HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review
Lory Hawley | Published on 11/1/2026
For Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, Lory Hawley puts the HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade to the test. A $999 desktop unit, it combines a headphone amplifier, a DAC, and a network streamer in one plain black box. A synergy is developed with the partnership between HIFIMAN and the amplifier specialist Goldenwave when it was acquired in 2023, and again in the listening. Paired with planar headphones, Lory reports that the Serenade tames harsh glare and replaces it with warmth, weight, and the sense of music traveling through golden light. Lab measurements by longtime Secrets editor John E. Johnson, Jr. back up what the listening sessions reveal. The verdict is that this no-frills machine is a tremendous value for headphone enthusiasts.
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