The NEW Hifiman EF400 is a Powerhouse!

EF 400 Here - apos.audio/products/hifiman-e...
Hifiman HE1000 V2 - amzn.to/3dmdgyP
Abyss Diana TC - abyss-headphones.com/products...
TOP 3 FAVORITE BUDGET HEADPHONES
🥇 HD560S - amzn.to/3NwLeNM
🥈 SHP 9600 - amzn.to/3NEsoEo
🥉 K361 - amzn.to/3xxKQsM
Favorite headphones
🥇 DIANA TC - abyss-headphones.com/products...
🥈Arya - apos.audio/products/hifiman-a...
🥉 DT1990Pro - amzn.to/3MzsBrg
TOP 3 FAVORITE CLOSED BACK HEADPHONES
🥇 Sony Z1R - amzn.to/3aDxOB4
🥈 Sony Z7 - amzn.to/3O0C2Bd
🥉 K361 - amzn.to/3xxKQsM
BEST Amplifiers -
🥇 Topping A90 - apos.audio/products/topping-a...
🥈 THX 789 / 887 - amzn.to/3QdJ0Vq
🥉 DX3 Pro - amzn.to/3O1wF4H
IEMS
🥇 Sennheiser IE300 - amzn.to/3Q8svd3
🥈 Moondrop Aria - amzn.to/3aEytlG
🥉(budget Option) - Tin T2 - amzn.to/39g6eta
SPEAKERS
🥇 SVS ULTRA Towers - amzn.to/3xzt9sU
🥈 Vanatoo T1E - amzn.to/3O5ag6q
🥉 Micca RB42 - amzn.to/3aBmXHP
ACCESSORIES
iFix It - amzn.to/3NCok7O
Soundrise Pro Stands - amzn.to/3tphpXt
IEM TIP Storage - amzn.to/3NAMQ9r
Headphone Case - amzn.to/39xOlkF​​​​​​​​
My Filming Equipment
Camera - A7S-3 - amzn.to/3mynq00
Sigma 24-70mm - amzn.to/3MtKBmQ
Sony 90mm - amzn.to/3QarT6P
​​Sachtler Flowtech 75 - amzn.to/3H4WEG9
Ronin RS2 - amzn.to/3HdOgUP
GVM Slider - amzn.to/3Q8nEIV
These are my genuine recommendations in various categories. They are affiliated links that help pay for this KZbin channel at no additional cost to you.
SOCIAL MEDIA
📷 / joshua.valour
🔔 / joshvalour
📫SENDING FOR REVIEW??📫
Email Me - [e-mail]
#Hifiman​​​ #Amplifier #Audiophile
*As an Amazon, Drop and Apos Associate I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
I use this money back towards the quality of video of this channel. To see how, watch this video - • AWESOME Studio Tour! -...

[@0d0d0d]

I have been loving this Dac/AMP combo! Really great stuff. Paid around $350 for new at my local audio store :D

[@radiofreealbemuth]

Can I ask how is the soundstage depth?

[@0d0d0d]

@@radiofreealbemuth I wouldn't consider this Dac/AMP to have any special "sound" too it other than having lots of power and never having issues with volume. There is an oversample toggle and no oversample toggle, and I always use no oversample. I feel oversample is bright and creates less sound stage. It makes everything I use sound weird and not as intended.

[@michaelthompson9798]

Thanks for this review Josh, my man ✊🤯🥰. Love your work 😇💪👍

[@Thund3rstone]

Josh, I was not sure. I came from a DX5 with an Edition XS. That alone was an eye opener. Today I started first time out on HE1000 with EF400. This is ... wow. Got tears in my eyes. Cannot stop grinning. Thank you.

[@leeabbey4257]

Damn - I've been looking at upgrading from my XS with EF400 to the HE1000 v2 and everything I read is convincing me but your comment I think has forced the issue! Xmas present to self!

[@radiofreealbemuth]

Can I get an update? How are you guys liking the EF400 these days?

