Audio-gd NFB-5, 9 switchable filters - Page 7

Anymore impression? Nobody else to share their experience with the NFB-5?

Apparently mine are being shipped or was shipped today.  But Sai said that they needed an upgrade for the shipping tracking number.  What is that?...I have no clue so I emailed them asking what they meant by that and... I'm waiting on a response.  

How long did it take from the order to receive the NFB-5?

In the quote I request from Kingwa he told me it can take up to 30 days with EMS and 7-10 days with DHL but the chance of getting extra fees' like custom & taxes higher with DHL for Canada shipping.

Kingwa told me that it was only going to take a week to put together and than about a week to send out.  They went over a week because they said my sun OPA was out of stock and they needed to make more and today would be the shipping day.  

I don't know how you can be patient without a tracking number.  I'd get irritated not having a clue if it was shipped or not.  I told them to send through DHL and I received my He-300 through DHL and got a shipping number.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawaiiancerveza 

Kingwa told me that it was only going to take a week to put together and than about a week to send out.  They went over a week because they said my sun OPA was out of stock and they needed to make more and today would be the shipping day.  

 

I don't know how you can be patient without a tracking number.  I'd get irritated not having a clue if it was shipped or not.  I told them to send through DHL and I received my He-300 through DHL and got a shipping number.  

Patience is a lost virtue (it would seem). Don't worry about shipping times with this stuff...it'll be in your hands rather quickly considering the distance traveled. I've had gear show up 3 days later in central Canada (with tracking numbers still not registering in the DHL system and yet there the package was..at the front door). Other times I've had some longish waits (3 weeks for one unit which was shipped EMS). On average though my wait times are anywhere from 3-7 business days once A-gd has confirmed shipment of my orders. This experience is pretty much par for the course for any gear ordered from China (like Little Dot ). The tracking numbers are sent 1-2 days after the courier picks the gear up. There are usually middlemen when it comes to pick ups then delivery to the main couriers hub...these middlemen can be really efficient or really incompetent, sometimes both....most of the time there are no problems. A lot of delays aren't any fault of the courier or the manufacturer at all...Customs can throw a monkey wrench into the works at any time. They often cause considerable delay in some countries, even damage the gear on purpose (in some cases)...thankfully that is a rare event.

Peete.

Ya this is my third product I have ordered from china and this is taking the longest.  I guess I just need to get used to this.  I am excited for it though.  I'm selling off my gear to get the LCD's if my wife permits me....

Also... I'd like to know...what does mid-fi mean and is this product a mid-fi?  I see mid-fi and hi-fi thrown around and I'm just assuming it refers to the cost of something?  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete 

Patience is a lost virtue (it would seem). Don't worry about shipping times with this stuff...it'll be in your hands rather quickly considering the distance traveled. I've had gear show up 3 days later in central Canada (with tracking numbers still not registering in the DHL system and yet there the package was..at the front door). Other times I've had some longish waits (3 weeks for one unit which was shipped EMS). On average though my wait times are anywhere from 3-7 business days once A-gd has confirmed shipment of my orders. This experience is pretty much par for the course for any gear ordered from China (like Little Dot ). The tracking numbers are sent 1-2 days after the courier picks the gear up. There are usually middlemen when it comes to pick ups then delivery to the main couriers hub...these middlemen can be really efficient or really incompetent, sometimes both....most of the time there are no problems. A lot of delays aren't any fault of the courier or the manufacturer at all...Customs can throw a monkey wrench into the works at any time. They often cause considerable delay in some countries, even damage the gear on purpose (in some cases)...thankfully that is a rare event.

 

Peete.

 

Also... I'd like to know...what does mid-fi mean and is this product a mid-fi?  I see mid-fi and hi-fi thrown around and I'm just assuming it refers to the cost of something?  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  

Interestingly, if you compare the signal-to-noise ratio with the well-known Benchmark DAC-1, it is better. Considering there are people here who choose their gear based on the manufacturer's specs alone (crazy IMO) it could be considered hi-fidelity. Realistically, the Fun, which the NFB-5 is based on, drove the LCD-2s well and was good to listen with but when I switched to my main amp, the soundstage expanded and all the instruments were much clearer. So, going by past experience, since the NFB-5 appears to be a more refined Fun, I'd bet on it giving a result that was fairly in the middle between cheap headphone amps and high-end ones, with enough drive but not as much detail.

That comment does not give me great confidence in the NFB-5. I just sold my Nuforce HDP (That had great detail) and was looking at the Audio GD offering but I would not accept less detail.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

Interestingly, if you compare the signal-to-noise ratio with the well-known Benchmark DAC-1, it is better. Considering there are people here who choose their gear based on the manufacturer's specs alone (crazy IMO) it could be considered hi-fidelity. Realistically, the Fun, which the NFB-5 is based on, drove the LCD-2s well and was good to listen with but when I switched to my main amp, the soundstage expanded and all the instruments were much clearer. So, going by past experience, since the NFB-5 appears to be a more refined Fun, I'd bet on it giving a result that was fairly in the middle between cheap headphone amps and high-end ones, with enough drive but not as much detail.

And thats where the opa's would step in I'm assuming such as the moon and sun opa.  
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

Interestingly, if you compare the signal-to-noise ratio with the well-known Benchmark DAC-1, it is better. Considering there are people here who choose their gear based on the manufacturer's specs alone (crazy IMO) it could be considered hi-fidelity. Realistically, the Fun, which the NFB-5 is based on, drove the LCD-2s well and was good to listen with but when I switched to my main amp, the soundstage expanded and all the instruments were much clearer. So, going by past experience, since the NFB-5 appears to be a more refined Fun, I'd bet on it giving a result that was fairly in the middle between cheap headphone amps and high-end ones, with enough drive but not as much detail.

Just for the records I was waiting for more positive opinions but today I decided to invest a bit more and spring for the Centrance DACmini . I guest I will have to wait before trying some Audio GD products.   Next time ...maybe.

Thats why I went for the DIR9001 for more neutral sound and the Moon OPA (Sounds a bit tube-like, that is, a little soft, warm and musical) and Sun OPA (Sound a bit dynamic).  I like detail but for this price I'll take a shot.  

Do the cap mod on the HDAM if you want to take them to a whole new level, only requires basic soldering skills.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawaiiancerveza 

Thats why I went for the DIR9001 for more neutral sound and the Moon OPA (Sounds a bit tube-like, that is, a little soft, warm and musical) and Sun OPA (Sound a bit dynamic).  I like detail but for this price I'll take a shot.