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Audio-gd NFB-10
Dec 19, 2011 at 3:52 PM Post #2,057 of 2,860
> Wow. That last post by ac500 pretty much summarizes everything.
 ​
Yep. It's a profound life philosophy so many people miss out on :D​
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:20 PM Post #2,058 of 2,860
Wow, this thread has taken a turn for the worst in the past couple of days. 
 
Good to see some dissenting opinions from leesure and brasewel. We need as many opinions as we can, good or bad. 
 
Regarding price-bias, as mentioned by leesure, it goes both ways. For every person who is biased toward the sound of the more expensive equipment to justify their purchase, you have another person who is biased toward the less-expensive equipment to confirm that they got a "bang for your buck" item. Justifying purchases goes both ways. Leesure bought one, and came in with an open mind, but it wasn't his cup of tea. It doesn't make it less enjoyable for the rest of you.
 
I actually came in here to say that I just got a used pair of HD800 over the weekend, and this amp does NOT play nice with it. I'm not sure if it's just the nature of the headphone, or its particular synergy with the -10SE, but the treble is harsh and much more sibilant than any of my other headphones (which includes the K701 and Grados). I'm going to try to plug these into a different amp (maybe some tubes), to see if it's just this particular combo, or this particular headphone. 
 
With that said, I don't find it edgy or harsh with my LCD-2r2. 
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:27 PM Post #2,059 of 2,860
> I actually came in here to say that I just got a used pair of HD800 over the weekend, and this amp does NOT play nice with it. I'm not sure if it's just the nature of the headphone, or its particular synergy with the -10SE, but the treble is harsh and much more sibilant than any of my other headphones (which includes the K701 and Grados). I'm going to try to plug these into a different amp (maybe some tubes), to see if it's just this particular combo, or this particular headphone. 

Let us know how it goes, because if you find this to hold true then this may rule out the NFB10 for me, since I'd planned it as part of an upgrade path to the HD800.
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:32 PM Post #2,060 of 2,860
Good post Questhate. I found the 10SE's pairing with the rev.2 to be very good as well. My balanced q-cable contributed to it but I didn't find the rev.2 edgy even with the less refined stock cable.
 
The lack of synergy with the HD650 is what broke the camel's back for me. Does that invalidate all the praise I've given this unit in this thread? I don't think so. I decided to look elsewhere but I'm finding it difficult to find components that will better match my preferences but also offer the same features as the 10SE at a given budget (around $1500 for a complete rig). This says a lot about the 10SE and makes me regret that I could not live with one aspect of its sound on a handful of recordings.
 
edit: brasewel, Adele sounded fine through my rev.2. She may have been sibilant when the 10SE was new but I don't think I got around to her when that was the case.
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:33 PM Post #2,061 of 2,860


Quote:
questhate said:
Wow, this thread has taken a turn for the worst in the past couple of days. 
 
Good to see some dissenting opinions from leesure and brasewel. We need as many opinions as we can, good or bad. 
 
Regarding price-bias, as mentioned by leesure, it goes both ways. For every person who is biased toward the sound of the more expensive equipment to justify their purchase, you have another person who is biased toward the less-expensive equipment to confirm that they got a "bang for your buck" item. Justifying purchases goes both ways. Leesure bought one, and came in with an open mind, but it wasn't his cup of tea. It doesn't make it less enjoyable for the rest of you.
 
I actually came in here to say that I just got a used pair of HD800 over the weekend, and this amp does NOT play nice with it. I'm not sure if it's just the nature of the headphone, or its particular synergy with the -10SE, but the treble is harsh and much more sibilant than any of my other headphones (which includes the K701 and Grados). I'm going to try to plug these into a different amp (maybe some tubes), to see if it's just this particular combo, or this particular headphone. 
 
With that said, I don't find it edgy or harsh with my LCD-2r2. 
Click to expand...