[@Thund3rstone]

@@radiofreealbemuth Still a good price/delivery ratio with a good Hifiman like HE1000V2 or Arya Organic. The Organic really delivers for its price. The good thing about the EF400 (all in one) is the not so good thing: You cannot upgrade the amp and keep the DAC. And the EF400 is strong enough to open up those mid range Hifiman. I am still using it on a secondary computer with HD800S or HE1000V2. So, if you invest that much money into the headphone game anyways you might think about the Topping stack A90D/D90LE, which is definitely better. More clear. More precise. I would say the best price/delivery ratio on the market. But very neutral, so your HP mains this. Or the A70/D70 which are supposed to be as good (I did not hear those though). But it will cost you a little bit more. My endgame at the moment is still using the D90LE (it is completely neutral so why change, I like to to control my signal chain) and then amplifying with Mjolnir3 to kick my Empyrean2s ass. My only reason to replacing the D90 would be a similar neutral streaming DAC, but that is just nice to have. Bottom line: EF400 is still very good and worth it, but upgrades are in reach, so compare prices. It comes down to budget, cans you use and were you are going with this hobby.

[@Thund3rstone]

@@radiofreealbemuth For some reason my update has been removed, maybe too long or wrong vocabulary. The EF400 is still a very fun DAC/AMP which drives and opens up lots of higher tier headphones. It is still great with HE1000V2 and Arya Organic or HD800S. Yes, as an audiophile you may want upgrade to a Topping Stack or even something bigger, same with the headphones, but be aware of diminishing returns. If you want really good (and fun) sounding music and games and videos I can still recommend above combos to the fullest.

[@asan1050]

Thank you for the recommendations!

[@soundsilove6123]

Hifiman EF400 vs Topping A90 thats the main quesion!

[@matthewhilty4209]

Interesting product. I do like that they are going after the smoother sound signature with the r2r implementation. Many Dac amps are harder and accurate sounding for Mixing/mastering so having a contrasting offering for leisure without going Tube amp is a nice alternative.

[@Armbrust210]

Oh, really cool, been waiting for this Review!

[@russell5244]

was more overview than a review

[@stevendavis1135]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnzFoWWBoK2Zr8U This guy's does a much better review of the ef400. He goes into detail

[@bradwebb6927]

The USB audio standard is USB 2, which is why it's atypical to see -C or 3-B. iFi managed to get it right in their ZEN Signature, but the actual chips for anything other than 2-B, explicitly for audio, are tough to get right and expensive. USB 2-B inputs are tried, true, solved and stable.

[@benlee1035]

CanJam Socal had these at the HiFiman booth. Paired nicely with the Sundara and XS.

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

I bought an SMSL M500mk3 to drive my Edition XS, and it's great. But now I learned that this EF400 exists and I'm intrigued... I'd like to try a listen.

[@WorldView22]

Hi Joshua and congrats for your fast-growing channel. I have recently watched another comparative review of this unit and the reviewer found it to be somewhat inconsistent sonically between low and high impedance headphones, the latter being the lesser performer on this unit. Have you had the chance to try it with the likes of HD820/800S or similar, and what's your impression? Thanks

[@eruilluvitar]

Got to listen to this at CanJam - it sounded pretty damn good!

[@Starsunder81]

I own it with Arya V2s and i love the pairing :D

[@dennismanning6684]

Nice review. I am looking at this as an upgrade to my bedtime setup of iPhone 6s+, Firefly Cobalt, and Sundaras. Was hoping the usb-c would charge the phone while listening but it won't...still require the Apple "photo adapter" with usb-a to do so. (2 cables to deal with). It just dawned on me though that it's the Cobalt amp that uses a lot of the phone's battery where an E400 wouldn't, so maybe next payday...

[@MiloTheFirst1]

josh, there are 2 reasons I can think of for audio companies to stick to the USB B (2.0) port. 1) the USB type B connector was designed to be particularly sturdy and also for the cable to break before the jack in the device does 2) USB 2.0 cables with a type B connector can reach up to 5 meters in length which can be very handy for some users, while USB 3.0 and beyond cables can not go further than 2 meters. eventhough type C connectors can be attached to a cable wired for USB 2.0 technology. I am yet to see any known brand producing a 4 meters long USB 2.0 type C cable by giving DACs a USB 2.0 Type B jack, manufacturers allow users to buy the longest possible cable and for a lot cheaper. the only advantage I can think of switching to type C cables would be to make a design in which the dac can be fully powered by the PC and even daisy chain power an amp. but currently motherboards with USB power delivery features are still very uncommon and not mass adopted

[@user-fh7ki5bv5x]

The 2m USBC limit is only for active cables, passive cables have the same limits as USB2.0 and 1.0, the connector makes no difference

[@TriAmpHiFi]

@@user-fh7ki5bv5x . That is correct.

