Originally Posted by
nigeljames 
I totally agree with people having different opinions about the same product that is why, as I mentioned in my review, that I put more weight on a number of general comments than I do on one long review by one reviewer in one system.
Maybe you should take your own advice and listen yourself to the NFB7 because, after all the reading I did regards different dac chips and their characteristics, it sounds nothing like I expected a Sabre32 chipped dac to sound like.
You don't state which dac's you own so I will assume its one of the Ref series. The Ref 7 shares many similarities to the NFB7 in design and function even Kingwa has stated that they sound similar.
Of the Sabre32 dacs you have heard, the Oppo does not really play in the same ball park as its not designed to be an top class audio player. I almost bought the WFS Dac1 some months ago but I did read that some people say thats its a bit detached and sterile which is what a non optimised Sabre32 implementation could sound like although I do think thats system dependent.
You talk about the good qualities of the 1704 chip but what about the good qualities of the Sabre32 chip. The Sabre32 chip is a more detailed and dynamic chip. All other things being equal it will also give greater percieved speed and a tighter bass.
The Sabre32 chip will appeal more to someone who favours a more vivid, exciting and dynamic sound. If thats not you then thats fine but it is me! 
As regards to hearing better, well so far I havent managed it. I could not find a CD player up to £4000 thats showed any real improvement on my Cyrus but the NFB7 clearly does.
I have heard a couple of expensive Naim cd players that use the 1704 chip. I used to own a £10000 Naim system many years ago so I generally like the Naim sound but I disliked the CD players.
I would fully expect the Ref 7.1 to sound much better than amy Naim cd player or Dac but it brings me to my point that implementation is whats important. You telling me that the NFB7 is not 'great' is basically a slur on Audio-gd and you are obviously putting ALL Sabre32 dacs in the same boat.