Questhate, try playing some female vocals like Linda Ronstadt or Adele with the LCD-2/NFB-10SE and let me know if you find any sibilance or edginess.
 
 
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:43 PM Post #2,062 of 2,860
I'm in the East Bay area and have my 10SE doing her burn in (now about about 50 whopping hours :)... I have 225s and HE500s on Qaudio cables balanced (and BTW, I'm quite happy with the sound right now... but I'm sure my ears are not as discerning as some others as the is basically the only gear I have or have had). Anyone nearby want a listen let me know. You're welcome to come over.
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:45 PM Post #2,063 of 2,860
Brasewel - I have both Linda and Adele and will give a listen tonight ... but... on a fairly unburned machine...
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:48 PM Post #2,064 of 2,860
 
Quote:
ac500 said:

Let us know how it goes, because if you find this to hold true then this may rule out the NFB10 for me, since I'd planned it as part of an upgrade path to the HD800.
Click to expand...

 
If you're close to SF, I live in Daly City. You're more than welcomed to come by and give this combo a listen, as well as bring your HD650s over. 
 
Quote:
olor1n said:
Good post Questhate. I found the 10SE's pairing with the rev.2 to be very good as well. My balanced q-cable contributed to it but I didn't find the rev.2 edgy even with the less refined stock cable.
 
The lack of synergy with the HD650 is what broke the camel's back for me. Does that invalidate all the praise I've given this unit in this thread? I don't think so. I decided to look elsewhere but I'm finding it difficult to find components that will better match my preferences but also offer the same features as the 10SE at a given budget (around $1500 for a complete rig). This says a lot about the 10SE and makes me regret that I could not live with one aspect of its sound on a handful of recordings.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I'm sort of in a similar position. I was looking for a set up in the same price range that plays nice with both the LCD-2r2 and HD800 just in case the 10SE didn't play nice. I'd also need something that has somewhat of a small footprint for my computer desk since I do all of my listening at my computer station. As much as I'd love a big fancy tube amp, it doesn't make any sense for me given I live in a 1BR apartment.  I'm not really finding any clear answers, though. Good thing there is a big meet here in February that I can see firsthand.
 
Quote:
brasewel said:
Questhate, try playing some female vocals like Linda Ronstadt or Adele with the LCD-2/NFB-10SE and let me know if you find any sibilance or edginess.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I'll probably do so tonight. I remember running the 10SE/LCD-2 combo through TONS of stuff and never once thought it sounded edgy. I should also note that I only had about 30-40 hours burn in on mine when I started listening, so they sounded cool to me straight out of the box. 
 
Also, it should be mentioned that 1) I'm not as experienced as most people here regarding different amp/DAC setups seeing that this is one of the very few that I've heard, and 2) I grew up using the MDR-V6, Ultrasones and Grados, so I'm not particularly sensitive to treble harshness. With that said, the fact that the HD800 treble bothers me on the -10SE really says a lot. I tried the Anaxilius mod on mine which didn't help much. 
 
 
Dec 19, 2011 at 4:58 PM Post #2,065 of 2,860
Questhate, when you find that component let me know. I'm sick of scouring all the options at my given budget and finding all of them lacking in certain aspects.
 
Kingwa, if you're reading this, please harness the magic you managed to put in the Audio-GD FUN. Take 2 of those units, duct tape them together for a balanced all in one, and encase it in a nice box that isn't so deep. I'll beta test it for you.
wink.gif

 
Dec 19, 2011 at 5:12 PM Post #2,066 of 2,860
A grossly unfair comparison based on price, but the Red Wine Audio AE balanced DAC/Amp has basically the same feature set as the 10se...3 digital ins, a pair of RCA DAC outs, high power/high current balanced HP out (no SE out)...and sounds great with both LCD-2's and HD800. 
 
Its a budget buster, but great sounding. The fact that the feature set was so similar is one of the reasons I tried the 10se in the 1st place.
 
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