[@Dinomca]

Great Review 👍🏻

[@namanshree32]

Impulse purchased this a couple of months ago and super happy with it

[@radiofreealbemuth]

Can I ask how is the soundstage depth?

[@hongruijie1405]

Wanted an entry R2R. Prior getting this, was looking at either Musician or Denafrips but ended getting the EF400 (2 weeks back). Personally, it can power the Susvara, BUT it seems laid back. Nothing to yearn about when compared to my HA-6A amp. However, on less power hungry headphones like a Sundara, YES, it shines, notes are nicely emphasized.

[@Berkanann]

HiFiMan made the EF1000 for the Susvara which outputs 20W. So, they do think the Susvara needs power.

[@RafiGish]

EF400 can't properly drive the HE6 either. Most other Hifiman's run nicely on this though.

[@JoshuaValour]

Okay, that’s fair. But $15,000 jesus lmao!

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@Berkanann I hope that is a joke.

[@dap777754]

@@RafiGish That's interesting. You've heard grapevine that the EF400 is no-go with the HE-6 or have you tried it yourself? I have HE-6's so I need to know.

[@Konspiration100]

@@dap777754 I have the impression this story about the HE6 or se or V2 needs so much power ist somehow made up. I have a 3 Watt and a 6 Watt Amplifier and sometimes I think the 3 Watt is even sufficient When it comes to the &6 Watt I am often not even on the highest Gain and about 12 o Clock, but to me it seems there are always guys who want to be special and make up stories like this

[@revelationsoundstudio]

Thank you for another well done review of another headphone amp. On your next headphone amp, I think many would be very interested in hearing your observations of the McIntosh MHA 200 tube headphone amp. Any chance of you getting your hands on that amp?

[@sproesser576]

I had a lengthy demo of it, with the matching McIntosh headphones. I've never heard better timbre from any headphone. Something I thought was reserved for very expensive stereos: extremely realistic tone.

[@Smitty_Werbenjagermanjenson]

I got one of these a couple weeks ago and it slays. I'm shooting it out against a more expensive A90 + SU-8 combo, and I'm leaning towards the EF400.

[@sproesser576]

What headphones are you using with it?

[@Smitty_Werbenjagermanjenson]

@@sproesser576 Several - ZMF Atticus, DCA Aeon X Closed, and Focal Elex. I tried the Hifiman Edition XS as well, which was also a good combo

[@OptLab]

It is suitable for iems ? Volume knob, hiss, background ?

[@Smitty_Werbenjagermanjenson]

@@OptLab I've not tried it with IEMs, but it's dead quiet with every headphone I've used. Probably overkill for IEMs alone.

[@sp6450]

The only Combo worth getting is the Pontus or Venus 2 and a Flux Acoustics Volot.

[@mike_nba]

love ur shirt Josh

[@colingordon0986]

Hopefully an Audeze MM 500 review coming soon enough

[@the-mr-paul]

I had a chance to listen to thios amp with the Susvara, Arya, and the closed back Sundara. The Aryas and Sundaras sounded great, however the Susvaras not so much.

[@SinisterDev85]

Thanks for this review Josh. I recently got the Arya Stealth and have been looking for something new to pair with it. I have a very small collection of audio equipment. I honestly never thought I'd be able to get something like the Arya, it's very much a dream come true to me. I listen to most of my headphones on the SMSL SH-9/SU-9 stack and I love em, but im so curious about experiencing something different with my headphones. I also have the Sundara and Ananda, so maybe the EF400 would be an excellent piece of equipment to pair with them for a new sound experience.

[@mopnem]

Did you ever get the ef400 & how did it fair?

