HiFiMan EF500 DAC/AMP Review - Affordable Head-Fi for the Streaming Generation

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Күн бұрын

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@Jeremy-go9kx 3 ай бұрын

Just wanted to say thank you for the detailed review, I was struggling with so many choices as a bit of a newbie and your review helped me decide on the EF500. I appreciate that you were able to describe the benefits of the R2R system vs. the more common chip solutions (that provide much more sterile listening experiences) It was great to go through the presentation of the sound, and describe the way the sound feels as opposed to generic statements of detail & sound stage like most other reviewers. I've gotta say, the paring between the Ananda nano & the EF500 is magical for me, it just brings so much life to music. The unit is SOLID and quite heavy, I really impressed at how great the build is. The big benefit here is you are unlikely to need any other kit to get an amazing performance. Most mid-fi type 'normies' are not wanting a super complicated and expensive stack, and this is just perfect. Thank you! 🙂

@rpgPalette 2 ай бұрын

I really wanted to know, if in my case EF500 and Fiio K9 AKM cost the same, which is better for hifiman ananda V1 and my future hifiman He1000 V2 ?

@nw6066 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for review! Would be great to see you review of Serenade and Serenade JR models in comparation with EF500. In that case you will have the fullest hifiman dac/amp reviews on a channel!

@Thiago_TS_BR 3 ай бұрын

I agreee 😊

@Soundnews 3 ай бұрын

Hi! I just shoot them an email, fingers crossed they can send a Serenade / S Jr. loaner my way. Will see how that goes

@ancientalien815 4 ай бұрын

The 499 is STUPID good for $300.

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

Almost unbelievable, linear transformer, fully balanced and transistor based, still a mystery how they were able to achieve that price point

@Maj0rTac0 4 ай бұрын

Finally. I was waiting for this review. Ordering the EF500. Nice shirt btw😂

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

Thanks, mate!

@9-7- 4 ай бұрын

To me, you are the real HiFiMan!

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

😅😅 Thank you! Made my day

@SimpleMailWork 4 ай бұрын

how does this compare to ef400? is it the same or is there a difference? What is the difference?

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

The overall tonality is similar and the power output is indistinguishable. EF500 wins in 2 areas: 1) Ethernet port on its back that unlocks Tidal/Spotify Connect usage or streaming from your NAS driver and 2) Soundstage and depth - it sounds deeper and a little wider as well. The better are your headphones, the bigger the impact would be in terms of scale. I can only presume that a better channel separation of the EF500 somehow widened the soundscape as well. EF500 does also have a newer generation of Hymalaya LE architecture, but both units sounded as clean and resolving to me.

@sayeduzzamanrayan9387 4 ай бұрын

The EF499 really gives Klipsch vibes with its color. I like it

@KryssN1 2 ай бұрын

I tried EF500 and indeed it does.

@KryssN1 2 ай бұрын

Perfect combination dynamic headphones and Hifiman headphones. But for HE6 I preferred Schiit Modius/Asgard 3 or even IFI Can Signature stack.

@GoldenEagle0007 4 ай бұрын

which has better resolution/soundtage/dynamics/layering vs the dx9 or the ef600

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

EF600 wins in the layering and soundstage departments, while DX9 is considerably more resolving, faster sounding. The transients go faster on the DX9, but EF600 still packs a punch. The big difference sits in their tonality, where EF600 is considerably more organic sounding.

@GoldenEagle0007 4 ай бұрын

@@Soundnews thanks 👍 Maybe I'm asking too much but is there anything compares to dx9 at around 400-700$ in these departments without having all the extra features/connections. I'm asking for gaming purposes 🙂 basically with a really good soundstage/layering and fast response so when allot of sounds going on in game it will be as clear as dx9

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

@@GoldenEagle0007 What are you searching is called Aune S9C (check my video). Impressive layering, depth, good soundstage, plenty of power and sounds natural on top of that.

@GoldenEagle0007 4 ай бұрын

@@Soundnews thanks i have been looking at that too but unsure if it matches dx9 in terms of faster sounding and resolving 🙂

@GirlNoNonsense 2 ай бұрын

Do you know if the Serenade or EF600 runs the Susvara better/good enough in regards to bass and Soundstage?

@asan1050 4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for posting this video.

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching ;)

@humanitech 4 ай бұрын

Just curious ....As a standalone r2r dac for speaker hifi setup .... does it compare well with other r2r dac...like the budget musician or denfrips units.. or is it less refined to a budget? Thx

@Soundnews 4 ай бұрын

I no longer have the Musician Draco or the Denafrips Ares, so please take my words with a grain of salt. The EF500 is at least on the same level with the either the Draco or the Ares, the layering and stage size are similar and the resolution is similar, if not better on the EF500. The HiFiMan also feels by a hair faster sounding, having a better timing as well. I'm not sure about the voltage output via RCA or XLR, but the sound is a bit quieter than the Chord Dave (6V) and considerably quieter than the Wavedream Signature (7V output), I will go with a wild guess that EF500 outputs 4V via XLR and 2V via RCA. EF500 works great in a stereo setup, all you need is an integrated amp and you'll be re ready to 🤘

@Hetsu.. 3 ай бұрын

The heat generation was really nice info to know, thank you!

@oliverdeocampo7765 4 ай бұрын

How does this compare with the Fiio K9? Would this pair well with the Arya Organic? Thanks!

