HIFIMAN is best known for its line of high-end headphones, but today we’re looking at its premiere desktop sound system: the HIFIMAN Serenade. Featuring its acclaimed Himalaya PRO R2R DAC and enough power for the most demanding headphones or even full-size speakers. It’s a sound system in a desktop-sized box and has a lot to offer, but you’ll already need a great pair of headphones to make the most of it.
Specifications
- Current Price: $999 (Bloom Audio)
HIFIMAN Serenade - What Is It?
The HIFIMAN Serenade is one of the first products to come from its recent acquisition of GoldenWave, a high-end DAC and amp studio that’s well-known in the audiophile community. This product represents a collaboration with each company’s strengths on full display. It’s a powerful and relatively feature amplifier that doubles as a network streamer, completed with HIFIMAN’s HIMALAYA PRO R2R ladder DAC.
With that in mind, it’s also important to note that this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Serenade. Before the acquisition, GoldenWave sold a version of this same amplifier with an ESS Sabre DAC. It was highly regarded, as were most of the products from GoldenWave. Given that HIFIMAN’s HIMALAYA PRO DAC is also highly regarded, it makes sense that HIFIMAN would release a new version with it included.
So what exactly is it? The Serenade is a multifunctional desktop audio processor that’s about perfectly sized to slide beneath a computer monitor. It’s able to produce high-resolution audio with a surprising amount of power, fully able to drive the most demanding headphones or even full-sized speakers. Because it combines a DAC and amp in one housing, you don’t need to invest in separate components. You can simply connect your sources and listening device and get to enjoying your music and games right away.
If you’re listening at your PC, investing in a standalone DAC/amp is a smart investment and provides an instant boost to the quality of your audio. And that’s all audio, not just music. By removing the audio processing from the electrically noisy confines of your PC, you’re free of the potential for interference. A device like the Serenade is also completely designed around delivering and outstanding listening experience, so all of the components and its electrical design are centered on that one single goal. It’s an interesting thing, because you may not even notice the limitations of your onboard audio until you switch to something standalone and better, like the Serenade. When you do, going back to integrated audio is an immediately noticeable step down.
The Serenade is constructed with a sturdy metal housing that also helps it dissipate heat. On the front, there’s an XLR balanced output, a 6.35mm single-ended output, and a 4.4mm balanced headphone jack. To the right of that is an LCD display that shows your connection method and the quality of the audio it’s receiving (Spotfiy, for example, shows as “PCM 44.1” to indicate 44.1kHz audio). A large, smooth volume knob is just to the right. The face of the unit is also glossy plastic and looks quite nice.
Above this are three buttons that are its primary controls. The Input button cycles through its different sources, which include Network, Coaxial, Optical, Line-In, and USB audio. The Select button allows you to confirm choices, adjust the display’s brightness, and toggle whether the Streamer’s power supply should cycle with the unit or remain Always On, ready to receive audio. The Output button allows you to cycle between Headphones, Pre-Amp mode for speakers, or DAC mode to connect with a separate amplifier.
Around the back, you have all of the physical connectivity for sending and receiving audio separate from headphones. For speakers, you have balanced XLR connections as well as RCA ports. Another set of RCAs receive line-in audio. To the right of this, you have your coaxial and optical audio connections, as well as a USB Type-B port for connecting to your PC.
The final connection is an ethernet jack to tie into your home network. This allows the Serenade to act as a network streamer. If you have a lots of audio on a local NAS, it’s able to use that as a source too. Though I don’t have a NAS myself, this is very cool functionality that adds value if you have a big music library.
The HIMALAYA PRO DAC is an extremely capable ladder (R2R) DAC. Unlike more common (and more affordable) delta-sigma DACs, the HIMALAYA PRO uses a resistor chain to reproduce audio. While there are fans of both types, R2R DACs are highly regarded for their natural sound. The conventional wisdom with ladder DACs is that their quality is directly tied to the quality of the resistors used in the chain — which makes sense. So HIFIMAN has equipped it with top-of-the-line 0.01% precision resistors and a new FPGA algorithm to drive it. This combination, according to HIFIMAN, allows it to reach vanishingly low levels of distortion at 0.0012% at -6dB.
Sticking with facts and figures, this DAC can reproduce high-res audio but the level you’re able to achieve depends on how you’re connecting. Over USB, PCM audio can reach 32-bit/384kHz up to DSD256. Coaxial and Optical are limited to 32-bit/192kHz and DSD DoP64. The highest resolution audio is only available over the network connection, which unlocks 32-bit/768kHz and DSD512.
The amplification stage is GoldenWave’s domain. There we find a fully discrete Class-A amplifier. When connected using its balanced outputs, it’s able to drive 4,000mW into 32 ohms. When listening over single-ended, that drops to a still-respectable 2,800mW. At 300 ohms of resistance, those figures are 760mW and 510mW respectively, which is enough to drive just about any headphone you could think of. Given that HIFIMAN sells some very demanding headphones in their higher tiers, the Serenade is ready to drive its catalog with headroom to spare.
