My NFB-11 hasn't worked via USB since Windows 10 auto-applied the Anniversary update. I haven't felt like messing with it to get it working again, so I've just been using it via optical connection to my soundcard.

  I was definitely tempted by the 503 as I am not really interested in modding and I've heard the 503 is a nice upgrade from the 501, but I was able to get the UD-501 in silver to match my HA-501 for about half the price of the UD-503 in black. The UD-503 in silver is outrageously overpriced at...

Just paired this with the UD-501, and it sounds amazing! I tried the HA-501 with a Schiit Modi 2 Uber initially, thinking I could save some money on the DAC, but the UD-501 just completely blows it away, hands down. Hope everyone else is enjoying their setups as much as I am!      (Using Senn...

  Yes that's what it's supposed to look like with the new drivers installed. That's how mine appears and I'm connected via USB. All is well.   Also, I think this is specified as normal somewhere on the Audio-GD website.

Who knows, could be total placebo. I hate skimping though, so I went ahead and got them. I know it would have bothered me not to have upgraded them, knowing that there was a potentially "better" version of the device I bought. Silly but psychologically significant in my case.

You can cut either one of those wires to bypass the relay, you don't have to cut both. They were different colors in my unit than what you see in the picture. They are situated very close to the front panel and in my unit there was a sticky pad resting on top which made it more difficult to...

  As mentioned already, I think it is important to take note of the article's publication date. Additionally, it might be worth taking the context into consideration. That article was written by someone highly talented in electrical engineering who has been working with extremely high-end...

  Ah well that explains why all the Ebay sellers located in China have delivery estimates starting March 3 at the earliest to as far out as April. I was like What

  SPDIF still allows for the sound card to apply DSP effects, but in no way colors the sound, as all analog conversion duties are still handed off to the DAC in the NFB

Omg after all the back and forth I had with Kingwa trying to get them to swap my NFB 11 for the new model with switch, I can't believe I spaced on that. I guess after I gave up and just cut the wire, all memory of my efforts to get the new model was wiped clean... lol Based on my own...

Yes but you do pay a hefty premium for the DSD support, and then you either have to perpetually put up with that annoying mute delay or else cut a wire inside and then DSD tracks have a reasonably loud popping sound when they start playing back and every time you change or skip around in DSD...

I've heard a lot of people prefer the NFB-15 for the HD 600 heaphones.

My smartphone case has a very small opening for headphones to plug in to. I want to use a pair of Senn HD 555's with it, but the included 1/4" to 1/8" adapter is quite bulky and doesn't taper off anywhere near as much as needed in order to fit into the opening. Is there a different adapter I can...

  Those look interesting, however they are about $150 more than I paid for the HD 650's that are currently my favorite pair from among the headphones I've tested so far. Also, I prefer cloth ear pads over leather, so there'd be the additional expense of replacing the ear pads. It would be nice...

Quote:   Yeah that was the other thing, the physical comfort aspect. The DT880 ear cups didn't really bother me, I have small ears, and it was nice how lightweight the set feels, however, despite being considerably lighter overall than the HD 650's, I found the way the headband rests on my...

Wire is cut, problems solved. DSD "pop" isn't so bad really, and easy enough to diminish by a simple touch of the volume knob when starting playback or seeking. Doesn't pop when transitioning between sequential tracks. Certainly not worth completely wrecking the USB output with a dumbass...

What gain setting is everyone using and what's your reason for choosing high or low? I was using high with a pair of Senn HD 650, but I was getting annoyed at not being able to turn the dial past 10 o' clock, so I tried switching to low to see what kind of volume play that would allow. I figured...

I have an email conversation with Audio-GD customer service asking the same question that reached about 30 replies back and forth before I gave up, and the ultimate outcome was that they definitely weren't willing to do a simple exchange. They were willing to accept a return but I've received...

  Well damn, I guess I'll just go ahead and cut that **** and stop getting worked up about it. Probably just use via KS audio and do DSD->PCM conversion to avoid ever hearing any pops etc. It's not like I play many DSD files anyways.    Thanks for taking the plunge and cutting the wire and...

So cutting the wire totally resolved the problems you were having?   Have you tried DSD audio yet? Cutting the wire isn't supposed to disable DSD playback, but supposedly the mute is implemented to avoid a loud "popping" sound when first starting DSD playback and I'm curious just how bad/loud...

  It's not the drivers that I take issue with. I knew about the possible instability etc of the drivers ahead of time. The thing I take issue with is the undocumented design flaw that renders the NFB-11 as a system audio device pretty much useless (via USB). Audio-GD was fully aware of this...

  I was using the USB for a little bit just to test it out with the new driver, and I occasionally heard some bizarre fuzz feedback, almost sounded like RFI or something. I was using foo_dsd_asio output with the driver set to 64-bit mode.

  Your motherboard has a Coaxial SPDIF header? I haven't seen that very often. Mine only has Optical.   Also, I've heard it both ways regarding asio4all vs WASAPI with some preferring ASIO and some preferring WASAPI. Anyways, I don't think you can do ASIO via optical, can you?

  Yeah I suppose that is the best compromise without shelling out a bunch of money for shipping and everything. However, it seems to me like the USB output is a hint cleaner, less background noise. Could be my mind playing tricks on me though. Also, would be nice to be able to have mixed...

Damnit I want the switch from the 2015 model