@sameh9310 4 ай бұрын

Same question for me, but the K9 AKM Version

@dragonsbreath8653 4 ай бұрын

I have FiiO K9 PRO ESS and HiFiMAN Arya Organic, and this pair goes great together. The sound is clear, neutral, with a wide stage, with highly detailed sounds, there is bass, but it is not strong, in closed headphones the bass is pronounced, the high frequencies are comfortable and airy. There is no warmth, just a realistic, neutral and comfortable sound that does not tire my ears after prolonged listening, as if I were without headphones. I sit in HiFiMAN Arya Organic for 10-14 hours and do not feel tired, they are very light, my hearing does not get tired, as the sound is natural, organic and realistic. FiiO K9 PRO ESS has 7 filters that change the character of the sound: soft, neutral and moderately aggressive. I think FiiO K9 does the same. These low pass filters are found in FiiO Control under the Audio section. In the soft mode, low frequencies are enhanced and high frequencies are weakened, the neutral frequency filter has a balanced level, and the moderately aggressive filter enhances low and high frequencies. The HiFiMAN Arya Organic headphones sound best with the Apodizing fast roll-off filter type 1, but also sound good with the moderately aggressive Sharp Roll-Off Filter. And this Slow Roll-Off Filter makes the FiiO K9 PRO sound soft, which attenuates the high frequencies and enhances the low frequencies with punch. Play around with the filters and choose the best option for yourself. Two days ago I watched the movie "Empire Falls 2024" and HiFiMAN Arya Organic gave me amazing emotions. The sound was so cool and realistic that I felt like I was with the characters and experiencing all this horror, and the fighting sounded incredibly cool, I was shocked to the core. My other headphones Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Ohm and Beyerdynamic MMX150 were not able to convey such a gorgeous sound as the HiFiMAN Arya Organic did. And the HiFiMAN Arya Organic are very cool headphones.

@robmaxwell3678 4 ай бұрын

Great! Now ive got two items on the list to get, an ef500 and zmf bokeh. Any thoughts on sound comparison with the audalytic ah90 dac streamer you reviewed a few month ago? Thanks, and great review.

@00Silu 4 ай бұрын

I use the EF400 as a DAC (paired with the Aune S17 Pro amp). Would switching from the EF400 to the EF500 just for the DAC be worth it? Also thank you for your video!

@Hetsu.. 3 ай бұрын

Hey, hifiman launched an ef400 DAC upgrade program, for $150, or $300 for the big super dac upgrade to your ef400. You just send in your ef400 and theyll upgrade it. Thats alot of heat output tho haha, i asssume both ef400 and aune s17 pro are blasting heat at all times.

@00Silu 3 ай бұрын

@@Hetsu.. The S17 Pro, agreed, can be hot, but the EF400 is just slightly warm to the touch and just in certain spots. As for the upgrade program - yes, I'm aware, the question is what's the actual benefit? Is the SQ improvement worth it vs dedicated DACs like SMSL SU-10 for instance?

@Hetsu.. 3 ай бұрын

@@00Silu Depends on your tastes, I hear the su-10 is a beast of a delta sigma dac, that sounds harmonic like r2r. Ive tried the ef600, which has the same dac that you can upgrade to on the ef400 ($150 upgrade option) And I didnt like much more then the ef400 tbh. Personally id save up to get a dedicated dac like the su-10.

@00Silu 3 ай бұрын

@@Hetsu.. many thanks for your reply and additional information. So if the $150 upgrade matches the Ef600, what to expect from the $300 upgrade? I was quite interested in it for a while, but eventually assumed it would just be a half measure vs the SU-10 I'm eyeing as well, and dropped the idea.

@Hetsu.. 3 ай бұрын

@@00Silu The $300 is the same dac, however the THD is lower, it is a cherry picked flagship 'tier' binning, which they use in their $15 000 ef1000. So, really, I dont know how much better itd be. It is quite interesting though.

@rpgPalette 2 ай бұрын

Did it have any channel imbalance? In some reviews people notice it.

@ranmoc 16 күн бұрын

Why cant we use Max quality on tidal connect?

@happysensyhappysensy670 4 ай бұрын

was waiting for this review.much obliged

@cristis2023 3 ай бұрын

hello Sandu, thanks for the content I like it a lot, but how about the analog output, from the back, is this manageable by the volume knob to control the voltage output ? in order to use to a power amp? and the voltage of this balanced analog is about 4v or different? thanks for your reply, also you can listen at the same time through the headphone amplifier and also to keep the analog output connected to the power amp ? thanks for your reply

@radiofreealbemuth 4 ай бұрын

Thanks sandu, I just ordered the ef500 based on your review. I'm using a dongle right now, and it isn't giving me any soundstage depth for my he1000se, so i hope i get some depth with a desktop dac amp like the ef500

@7in1 3 ай бұрын

What sounds better, the ordinary DAC + tube headphone AMP, or R2R DAC\AMP?

@hamjabuns 4 ай бұрын

Hi! Which 1 do you recommend more? Ef500 or smsl do400? Which has better tonality/ techs/ soundstage? Thanks youre awesome!

@Thiago_TS_BR 3 ай бұрын

Waiting for the serenade. Whats the sonic diference compared to EF 500. And if it has spotfy conect. I heard that it's streams capabilyts has some flaws but it is not clear what especific they are.