Sciber ENFLOW Balanced Headphone Amp Review

[amirm]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SCIBER ENFLOW balanced headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company (a long time ago). I don't know how much it costs.

The unit is very substantial as far as weight for its size. This is nice which means as you move around, the headphone cable is less likely to tug the unit around. This made me think it has an internal linear power supply but it does not (see picture below). The touch controls feel good and I appreciate the broad set of gains provided (-12 dB, 0, +6 dB). It is also nice to have the three variety of headphone sockets.

The non-removable AC plug was a bit inconvenient, forcing me to get a cheap passive adapter to US AC socket.

In order to limit all the combination of ports and settings, I focused my testing on XLR In, and balanced headphone out.

Yes, the unit is made in Russia. Please no discussion about that. My assessment of it is strictly on its performance and has nothing to do with my political views.

Sciber Enflow Headphone Amplifier Measurements
I gave a bit of allowance for slightly below 0 dB gain:

I was impressed with basically no distortion in the output! What is there is the audio precision spikes. Very impressive. there is a bit of power supply noise however which drags the SINAD down below state of the art:

And impacts SNR which is still excellent:

Same story with 50 mv output:

This is a powerful amplifier but oddly, doesn't produce much more power in high (+6 dB) gain:

This is enough however to drive just about any headphone to pretty loud levels.

Conclusions
The ENFLOW is a solid and well engineered headphone amplifier with very good connectivity and feature set. Its measured performance is excellent with no weak points. Especially impressive is total absence of distortion at lowest gain setting. On that front, it is state of the art.

Purchasing is a bit difficult, requiring contacting the company first.

I am going to recommend the Sciber ENFLOW for its nice engineering and overall executions.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

 

[amirm]

 

[GD Fan]

Are there any clues as to what it costs? The 'order' link on their website is dead.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

I’m not usually one to pay attention to design aesthetics but I really like the design/layout of the front panel.

 

[amirm]

Are there any clues as to what it costs? The 'order' link on their website is dead.

It worked for me. But it just takes you to a page to give them your contact info and then they will tell you what it costs and how to order.

 

[davidc]

It worked for me. But it just takes you to a page to give them your contact info and then they will tell you what it costs and how to order.

Amir, sent you a PM.

 

[AndreaT]

I wonder if a higher voltage and amperage power supply could increase the power output. The label in the back says 19-28 volts.

 

[shuppatsu]

The symmetry of the design is both a little goofy and a nice touch.

Politics aside, superbly engineered HPAs are a dime a dozen these days. Given the middle-of-the-road power figures, I’d have preferred it to be single-ended. But I guess I don’t know how much power these produce single-ended.

 

[solderdude]

Given the middle-of-the-road power figures, I’d have preferred it to be single-ended. But I guess I don’t know how much power these produce single-ended.

That's simple math ... just 1/2 the voltage.
In balanced it delivers a clean 8.9V in any impedance > 9ohm
This means in SE it will deliver 4.5V in any impedance > 5ohm

SE out:
6ohm = 3.2W
12ohm = 1.6W
20ohm = 1W
32ohm = 0.7W
120ohm = 0.15W
300ohm = 65mW
600ohm = 33mW

I wonder if a higher voltage and amperage power supply could increase the power output. The label in the back says 19-28 volts.

It most likely won't.
The input voltage range means that there is likely an internal 24V input DC-DC converter inside that creates a +/- 7.5V voltage rail (I suspect based on the available measurements).
These DC-DC converters usually have regulated DC output voltages.
It can also be fed from USB-C with PD but only with the ones that can deliver 20V. A 5V, 9V or 15V max. It must support 20V.
The supplied adapters = 19V/3.42A (65W) supply which is likely intended for laptops.

If the amp were fed directly from rail splitted 19V (+/- 9.5V) I would expect 6.5V SE and 13V balanced and when fed from 28V balanced out would be 19V.
As this isn't the case the most likely scenario is that there is a (regulated output) internal DC-DC converter.

 

[see_no_evil]

Are there any clues as to what it costs? The 'order' link on their website is dead.

70,000 Russian rubles (900 US dollars approx.) from what I can find.