[@SinisterDev85]

@@mopnem I did end up getting the EF400. Its pretty fantastic. It may not have a million and one features, but what it does, it does very well. The audio experience has been fantastic. Really made my Arya's come to life!

[@mopnem]

@@SinisterDev85 Good to hear, really considering the ef400s for my Arya. I like details and neutral though, would you say these warm & smooth over too much or just right for the Arya compared to say a topping or such?

[@victors6586]

​@@SinisterDev85Can you say what you use as a source of sound ?

[@SinisterDev85]

@@victors6586 I usually use either my tablet or PC to stream from Qobuz. I had Tidal for a while, which was also nice. But I feel like Qobuz has the superior audio quality.

[@marcgii]

I'd pick this amp up, if only it had analog inputs... Also I really think you're putting too much emphasis on the measurements. Better measurements often don't correlate to better sound. Anyone new to this hobby isn't likely to understand that well. The big question should just be whether it measures well enough.

[@InDueTime25]

Great review. Can you tell me if this would work with an hdmi to usb c cable? That way I can also connect my TV to it and listen to my he6se v2.

[@tylerdavis7834]

Can you do a review on the Schiit Ragnarok 2? It’s supposed to have a decent headphone amp. Tons of power and speaker amp as well. I trust your opinion.

[@KingdomKey57]

I have one and have debated doing a review for a long time. I have a lot of products people seem to want reviews for haha

[@HWong-hp4pg]

GJ bro 😉

[@danielpimenta140]

Would be interesting to see how the M500 mkiii would stack against those

[@tapas23200]

Hi. I found this a very good amp with bigger soundstage, smooth treble and dark background. Wondering how this compare with burson playmate 2. Please share if you could.

[@masterxyr]

that's a great price for an R2R dac comboed with a good amp. Interesting...

[@fuckugimmeausername]

Hi! Would you recommend running these with XLR to speaker cables combo with adaptors to passive speakers?

[@CaptHotah]

Hi. Would you recommend this for the Sundaras? Thanks

[@BacklogDrifter]

I have a magnius/modius combo. Whats the next level? I’m ready to upgrade

[@xOogieBoogie3x]

Planars need a lot of current. People seem to mix this up with raw power.

[@Leon-lg7zm]

What are those little metal circles underneath the Amp called?

[@Anomalyn1]

will this work with lower impedance headphones? like 30/ 50 ohm?

[@x-techgaming]

$500 amp+DAC for $6000 headphones. Hell yeah!

[@goodforwatch]

what do you call that crackling sound in the intro track? me likes it a lot😂

[@alexandrubedreaga9339]

How does it compare with the RME ADI 2 Pro Fs ? Not functionality , sound wise ?

[@CheekyFest]

I'm still struggling to decide on a Dac/Amp for the Arya

[@papahumza]

What are your thoughts on the audio engine dac amp setup?

[@Amadis37]

We see the celestee but we don't hear your opinion on the pairing, how was it ? I have a celestee and I would really appreciate your opinion on it. Thanks.

[@rodrigolopezmaya5974]

Any way you can get a Schiit FOLKVANGR to review?

[@Aniki91PL]

Hi, thanks. What do you use for software on your macbook?

[@M_jamessnell]

I think Modius has changed to USB-C. Looking at the product on the website, it looks like a USB-C port and no Micro anymore. The model I own is Micro USB

[@masterxyr]

they must still have thousands of parts to spend :D

[@chrisk3127]

I had one way too much power for any headphone I have, (had to use SE to get Argons to 9 oclock) couldn't even use some headphones on it because they couldn't get past the volume pot imbalance lol also a note that there is/was some QC issues with these some people I talked too said theirs wasn't nearly as powerful as mine (sometimes to the point of being able to max it on high gain) and another person that had issues getting the USB C to work

[@JTB--]

The best way to experience the EF400 is to connect the Himalaya R2R DAC into another Amp like a Burson Soloist

[@reallyoldcob]

does the pre-out work at the same time as the headphone output?

[@adi2082]

You said the build quality is good but the black plastic on the front surrounding the outputs seems to scratch easily.

[@dejanzivanovic860]

Can i use the HiFiman EF400 for music production?

