Audio-gd NFB-28 | Page 6 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

i019791 · Sep 19, 2013 at 4:33 PM

prohobo said:
It didn't say if it was for line-in or out. From the Audio-GD website....

"Setting the NFB-28 have warmer sound:
The 4 pcs jumper are pushed into the socket labeled in the red pane for setting the NFB-28 have warmer sound. (Please pull out the power cord before the cover of the chassis is taken off .)"

That to me reads as if it is for line-out (or head-phone out) - note: "have warmer sound".
I am not sure why you would want to warm the sound for the line-in, if it is just going through the DAC and then out?

Compass 2 has similar warmness jumpers and the Audio gd site mentions they are for line in
From vampire5003's post above it seems that for the NFB-28 the jumpers operate in any case, but you lose nothing to make sure

SidiousX · Sep 19, 2013 at 7:27 PM

prohobo said:
About to pull the trigger on the NFB-28 or NFB-10.33

I had been looking (and saving) for the REF 10, but situations change of course and it looked like I just couldn't pull the trigger on such a expensive piece of kit, while I also needed a new water heater and other household necessities. I couldn't tell the wife to go take cold showers, because I just bought a $2k dac/head phone amp.

I was not sure about the ES9018 DAC and for some strange reason I was leaning towards the NFB-10.33 and the WM DAC. That impression comes not from my ears (for I haven't compared the two), rather from just reading reviews and the term "warmness" that seems to be more closely aligned with the Wolfson for some reason and the word "warmness" also seems akin to that "tube" sound.

However, after reading this thread and a few reviews of the ES9018 and the fact the NFB-28 has some jumpers that CAN (if one would like) add some "warmness" to the sound, it just seemed like the right choice.

I suspect I will be very happy with the upgrade (NFB-28 or NFB-10.33) from my current set-up, which is a Emotiva XDA-1 DAC (AD1955) that had problems with volume control and other issues, plus NO headphone amp

So my questions are:

Has anyone tried the "warmness" jumpers and can they tell me what the sound difference is?
Is the only big difference between the NFB-28 and NFB-10.33 the DAC?

Thanks...

prohobo said:

So I am on the fence...

NFB 10.33 or NFB 28 - it seems that the DAC is the only difference.

The issue for me is the DAC difference. For some reason I seem more attracted to the descriptive word "warmth", which sounds to me that you are refering to more of a tube or analogue type sound and the 10.33 is the "warmer" of the two.

However, I read that the NFB-28 has some jumpers to create a more "warm" sound.

Questions:
Has anyone heard the NFB-28 with the jumpers installed?
Has anyone heard the NFB-28 vs. NFB-10.33?

I guess it is just the DAC that I need to make a decision on and then pull the trigger.

Thanks in advance...I want to order soon, cause I would like to get the price discount before I miss it.

Click to expand...

Let me share with you my decision process. To smooth yours one ofcourse. I am long years Audio-GD DAC users, till now they all are based on WM8741, but about some time ago i had planned transition into ES9018. So my 1st choice was 1.32, which has one flaw not acceptable for me. Then when 10ES2 appeared, it was nice and dandy, i have choosen it, no doubt about it. Then again few weeks after NFB-28 has appeared, my choice has been changed from 10SE2 into NFB-28 from obviosu reasons. Swiss knife aka AIO won me over for about USD100+ more. Then it was my ultimate choice and it was proceeded and finalized. Accordingly this is my final advice for you aswell . Either 10ES2, if you short of funds, or NFB-28 if you are safe in funds. Both these constructions are new project with new motherboards designed, with possible future usb upgrades in mind. The goes way of pcb, Through-Hole Technology, THT. So mass one (10.33) vs. good one, so exact choice for me. NFB-10.33 is old 10.32 pcb put into new case + upgraded volume control and that's it, no more no less. In case of money wise/quality/usabilty i advice NFB-28 for these days. Go for TCXO upgrade for sure aswell.

Prohobo · Sep 20, 2013 at 11:17 AM

sidiousx said:
Let me share with you my decision process. To smooth yours one ofcourse. I am long years Audio-GD DAC users, till now they all are based on WM8741, but about some time ago i had planned transition into ES9018. So my 1st choice was 1.32, which has one flaw not acceptable for me. Then when 10ES2 appeared, it was nice and dandy, i have choosen it, no doubt about it. Then again few weeks after NFB-28 has appeared, my choice has been changed from 10SE2 into NFB-28 from obviosu reasons. Swiss knife aka AIO won me over for about USD100+ more. Then it was my ultimate choice and it was proceeded and finalized. Accordingly this is my final advice for you aswell . Either 10ES2, if you short of funds, or NFB-28 if you are safe in funds. Both these constructions are new project with new motherboards designed, with possible future usb upgrades in mind. The goes way of pcb, Through-Hole Technology, THT. So mass one (10.33) vs. good one, so exact choice for me. NFB-10.33 is old 10.32 pcb put into new case + upgraded volume control and that's it, no more no less. In case of money wise/quality/usabilty i advice NFB-28 for these days. Go for TCXO upgrade for sure aswell.

