[BleaK]

I have had the NFB-10SE for 6month now, and I still like very much. No argue that there's better equipment out there, but for the price I think the NFB-10 is a steal!
 

 

[kidchunks]

It looks like they've stop selling the 10SE and 10.2. The replacement is the 10.32 with the USB-32 chip. I checked the specs and I don't see a difference between the three models other than the usb implementation. Hopefully they decide on a USB-32 DIY kit like they did with the TE8802. I've sent Kingwa an email asking if they have plans for making such a kit.
 
I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[tme110]

yea he just changed usb cards since some people were having issues with the tenor.  The DAC/AMP hasn't changed.
 

 

[buson160man]

  I have been thinking about the emotiva airmotiv5 powered speakers.But I am thinking the soundcard in my hp computer will sound inadequate on these powered speakers.I have been looking at affordably priced dac/preamp combinations and the audio-gd 10.32 seems to offer a lot of performance for its very reasonable price.I was wondering if anyone has used the nfb 10.32 as a preamp/dac to drive powered speakers. I am new to this and have no experience with computer audio other than using the supplied computer speakers that came with my computer.I think the nfb 10.32 upsamples the usb but i am not sure (excuse my greenness).I am not interested in computer audio at this time but I would like to improve my computers audio sound when I watch netflix or play dvds.I do watch a fair amount of movies on netflix and would like to greatly improve the audio experience of my desktop audio system but at a affordable price. I guess my budget would be approximately a thousand dollars for both speakers and the dac/preamp combination.Of course the nfb 10.32 is also a headphone amplifier which is another possible use with my headphones.
  Any opinoins or reviews of the nfb 10.32 particularly as a preamp/dac in a computer based sound system would be appreciated.In particular when used as a desktop system for watching movies.

 

[tme110]

the -10 makes for a nice preamp and digitial preamp.  The only downside is preference in that I personally like actual volume nobs better but most other people really enjoy the buttons (that the -10 has).  Just note that for movies, the -10, and almost every single other amp/dac on head-fi only decodes or outputs in 2 channel - so you wont be getting an improved 5.1 etc signal out of it (which doesn't look like you were looking for but just in case)

 

[buson160man]

Quote:

the -10 makes for a nice preamp and digitial preamp.  The only downside is preference in that I personally like actual volume nobs better but most other people really enjoy the buttons (that the -10 has).  Just note that for movies, the -10, and almost every single other amp/dac on head-fi only decodes or outputs in 2 channel - so you wont be getting an improved 5.1 etc signal out of it (which doesn't look like you were looking for but just in case)

You were correct I am only looking to improve the performance of my desktop audio system.I am sure the emotiva powered speakers would be a huge improvement over the throw in computer speakers I got when I bought my computer.I have a limited budget and the audio-gd offers both a dac upgrade and preamp for controlling the powered speakers.Thank you for your thread.But I was wondering how the preamp/dac sounds in general.Any observations in that department would be appreciated.I would prefer a smoother presentation in light of the nearfield listening one gets from desktop based systems.With low irratation factor for long listening sessions an important factor.But certainly not boring either.

 

[kidchunks]

I received an email from kingwa and their confirming some things on the driver before releasing a diy kit allowing tenor chip owners to purchase the upgraded chip. Looking forward to the upgrade!

 

[Currawong]

I have the original NFB-10 which I've used with the Emotiva Airmotiv 4s very successfully. The combo is a good one.

 

[spamaerie]

Quote:

Looking forward to the upgrade!

I wonder what audible upgrade there will be from the 10.2 (if any). I don't play anything over 44.1/16bit. No problems with the Tenor chip yet also.

 

[Von Soundcard]

Concerning the DAC section of this model, is it identical to the 17.2 (or 32) ? Do they sound the same as a balanced DAC ?
 
Or are there some differences, compromises due to the dual function of the 10.32 ? For example, the 10.32 page does not mention Class A sources while the 17.32 apparently has several.

 

[steve2151]

Quote:

Concerning the DAC section of this model, is it identical to the 17.2 (or 32) ? Do they sound the same as a balanced DAC ?
 