[@sproesser576]

Would a "measurement chaser" be looking for a flat curve, more linear and accurate presentation?

[@RafaelGrigorian]

Still waiting for your take on Burson amps.

[@TOM7952]

This thing is an awesome value but I've heard complaints with easier to drive headphones that you can barely touch the volume pot since it scales up so quickly.

[@AndreaDiLiddo]

I can confirm this: if you don’t do negative preamp by your source it will be a problem. With my Arya SE I get channel imbalance at my listening volume (around 65dB). But you will surely feel the power, this big boy makes even the Sundara slam hard!

[@AndreaDiLiddo]

I can confirm this: if you don’t do negative preamp by your source it will be a problem. With my Arya SE I get channel imbalance at my listening volume (around 65dB). But you will surely feel the power, this big boy makes even the Sundara slam hard!

[@Maver1ck911]

GSX Mini review and Singxer SDA2C anytime soon 😏

[@joeliew5515]

Does this DAC decode/plays DSD natively??

[@therealstusi]

So the EF400 has more power than the DX7 Pro+?

[@bue7884]

I actually really hated it when I tried it at canjam but I didn’t know why. It just sounded wrong

[@nitraM321]

isn't the EF1000, an amp made for the Susvara, a 110 watt amplifier ? (at 8 ohms), looks like Hifiman thinks you need that power.

[@AhloiFTW]

how does 6xx sound on this, more boomy?

[@Thiago_TS_BR]

Curious about Hifiman Goldenwave Serenade !

[@tudoreloprisan6992]

Hey Josh, nice vid! Do you think this amp can power the v1 Arya properly or should I stick with my entry level ifi can/dac stack and save for a more powerful stack?

[@tudoreloprisan6992]

Could this scam message be removed?

[@jmilesfox]

@@tudoreloprisan6992 Report him. I did as well.

[@hackeroo]

Still waiting for Dx3 pro+ vs Zen Dac v2

[@cxmxc]

Most affordable r2r implementation in market as of April 2023

[@Vamp898]

I think the reason why people think the Susvara needs a lot of power is because it sounds pretty bland and boring. And some people spend 4000-6000$ on a Headphone that sounds pretty average, boring and just not that good at all. In a blind test, i am pretty sure that almost nobody would pick the Susvara as their favorite. And there is all this magic around making boring headhpones sound better with a better amp but i don't believe in that. You can make your headphone sound better with an better amp, but you can not turn it from boring into amazing. An boring headphone will sound boring on the best amp that will ever exists, you headphones need to sound good in the first place A lot of people i met automatically think the most expensive automatically has to be the best, no question what. So the Susvara is the best and if it doesn't sound good, it can only be the amp. Also there is the second issue, the Susvara are not loud. No matter the input power, they have a limit on how loud they can be and its not a lot. The Susvara has an maximum input power of around 2-3W or something like that before it literally breaks apart. It just breaks. Even the Hifiman EF400 does have enough power to turn the Susvara into garbage putting it at 100% volume. They are just not loud and insensitive headphones can not be fixed by just pushing more power in as there is a limit on how much you can give them, before they blow. Imho they are just not good but people think they are, because they are expensive and so play around with cables and amps and all that kind of Voodoo. Most likely they sound best at a full moon with all planets in order.

[@joseluishernandezseptien]

Thank you, Joshua! I was wondering if it sounds good with the Diana v2 or the HD800s?

[@Enihel]

So HD800s here DX3pro+ vs DX5 vs this? and lets say price doesn't matter. Anyone ?

[@HungryEatNow]

Seen many good reviews on it but I'm seeing too many pple selling off in the used market...

[@jmpachecof]

Wonder how this would pair with HE1000SE headphones. They are easier to drive so you don’t really need the juice. Maybe better go with a topping DX7 Pro+? Thoughts?

[@admiralnorman]

The Susvara on this amp had enough power to make it loud. BUT it was boring and stupid. More power will open up the headphones. Ferrum Orr even is just okay. Emotiva basx a-100 had some noise, but even at the low budget level a speaker amp was much much better.

[@Sushanttechworld]

Please use shotgun mic or a pencil condenser. The huge mic in the frame just ruins the vibe.

