Hifiman releases EF400 AiO DAC-Amp

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

Simple solution... turn down the volume on my PC to 50%. Now the EF400 pot has better range.

Am I losing anything by not feeding the EF400 with max volume (USB out)?

You're raising the DAC portion's noise floor by the corresponding digital attenuation, but the amplification circuit almost certainly has a higher noise floor, so it should be a non-issue.

 

[Peterinvan]

Gain too high for most headphones...

I caved and bought the iFi ieMatch4.4. Will update impressions in a few days.

 

[Snoopy]

Just add a negative gain in software..
I used the EF400 with focal elegia and aeon noire. Was fine in low gain .

But returned the unit because of static noise, Transformer humm and the DAC was pretty limited.

 

[Peterinvan]

Just add a negative gain in software..
I used the EF400 with focal elegia and aeon noire. Was fine in low gain .

But returned the unit because of static noise, Transformer humm and the DAC was pretty limited.

Roon Addresses Gain Issue:

Set Roon DSP to -12db. LCD-XC into 4pin-XLR, EF400 set to low gain/OS, now comfortable up to 10:00 on volume knob (using LCD-XC, Elegia, or 109Pro). After 30 hours burn-in, I am really enjoying the sound quality

My QC tag says 2022-10-24. I do not hear any static or hum. My source is Tidal from my PC, so the DAC has all the functionality I need.

 

[Yoda896]

CAMERON OATLEY (@GOLDENSOUND) just destroyed the EF400 with his review:

Hifiman EF400 Review & Measurements

An in-depth review and measurements of the Hifiman EF400 R2R DAC/Amp combo. There's a lot to like about the EF400, but some concerns that listeners may want to be aware of before buying.

headphones.com

 

[Peterinvan]

@Goldensound just posted on Head-fi that there is a recall on the EF400 (addressing the phase issue)

 

[dskelto]

I bought a unit and it sounded really good until about 50 hours into my burn-in period, then static/ distortion presented in the right channel. Power cycled, disconnected, reconnected, turned Roon off and on etc. problem persists. Will be returning. This was connected via USB C to MacBook Pro using Roon, listening with Aryav v2. I will look for a different R2R solution to compliment my X16/ A90 stack.

 

[Daorom]

I took this device. Already warmed up, from the hands. This is my first external DAC. I can only compare with LG G8, in which the sound is very I like it (with iem Moondrop Ariya).Sorry for my English, I'm writing through a translator.
I really liked the EF400! It's just magic! It's opium... A real live sound. I listen from Takstar HF580. The sound flows through the body and spreads around How river ). I listen to instrumental, jazz, classical ... Mostly in the mode NOS.

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Spoiler: photo

 

[Mr:River]