awkward position. Unless, there’s something special that significantly/meaningfully separates both products.
I'm expecting to receive the Serenade soon so I'll be able to answer that, but it likely won't be until January that the video is released to the public at this stage.
@@PassionforSound Fantastic! I can't wait to hearing what you think of the Serenade and in comparison to others!
Me too. I've got the Prelude amp here already and it's great!
Can it power the Hifiman he6se version 1?
The specs don't clarify output power by impedance so it's hard to be certain, but it has peak power of 5W and, knowing that it's been made by HiFiMan, sound deliver that into the types of loads their headphones present so I'd expect no issues.
when i had it the imaging was pretty poor could not tell direction of sound and the bass was muffled with no good direction. and the xlr headphone input sounded like mono audio and not stereo, overall the sound was very good. but it was missing key things..
What were you using it with as your headphones and what are you comparing it to?
@@PassionforSound dac topping e30. jds atom amp. with he1000 stealth now i would not recommend this stack but it did everything better apart from vocals the EF600 did vocals very well. because i'm also gamer imaging is very important to me and at least with my unit it was not so good..
That makes sense. It's a very different presentation from a stack like that - forward and quite "in your face" (not saying it's bad, just different).
in my opinion (i tried with HEK Stealth and Arya Organic), it's the opposite, the amp is excellent, however the DAC is subpar
What were you comparing the DAC and amp to as a reference point?
Looking at the QC issues of wifiman, skeptical to buy their products
They really don't have significant QC issues anymore. You'll find just as many issues with other brands if you go looking.
Environmental EMI noise coming through and other cracks and pops... that's completely unacceptable if you ask me. At any pricepoint. The one job is to amplify headphones cleanly with quality.
I agree.
I love the EF400
I just don't understand why Hifiman consistently ignores the small but critical niceties of build quality and feel. Just such unwise places to make compromises...the cost to make volume knob feel better has got to be minimal.
Yes, I agree. Hopefully the Goldenwave acquisition will flow into better device design in future.
Lachlan, is this the one you told me about?
Yep. This would be it. 🙂
@@PassionforSound ahhh was hoping you’ll get the Prelude head amp instead
Oh, I have that here too now. Maybe that's what we were discussing?
@@PassionforSound ahhhh great! Would like to hear what you think. After the acquisition of Goldenwave, they have launched a few products such as the Prelude headphone amplifier that I just bought, then there’s an AIO called Prelude Pro (with 2 different AKM chips of 3,pieces in total) and then there’s another DAC only product but their names are confusing. Oh yes! There’s also the special $15,000 EF1000 launched only in China and it’s sold out.
why is everyone reviewing the ef400 and ef600 but no one is reviewing the ef500???
HiFiMan haven't sent out a review unit. That's all.
Can you use the EF600 as a preamp for the SMSL VMV A1 class A power amp?
The EF600 has no volume control on the outputs so it's not able to be a preamp.
@@PassionforSound what if you have a volume knob on your power amplifier? Like my SMSL VMV A1 class A power amp.
Yes, that's fine. In that case, the EF600 is your DAC because you don't actually need a preamp. (Not saying that to be pedantic, just explaining why I answered as I did 🙂)
Schiit midgard when?!
They're sending one soon and then there's the production queue which is LONG! I'll try to prioritise the Midgard, but it might be January for public release (sooner for Patreon members)
Vastly preferred the sound signature of my EF400 versus the EF600 and ended up sending it back. Much warmer, richer, and engaging DAC on the EF400. The EF600 DAC was very dry sounding by comparison. Good news is you can all save money and get the EF400 instead for just $399 USD.
I'm on the other side of the fence and much prefer the EF600. It's good that they have multiple options to suit all tastes 🙂
I demo’d this with a Arya Stealths and organic , HE1000v2 Stealth and HEE1000SE a few months back along side a couple of Burson combo DAC/amps and a Violectric DHA 380.
To me it just sounded a bit muddy in the upper mids and treble, especially in busy tracks. I really wanted to like it. I had about 5k saved for a good set up,
To me the Arya stealths sounded better through the Violectric than the HEKSE through the EF600. Yet the SE was a much better sounding set of headphones through the higher priced DAC/amp combos. I ended up with the Violectric and the stealths for my budget with a plan to upgrade to the SE eventually.. or maybe the calderas ..
one thing I found strange . Not all 5 watts are the same. With the Violectric on full pre gain 18+ (5Watts roughly)you could hardly get past 9 o’clock on the HIFIMAN head phones, but the EF600 around 11-12 was listenable. And sub bass the Vio just ate it! The amount of control of bass in songs like Beyoncé’s “ partition “ was just awesome on the more expensive Vio and Burson amps . I guess you still get what you pay for!
Thanks for sharing your experiences. This makes complete sense. The EF600 is nice for what it is, but it's definitely not on the same level as the Violectric or possibly the Burson (depending on the models)
K своему EF600 подключаю наушники Audeze LCD-2CB. Через блютут с планшета на андроиде слушаю Яндекс Радио. Качество конечно далеко не аудиофильское. Но я могу так сидеть часами, и меня совсем ничего не раздражает. На сингл выходе для наушников немного слышно фоновый шум, на балансном совсем нет. Звук музыкальный и приятный. Думаю EF600 сделан больше для меломанов и сильно меньше для аудиофилов.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's definitely a very easy to enjoy system
The design is odd imo, and the quality seems to be on par with other Hifiman products and nothing that I will spend my hard earned money on.
I can understand why they did it for the headphone stand functionality, small footprint and vertical airflow for cooling. It's definitely unusual though.
It is unbelievable how in 2023 people still say that all Chinese products are bad.
Yes, some unnecessary prejudice when products from USA and Europe (to name just two countries/regions) have similar failure rates