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First Setup Confusion

post #1 of 15
1/9/11 at 4:11pm
Thread Starter 

Currently, I'm just listening straight out of my onboard sound and my phone.  I have the M50's,  AD700's,  and iM-590's.  I'm looking to upgrade to the next level,  whatever that is.  So I'm looking for a DAC/AMP,  separate or a combo unit.  I'm mainly looking for something future-proof,  so whenever I decide to get new cans, I'm sure I have a good source and plenty of power. 

 

My budget is ideally $200, but if $250 or whatever can get me something amazing,  I can do that. 

 

The two that I've seen lots of praise for are the Fiios E7/E9 combo,  and the Audio-GD NFB-12.  Both can be purchased right now for $200,  but I guess the NFB-12 is on promo,  so I don't know how long that offer will last.  For $190,  the Fiios deal comes with the E7, E9, L2, and a pair of Brainwavz M2's! 

 

It doesn't necessarily have to be portable,  but easily transportable. The E7 is a bonus, since I could use it with my phone/sansa player.

 

Basically I'm looking for something I can purchase, and not worry about if the SQ isn't going to be good enough,  or I can't power so and so headphone that I may purchase in the future.  I'm already going broke updating my PC so much.  biggrin.gif

 

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post #2 of 15
1/9/11 at 6:37pm

If you want something futureproof and cost effective, the NFB-12 is definitely the way to go at it's current promo price (which is still on), you'll have to wait about a month if you put in an order now though, as chinese holidays are coming up and they're a bit backed up due to the popularity of the unit.

It compares favorable to the E7/E9 on paper, since it has a better DAC (dual wolfson WM8741 chips versus a single WM8740 on the E7) and more powerful amp (double the power output of the E9), nothing else really compares at this $200 pricepoint IMO. It's also great for future-proofing because it can be used as a stand alone DAC to use a tube amp or whatever you might decide further down the road, or if you want to hook up some powered speakers as well.

If you need ONLY a headphone dac/amp and won't be connecting anything else besides headphones, you can also go for the Sparrow ver B with the WM8741 added in. It'd run you $155 + shipping. It's very similar to the NFB-12 in sound quality and power (still twice as powerful as the E9), it just has less connections and controls (ie: no gain switch).

I think the NFB-12 would be best, especially if you want to support a greater range of headphones. You'd want the gain switch for easy to drive, low impedance headphones like your M50/AD700, and 300-600Ohm headphones on the high-gain setting. Sparrow is set to a fixed +6gain I believe, while NFB-12's switch toggles between +0 and +12 gain.


Edited by Elanzer - 1/9/11 at 6:38pm
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post #3 of 15
1/9/11 at 7:11pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the reply!

 

I think the NFB-12 looks great, can't wait till people start to get reviews in.  When do you think would be the best time to order? Hope the promo is still active then.

 

Kinda big, might be hard to transport as I will be using it with my laptop as well, but I can deal with it if it sounds amazing.  biggrin.gif

 

 


Edited by bannedman3 - 1/9/11 at 7:13pm
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post #4 of 15
1/9/11 at 7:32pm

It's actually pretty small, it seems to be the same size as the Sparrow. The E7/E9 combo is going to be the same to transport more or less.

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post #5 of 15
1/9/11 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 

Oh, well in that case, awesome! biggrin.gif

 

Also, What's the sound signature of the NFB-12 like, if you know?

 

 

Thanks for the help

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post #6 of 15
1/9/11 at 9:59pm

Nobody has an NFB-12 yet, a few were shipped within the last few days so we'll find out soon. It should have a slightly warm but very detailed signature.

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post #7 of 15
1/9/11 at 10:38pm
Thread Starter 

Alright, thanks again for the help!

 

EDIT: Also,  would it be possible to hook up a DAP to it, assuming I also had a powersource nearby? 


Edited by bannedman3 - 1/10/11 at 12:09am
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post #8 of 15
1/10/11 at 1:34am

It doesn't have analog inputs, you'd need something like the FUN for that. The E9 has analog inputs, however.

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post #9 of 15
1/10/11 at 1:53am
Thread Starter 

I'm not very spec-savvy, so how does the FUN (ver. B) compare to the NFB-12 spec-wise?  The only thing I can really understand is that it has a different DAC chip,  and more inputs. 

 

I think I'm going to go with Audio-GD, unless something else pops up.  Been reading around, and it seems everyone loves them.

 

 

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks again.  atsmile.gif

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post #10 of 15
1/10/11 at 3:36am

FUN/Sparrow/NFB-12 all have the same amping capability. You can choose what DA chip you can use in the FUN, the B version can still be requested with WM8741 installed upon order, it just costs a $15 extra and it's definitely worth it.

 

It should also be noted that the FUN is a fair bit bigger than the other 2 units, with a higher shipping cost.


Edited by Elanzer - 1/10/11 at 3:47am
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post #11 of 15
1/10/11 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 

Yeah,  I found this in the FAQ section on their website. 

 

Quote:
The FUN version A, Sparrow version A and NFB12 have same level sound quality  but different functions flexible.  Fun and Sparrow can replace the modules for choice different sound flavors. The FUN can replace the OPA but the Sparrow and NFB12 without OPA, the DA chips feed to ACSS modules.

 

 I think I'm going to go with the NFB-12, I don't think I'm going to be swapping OPAs or anything, whatever that meanstongue.gif.  For only 220 shipped,  I don't think I'm gonna find a better deal anywhere. biggrin.gif  I don't think  that I would be plugging a DAP into a unit that big realistically,  I might pick up a e7 just for my DAP. 

 

Thanks!

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post #12 of 15
1/10/11 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 

Emailed Audio-GD, they said they'll ship it on Feb. 15th. 

 

Can't wait atsmile.gif

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post #13 of 15
1/10/11 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 

Also, kinda off-topic,  but I'm assuming Optical out from my soundcard>USB?

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post #14 of 15
1/10/11 at 8:33pm

Yes, Coax or TOSLink is preferred over USB.

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post #15 of 15
1/10/11 at 9:19pm
Thread Starter 

Alright, cool.

 

 

Want to thank you one more time for all the help.  Without people like you on Head-fi, I'd go crazy from confusion biggrin.gif

 

Can't wait to get my first real DAC

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