[@dothewubwub]

What is the warranty like? Hifiman hasn't had the best quality control for headphones, so would be skeptical for components like this.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

The last quality control problems they had was the orginal realise of the ananda. That was over 3 years ago. Every product since then has not had QC issues.

[@Penpen2crayon]

I had to send back an adorama HE6v2 for replacement due to a very obvious and debilitating channel imbalance. That was winter 2021. Just putting that out there

[@Rsalmond83]

There are ongoing issues with Sundara and some with Edition XS with build and planar malfunctions.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@Penpen2crayon you are the first person to hear that from a post 2020 product. The susvara embarrassingly had that also, but it got fixed.

[@stevendavis1135]

@@Rsalmond83 have had my sundara's going on 6 months now. No issues

[@qupeter1224]

just got a he6se to test my amp,my benchmark hpa4 can output 110db with he6se when i crank the volume to the max. (measure using binaural mic,110db is way to loud for anyone. 83 should be the max volume you want in order to not damage your ear) pretty sure 6w is enough for even suvara

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

Planars like the he6 and susvara need high current *NOT* high power, because of the voltage sag due to having low impedance, but also low efficiency. For higher end planars, spending more to get an amp with a proper power supply is a must. Low end amps will make them sound loud, but suffer from heavy compression due to not having the capacitance to offset the voltage sag. Many many amps will get the he6 and susvara loud, very few will drive them correctly. They need to create a very high load resistance, which is why many people use speaker amps with them.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

If you ran them using 250lb krell monoblocks, they could be run on less than 500mw, because of their capacitance.

[@qupeter1224]

@@enjoshi-godrez8775 pretty sure my hpa4 have enough current to power any planars. also power is still important. since any headphone have a fixed driving voltage and have a fixed internal resistance. more power means more current. if you learn anything about basic physics you know capacitance doesn’t affect the current. also high quality capacitance is super cheap. super high end amp capacitor won’t be any better than a sub 1000 even well designed and well manufactured 500 headphones amp

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@qupeter1224 "the headphones have a fixed driving voltage". What?

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@qupeter1224 the headphones induce the load. What the hell are you on about? Lmao

[@cussyrichards6121]

Well the whole point to get something like this would be to experience a different sound. R2R is meant to sound more analogue. But, apparently this unit sounds more or less like everything else on the market - so why bother?

[@aldphillip2003]

4.4w into 32ohm?

[@robertburghardt8070]

Yes

[@andymon15]

No foreplay just "All thoughts and opinions are my own

[@foldinghome8593]

@joshua valour - I really don't understand how your review is so much better than Golden Sound's kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHixdIyjmpdgnNE although he states that the issues he has with the EF 400 concern all models.

[@CThienV]

Christ. It's getting harder and harder to keep up with what was once a niche hobby. I'm getting too old and broke for this!

[@kylechow6072]

are you actually complaining about having more options? This unit is quite affordable...

[@flazederg6800]

Tried it at canjam and it was horrible

[@f0rl]

No digital SPDIF RCA input. No way to hook it up to my Singxer SU-6...

[@HobbyTalk]

I want to try this cause it's R2R... Apos, if your seeing this... haha jk

[@barbecuetechtips6024]

I'm a dsd music fan. Soo r2r and saber dacs are junk.

[@sig4974]

Measurements 😴

[@97invaderzim]

Usb c is too fragile

[@Tealc2323]

$600 with no optic input... lol

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

Cost you pay for a r2r at this price range.

[@呀咧呀咧]

Why need optical input

[@MrJabinho]

Headphone show just revieled that the device is just bad and badly designed.

[@MrJabinho]

And it's no powerhouse acording to Headphoneshow measurements.

[@blueaquilae]

Why are you copying even the MKBHD gestures?

[@Janika9Z8R]

looks bad

[@adeadcrab]

no it isnt

[@DrCvC-nl2ji]

I came here to find out if this would have updated your preferred dac amp for the Arya V2. I’ve had a hdvd800 that I used with my hd800 that I just sold so looking to maybe make a change. Thoughts? @JoshuaValour @JoshuaValour