Thank you very much.
I placed an order for the NFB-28 wit the TXCO upgrade.

Some questions:

1. Can you give me a little detail about the TCXO upgrade and what does it do?
2. Since I don't use ACSS output, should I have them replaced with a second set of RCA outputs for free?
3. Has anyone used the jumpers for "warmer" sound?
4. Anyone experience the HE-300s with this unit?
5. Anyone running this as a pre-amp - any suggestions or thoughts?

Thanks - very excited to get my hands on this.

giedrys · Sep 20, 2013 at 9:21 PM

Now that 32/384 is supported via USB, how about DSD?

kkcc · Sep 20, 2013 at 10:50 PM

giedrys said:
Now that 32/384 is supported via USB, how about DSD?

No DSD support.

Also, I meant to try the warmer jumper and give us some impression but I am liking the sound out of the NFB-28 with BOTH my LCD3 and HD800 I didn't bother to.

I should be able to get a loaner V200/V800 stack next week and will see how they compare. So far I'm VERY impressed by the NFB-28's performance (running balanced, so might not be entirely fair comparison) against other popular dac/amp I demo'ed again these past couple weeks after getting the NFB-28 including the soloist, bha1/bda1, wa7, hdvd800, bifrost/valhala. Demo in less than ideal environment, not having half day to demo, hp unit variance, personal preference etc caveats apply.

daerron · Sep 21, 2013 at 2:46 AM

Looking forward to your impressions of the V800/V200 stack. It is the other option I'm currently looking at because of the more compact form factor. I might substitute the V800 for a Concero HD.

kkcc · Sep 26, 2013 at 2:47 PM

Spent some time with the v800/v200 stacks and below was posted on the NFB-10 thread and I figure I should just copy and paste for this thread:

Been comparing the nfb28 with the v200/v800 stacks all day today.

Would suggest if picking the violectric, better pair it with their own amp/dac. Either the v200/v181 with the v800 to get the most out of it.

Very quick ranking of my personal preference of different combinations with my LCD3 (with stock single end cable to make it fair):

1) V200+V800
2) NFB28
3) V800 balanced out to NFB28 as amp
4) NFB28 as dac balanced out to V200

YMMV

Just want to add their sound signature are quite similar on the more neutral side with excellent resolution and very analytical. The V800/V200 is overall slightly more refined and musical over then NFB-28 but the difference is not really that big. For the "mixed" paring, I do not know if it is a result of NFB-28's amp section is better than the V200, or if the V800 is better than the DAC section of the NFB-28, but both mixed combo lacks the same refinement and musicality that I like from using them as a stack. FWIW the same set of balanced XLR interconnect cables were used and I make sure the L and R cables were used on the L and R channel throughout the comparison.

Bottom line is that these are just my personal preferences and I was able to enjoy both my LCD3 and HD800 with either the violectic or audio-gd offering. YMMV.

gevorg · Sep 26, 2013 at 3:31 PM

^^^ very interesting! Did you use USB input on both?

I wonder how the Violectric combo with compare against Audio-gd in balanced headphone output mode (i.e. V181/V800 vs NFB-28 or 10ES2).

With my NFB-28 setup, the balanced mode adds a slight refinement to sound, mostly to bass/mid-bass, maybe a 5% improvement in sound. Noticeable, but not a huge improvement. The difference might be bigger with more resolving headphones like T1/HD800.

tim3320070 · Sep 26, 2013 at 9:36 PM

Don't know your hours on the NFB-28 but pretty much across the board AGD amps/dacs improve with a couple of weeks of solid use, particularly in refinement and soundstage- having them warmed up is a factor too (like 15-20 minutes min.)

kkcc · Sep 26, 2013 at 10:08 PM

tim3320070 said:
Don't know your hours on the NFB-28 but pretty much across the board AGD amps/dacs improve with a couple of weeks of solid use, particularly in refinement and soundstage- having them warmed up is a factor too (like 15-20 minutes min.)

I had them for just a month now and had been running it more than 14 hrs a day (left it on over night even if not listening) but can't say I can attribute any change to running it in. I can't even say I remember how it sounded right out of the box lol!