The combination makes the Serenade a performant piece of audio tech. HIFIMAN rates it as having only 0.0015% Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) at 1kHz. The signal to noise ratio is -110dB with -120dB of channel separation. Suffice it to say, you shouldn’t hear any distortion whatsoever with this unit and its black background, dynamic range, and authentic presentation promise an enhanced listening experience.
HIFIMAN Serenade - Listening and Use Impressions
With that background out of the way, let’s get into the real life use experience and what kind of sound quality you can expect from this device. I’ve been lucky enough to test it for about a month and have enjoyed my time with it. It sounds great and has a lot to offer but it shouldn’t be the go-to choice for every listener shopping in this price range.
Starting with the physical characteristics, I have to say: I love its form factor. Its low profile design naturally integrates into a desktop. My own is relatively cramped with my tower, a large monitor, lights, and streaming gear. Other amplifiers I’ve tested sometimes forced me to raise my monitor or lower my desk or just wound up looking a little strange. The Serenade really seems made for use like this.
The only exception is that you have to reach to the back of the unit to flip the power switch. It’s a small thing, but I wish it had a normal power button or could be turned on with the volume knob.
Everything on the Serenade feels robust and well made. From the buttons and their crisp tactile snap, to the smooth, notch-free volume knob, to the just-tight-enough grip of the connections. At this price, quality impressions matter a lot and the Serenade delivers.
When it comes to sound quality, it’s absolutely exceptional. I tested it with a wide range of headphones and IEMs and it opened up the sound in everything I connected it to. There’s a spaciousness to the listening experience that can only be attributed to the Serenade. Like all DACs, it doesn’t reinvent the sound of what you’re listening to but it can absolutely enhance the strengths of an already great pair of headphones or IEMs.
The sound profile is quite rich. On an already warm pair of headphones, like the Campfire Audio Cascara, the sound becomes exceptionally full-bodied. Or, on a lighter set, like the HE-1000 SE, the low-end is drawn forward and given the juice to shine. Bass texture and speed is excellent.
The mids and treble sound very natural and are quite detail rich. There’s a smoothness that I found tamed my Beyerdynamic DT-990s slightly and made them a more enjoyable listen. It bears repeating, however: these do not completely change the sound of your headphones. It smooths out brightness, increases space, and adds a layer of naturalness to the sound.
My last go-to DAC/amp was the Fiio K9 Pro ESS and it makes for a salient comparison. The K9 Pro is excellent, as is the Serenade, but both present slightly different flavors of the same thing. The K9 Pro’s THX amplifier is neutral. What you’re hearing is only the headphones and presents the classic delta-sigma amp experience. The Serenade, on the other hand, is slightly warmer, smoother, and dynamic. To a lay listener, both will sound very similar, even on the same song. But once you get used to the Serenade, you really begin to hear its musicality and enhanced spaciousness.
With that in mind, I definitely think this is a device to consider if you want a DAC/amp that adds a bit of fun to the listening experience. The K9 Pro is great for when you want an amplifier to “get out of the way” and just bring your headphones to their potential. The Serenade is there when you want a device to play an active role in the sound you’re hearing.
Like I mentioned earlier, the Serenade isn’t an instant recommendation for every listener. At $999, I really wish it supported Bluetooth. It’s also a bit disappointing that you hit a quality ceiling if you’re not streaming from your network. It’s so ready-made for use at a desk but you can’t get its full potential connecting to a computer? That’s a missed opportunity.
The other reason to look elsewhere is if you mainly listen to IEMs. Unlike the HIFIMAN EF-400 and EF-600, there are no alternate gain modes here. Because of that, it’s important to understand that this is a headphone amplifier, not an IEM amp. Since there are no lower gain modes, you’re constantly staged to its full output and sensitive IEMs can and will pick up white noise. In addition, you can really only turn the volume dial a tiny amount before it becomes too loud.
Now, I really only found this to be an issue on very sensitive IEMs. Others, like the Thieaudio Hype 2, didn’t have any issue with noise and were perfectly usable, so your mileage may vary. HIFIMAN never claimed this was intended for IEM use, but toggleable gain would definitely have been a welcome addition here.
Final Thoughts
The HIFIMAN Serenade is an interesting amplifier. I really like how it sounds, especially with a good pair of headphones. The driving power it has to offer, and the slight color provided by its DAC and amp stages, really make it an enjoyable listen. At the same time, its design quirks, wired-only connectivity, and singular gain mode, add some caveats to whether this is going to be a good fit or the best value, especially at a crowded price point. It has a lot going for it, and it leaves me excited to see what HIFIMAN and GoldenWave can produce in the future.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