 

[Chester]

Personally, I don’t think it looks like a $900 product.

 

[Ziroz]

70,000 Russian rubles (900 US dollars approx.) from what I can find.

For half the price, you can grab a Topping A70 Pro, with better performance and arguably better look. Not a bad device overall but don't think its worth the money.

 

[AudioSceptic]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SCIBER ENFLOW balanced headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company (a long time ago). I don't know how much it costs.
View attachment 542973
The unit is very substantial as far as weight for its size. This is nice which means as you move around, the headphone cable is less likely to tug the unit around. This made me think it has an internal linear power supply but it does not (see picture below). The touch controls feel good and I appreciate the broad set of gains provided (-12 dB, 0, +6 dB). It is also nice to have the three variety of headphone sockets.

View attachment 542974
The non-removable AC plug was a bit inconvenient, forcing me to get a cheap passive adapter to US AC socket.

In order to limit all the combination of ports and settings, I focused my testing on XLR In, and balanced headphone out.

Yes, the unit is made in Russia. Please no discussion about that. My assessment of it is strictly on its performance and has nothing to do with my political views.

Esciber Enflow Headphone Amplifier Measurements
I gave a bit of allowance for slightly below 0 dB gain:
View attachment 542975
I was impressed with basically no distortion in the output! What is there is the audio precision spikes. Very impressive. there is a bit of power supply noise however which drags the SINAD down below state of the art:
View attachment 542976

And impacts SNR which is still excellent:
View attachment 542977

Same story with 50 mv output:
View attachment 542978

This is a powerful amplifier but oddly, doesn't produce much more power in high (+6 dB) gain:
View attachment 542979
View attachment 542980

This is enough however to drive just about any headphone to pretty loud levels.

Conclusions
The ENFLOW is a solid and well engineered headphone amplifier with very good connectivity and feature set. Its measured performance is excellent with no weak points. Especially impressive is total absence of distortion at lowest gain setting. On that front, it is state of the art.

Purchasing is a bit difficult, requiring contacting the company first.

I am going to recommend the Sciber ENFLOW for its nice engineering and overall executions.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Just wondering if more than 1 of the 'phones outputs can be used at the same time, or does connecting 1 mute the others?

 

[sealman]

With SOTA being so inexpensive these days I can't give it a rating without a solid shipping price. Though at $900.00 or more after tariffs along with non existent warranty options (due to shipping costs?) for the US I am inclined to give it a "Not Terrible" rating.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Looks like a nice product, but seems a trifle underpowered. I have the Topping A70 Pro in my set up, and it now only has more power for half the price, it also has a nice LED display, as well as slightly better, though no doubt inaudible, noise and distortion numbers. Ultimately at $900, not a good bargain. And if you ever need it serviced......

Very nice review, Amir. Thank you.

 

[PristineSound]

The power cord is tethered on to the unit? That is super obscure for 2026, almost an automatic strike out.

 

[solawind]

The power cord is tethered on to the unit? That is super obscure for 2026, almost an automatic strike out.

looks like standard barrel plug to me. The device is sold through local vendors here in Russia and showcased at local exhibitions, so I believe they're targeting a different audience, people who probably wouldn't be buying Topping products anyway.
At least it seems like a solid product, unlike the usual nonsense from self-proclaimed boutique high-end audio brands.

 

[PristineSound]

looks like standard barrel plug to me. The device is sold through local vendors here in Russia and showcased at local exhibitions, so I believe they're targeting a different audience, people who probably wouldn't be buying Topping products anyway.
At least it seems like a solid product, unlike the usual nonsense from self-proclaimed boutique high-end audio brands.

Ahh, yes, I see the barrel too. I wonder what Amir means by "The non-removable AC plug was a bit inconvenient"

 

[solderdude]

The wall-wart that was rather large and 'hangs' out of a wall socket or towers upwards in a distribution socket.
It seems to have an E.U. plug on it which was not exchangeable for other plugs (as some power adapters can).

 

[Cbdb2]

Ahh, yes, I see the barrel too. I wonder what Amir means by "The non-removable AC plug was a bit inconvenient"

The power supply has a Russian power plug that wont fit our North American power outlets. So you need an adapter,