Although it’s not quite in the same price league as some of the audio kit we check out, Head Direct’s Hifiman EF5 is undoubtedly a serious piece of kit. You’ll want to have some equally serious headphones to go with it, but then again just about every high-end headphone needs the power of a good amplifier behind it to shine. See how this amp fares with our range of test headphones in our Hifiman EF5 review.
The Hifiman EF5 comes in two pieces, like a miniature separates system, one being the power supply and the other sporting all the connectors, the tube and the trusty volume knob. They’ll happily stack on top of each other, but there are no high-friction rubber feet to help them stay there. Yank on the headphone cable and the HE5’s stack may well fall.
That’s not great news when the Hifiman EF5’s magic sonic ingredient – the tube – pokes out of the top of the higher box, although it’s thankfully not entirely exposed. It’s not just there to look fragile though. We tried this headphone amp with a pretty wide selection of headphones and earphones, and on some cases the change was pretty eye-opening.
Read our Sennheiser RS160 wireless headphones review now
The Hifiman EF5 specialises in calming troubled treble waters. If you’ve got a pair of cans that can sound harsh at its top end, the EF5 will be able to smooth over any harsh bits, making them sound altogether more refined. This amp’s perfect partner is the Hifiman HE5, and in that case the effect of the amp was particularly pronounced, but the EF5 also made our noice-cancelling Goldring NS1000 sound altogether more musical, pouring some honey over the headphones’ otherwise spiky high notes.
Like any good headphone amp, the Hifiman EF5 also adds body to the sound, opening up whatever you pump into it to make everything sound that little bit more expansive. Make no mistake, this is a great headphone amp, but it’s a bit of an uncompromising beast in some respects.
For starters, Hifiman EF5 only has the one input and one output. This is very common in headphone amps, and may suit you just fine, but if you’re planning on using multiple sources you’ll need to get yourself another box to act as a switch or be willing to do some serious quick-fire cable switching.
Plus, the tube takes quite a while to warm up so it’s best to fire up the amp a while before you actually plan on using it. However, the Hifiman EF5 is a product for those that are pretty serious about what they put over their ears, so if that sounds like you, it’s probably worth the inconvenience.