Am really satisfied with the purchase and as a bonus noise and OI is low enough I can even run my sensitive IEMs like the tg334 or jh13pro with it.

kkcc · Sep 26, 2013 at 10:13 PM

gevorg said:
^^^ very interesting! Did you use USB input on both?

I wonder how the Violectric combo with compare against Audio-gd in balanced headphone output mode (i.e. V181/V800 vs NFB-28 or 10ES2).

With my NFB-28 setup, the balanced mode adds a slight refinement to sound, mostly to bass/mid-bass, maybe a 5% improvement in sound. Noticeable, but not a huge improvement. The difference might be bigger with more resolving headphones like T1/HD800.

Yes comparison was done with USB. I was told by the violectric owner the v800 would benefit by using the hiface instead of its own usb port.

customNuts · Sep 27, 2013 at 5:25 AM

kkcc said:
Spent some time with the v800/v200 stacks and below was posted on the NFB-10 thread and I figure I should just copy and paste for this thread:

Just want to add their sound signature are quite similar on the more neutral side with excellent resolution and very analytical. The V800/V200 is overall slightly more refined and musical over then NFB-28 but the difference is not really that big. For the "mixed" paring, I do not know if it is a result of NFB-28's amp section is better than the V200, or if the V800 is better than the DAC section of the NFB-28, but both mixed combo lacks the same refinement and musicality that I like from using them as a stack. FWIW the same set of balanced XLR interconnect cables were used and I make sure the L and R cables were used on the L and R channel throughout the comparison.

Bottom line is that these are just my personal preferences and I was able to enjoy both my LCD3 and HD800 with either the violectic or audio-gd offering. YMMV.

I think a fair comparison would be to use each component to it's full capability - as it's intended. For example, if the nfb-28 sounds better balanced than the violetric does single ended - then it's the better sounding unit. Its hard to say one unit sounds better than another when it's not being used to full potential. Who knows, maybe the violetric does & if so it's a testament to it's single ended implementation (well the amp anyway).
Where you able to test the 28 balanced to find out the true winner? Its fantastic you have them both there - I'm sure lots of people would like to know?

kkcc · Sep 27, 2013 at 6:48 AM

customnuts said:
I think a fair comparison would be to use each component to it's full capability - as it's intended. For example, if the nfb-28 sounds better balanced than the violetric does single ended - then it's the better sounding unit. Its hard to say one unit sounds better than another when it's not being used to full potential. Who knows, maybe the violetric does & if so it's a testament to it's single ended implementation (well the amp anyway).
Where you able to test the 28 balanced to find out the true winner? Its fantastic you have them both there - I'm sure lots of people would like to know?

I still like the v800/v200 over NFB28 balanced. Thing is even with SE the NFB28 has more than enough power to decently drive either the LCD3 or the HD800. Moving to balanced cable has some slight improvement but I cannot be sure if the improvement is from the balancing or from the "better" wires in the Norse Reign24 Balanced cable. I don't have the SE version nor a 4pin XLR to 6.35 in hand to use this for the Violectric. But the improvement is not that significant to change my personal ranking. As a matter of fact the Violectric stack is also NOT materially better, and their sound sig is very similar. It is just a tad more refined and musical.

Of course, when taking into account the relative price of these combo, I would take the NFB28.

daerron · Sep 27, 2013 at 7:59 AM

Yep, agreed, looks like the NFB-28 offers tremendous value for the money. I was interested in the V200/V800 combination but it is substantially pricier compared to the NFB-28. Once I get my balanced cable I will definitely be looking at this unit.

Prohobo · Sep 27, 2013 at 10:38 AM

prohobo said:
Thank you very much.
I placed an order for the NFB-28 wit the TXCO upgrade.

Some questions:

1. Can you give me a little detail about the TCXO upgrade and what does it do?
2. Since I don't use ACSS output, should I have them replaced with a second set of RCA outputs for free?
3. Has anyone used the jumpers for "warmer" sound?
4. Anyone experience the HE-300s with this unit?
5. Anyone running this as a pre-amp - any suggestions or thoughts?

Thanks - very excited to get my hands on this.

After emailing back-n-forth with Kingwa, I went with the NFB-10.33 over the NFB-28. While I have heard the WM in the past and enjoyed it, I never heard the ES.
There was also the price difference (which I am on a budget). Add in the fact that I didn't need the analog input stage, but I am running it as a balanced pre-amp out to dual active cross over-amps, the 10.33 had the dual XLR output stage.

I know many of you are fans of the ES dac over the WM, but I think I made the right choice. Perhaps when I get some more money I will get an ES dac as well. Would be nice if the NFB-28/10.33 configuration had a swap-able dac like the Compass.

Thanks again for everyone's help and input.

Regards...

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