Or are there some differences, compromises due to the dual function of the 10.32 ? For example, the 10.32 page does not mention Class A sources while the 17.32 apparently has several.

 
You should email Kingwa for a response. He's pretty honest about these sorts of situations. I would guess that the NFB-10SE cannot be as heavily biased class A biased as the NFB-17/NFB-6 combo since it has to share one transformer between the dac and the amp.

 

[Von Soundcard]

Anyway, how good is the amp section on the NFB-10 ? Compared to other SS 100$ amps on the market... Little Dot I ? I have no idea what SS amps are competitive since I mostly have tube gear for headphones, but the idea is how good is the amp section on the NFB-10 for the money ?

 

[zenki14]

I have the 10.2, now discontinued but assuming the amp section should be the same as 10.32..
The headphone output is actually wonderful. Especially in balanced mode. I used to own the original NFB-12 but it is miles ahead of what that offered. Differences can be clearly heard even from the DAC output to my cheap PC speakers.
 
Both have dark background (like dead silent), very clear from top to bottom, but the NFB-10 brings out much wider soundstage. The depth of stage and punch you feel is in a different class from the $200 to $400 SS amps I've used so far like the NFB-12, Little Dot MK VII, matrix mini-i's headphone output and balanced Quattro too. Out of these the Quattro comes closest but the clarity of mid-lows is hands down to the NFB-10.2.
 
I'm an SS guy and don't have experience with tubes, but I wouldn't really believe it if somebody says the Little Dot I exceeds amps mentioned above by far.  I'm probably biased to say so but I just feel that way. Atleast for SS, the NFB-10's amp section is no contest with $100 gear. It's something to compare with $400 amps or perhaps ones that cost few hundred dollars more.
 
Kingwa mentioned in emails that the NFB-6 is more tuned to a warmer sound and the NFB-10's headphone output being more on the neutral side, but, in my opinion even the NFB-10 is slightly warm, or smooth enough for solid state. I feel this more in the single end output when I use my JH13. The extreme highs sound a bit missing (not when balanced. Highs are very good in balanced) and it has about the same bass quantity as my Headstage Arrow with bass boost +1. Mids are nice too.
 
If the new USB-32 is very good as the users say (like, on par with a DI added to the system) you can put in TCXO clocks on the 10.32 and I think you have a winner so far around the $600 area.

 

[Von Soundcard]

Thanks for the info. BTW I'm not sure if I'm reading this right: are the line preamp outputs on the 10.x the same as the DAC outputs ? That is does the volume also control the DAC outputs (RCA / XLR) ?
 
If so is there an operating mode for "pure DAC" and one for "DAC + line preamp" or are the volume and other preamp functions always present in the DAC outputs ?

 

[zenki14]

     Quote:

Thanks for the info. BTW I'm not sure if I'm reading this right: are the line preamp outputs on the 10.x the same as the DAC outputs ? That is does the volume also control the DAC outputs (RCA / XLR) ?
 
If so is there an operating mode for "pure DAC" and one for "DAC + line preamp" or are the volume and other preamp functions always present in the DAC outputs ?

 
Yes the rear RCA/XLR outputs = DAC outputs.
On the front panel you control the output mode with the second button from the left.  Choose either the HPA output only or DAC output only.  So you can't drive speakers and headphones at the same time.
 
Volume control is set to variable mode before it's shipped out.  In variable mode the volume buttons control the DAC output volume too.  You can set this to fixed mode using the jumper included.  When it's fixed, the DAC output is always max and you can't control it.  Installation is simple, or you may want to ask them to do it before shipping (I done it myself).
 
Edit: I forgot to mention.  When the jumper is set to fixed mode, it only fixes the DAC output volume, and volume control of HPA output works normally, so there's no worry to blast your headphones to death.  HPA output volume is relatively high.  I didn't ask for the low gain mod this time, but I recommend this (ask them to apply like -6dB or more before shipping) if you're going to use sensitive IEMs and headphones.  Like for my JH13 I can only handle volume 5 at most from the bottom, and about 15-20 with my T1.  I only use the low gain mode for IEMs and headphones, high gain for speakers.