[cynan]

Quote:

Edit: Just looked at the link for the USB-32 upgrade in the NFB-7. He seemed to have upgraded from the Tenor TE8802. Unlike the TE7022, the TE8802 has it's own daughterboard. For him, it was only a matter of switching boards. For me, I'll have to see if I can find a place to put the board where there wasn't one originally... hmm.

 
Quoting myself just to point out that I misread the NFB-7 USB upgrade post. The original NFB-7 did not have the TE8802 - it's too old far that. It seems like he replace an entire board, but I'm not sure what that entailed as I've never seen the inside of an NFB-7. But certainly different from upgrading to a USB-32 from a TE8802 board, is I speculated.
 
Anyway, I've gone ahead and ordered the USB-32 upgrade kit for my NFB-10WM, so we'll see how that works out. If anyone is interested, I can report on my experience with the upgrade process. Kingwa said I could just stick the new USB-32 board on top of the no longer used USB section of the DAC board. I'm thinking I'll just use some double sided tape and some insulating material in between, but I'll see if I can't come up with something better.
 
I'm really clueless as to what kind of change in SQ to expect. I did notice a slight improvement in SQ using the original Digital Interface for USB, vs the native USB that came with the NFB-10, but for most music, it was minor - a little more accuracy and separation and less congested sound. On the one hand, I've read that the WM8741 is less impacted by power topology vs, say, the Sabre or Burr Brown multibit DACs, I don't know much about it, but this might be why Audio-gd doesn't offer it in more expensive gear. Or it could just be that it is considered the inferior DAC (which I guess most do). It definitely is cheaper than the other DAC chips. On the other hand, the WM8741 lacks the native jitter correction as the Sabre DAC, so maybe a better USB implementation will make a noticeable difference? I'm not holding my breath though.
 
The USB-32 upgrade kit was $54, or $80 with shipping. Probably not "worth" the money, but hey, should be a fun little project and might even help retain some resale value for the NFB-10WM. But at the rate Audio-gd churns out model updates, there'll probably be a new "best" USB implementation out in 6 months 

 

[berndy]

Hello,
 
a clock-upgrade and class-A power supply for the Tenor 8802 L, look at
 
http://www.aktives-hoeren.de/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=2933&start=30
 
best regards from a german member
 
Bernd
 

 

[xiaobao0707]

Just received my NFB-10.32, sounds good. Just some small hiss here and there, maybe too revealing for the source.
 
The only problem is when I tried to connect it with my computer via Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard from S/PDIF output (coaxial) to the input no. 2 of NFB-10.32, there is simply no sound.
 
The USB connection works fine.
 
Has anyone encountered the same kind of problem here?
 
Thanks in advance,
Wenbin

 

[Utopia]

I don't have the NFB-10, but I do have the Essence ST and had the same issue. For me it simply turned out to be that I needed to check the SPDIF out checkbox in the Xonar control panel, which wasn't checked by default.

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

Just received my NFB-10.32, sounds good. Just some small hiss here and there, maybe too revealing for the source.
 
The only problem is when I tried to connect it with my computer via Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard from S/PDIF output (coaxial) to the input no. 2 of NFB-10.32, there is simply no sound.
 
The USB connection works fine.
 
Has anyone encountered the same kind of problem here?
 
Thanks in advance,
Wenbin

 
Quote:

I don't have the NFB-10, but I do have the Essence ST and had the same issue. For me it simply turned out to be that I needed to check the SPDIF out checkbox in the Xonar control panel, which wasn't checked by default.

 
Probably this. Give this a try in the Asus Xonar control panel box. 

 

[xiaobao0707]

Quote:

 
 
Probably this. Give this a try in the Asus Xonar control panel box. 

 


thanks very much elwappo99, I've asked Kingwa and it is just that I need to set S/PDIF as the default audio output in the control panel. Hope this may help others who may encounter the same issue as me.

 

[ungawa]

Hi there - 
 
has anyone experienced the Audio-GD NFB10.2 coming out of a MBP retina via USB?
 
The reason I ask is I just took ownership of the NFB, and found the audio slewing badly, then dropping out.
 
The Coax and Opt seem fine (and sound very good), but the primary use I intended it for was my computer based library.
 
I emailed Kingwa and got the response:
 
 
Dear Brent,
The USB32 can't support USB3.0 under mac.
Do you have connect by USB2.0?
Kingwa
 
Sorry if its been discussed already - I haven't read the whole thread, but nothing came up on a search.
 
Appreciate any thoughts on this.
 
Cheers - Brent

 

[Currawong]

I've been using the USB32 in my Master 7 from a Mac with a USB3 port with no problems. The firmware in the Master 7's USB32 is possibly different to that in the NFB 10.32 however.

 

[ungawa]

Thanks for the reply - I'm actually a step back from the 10.32 - mine is the 10.2 unmodded (i'm pretty sure). I was thinking of upgrading to the USB-32 version via a mod.. until I got his email.
 
.. its just the first time I have seen anything mentioned about USB DAC's being fussy about the USB protocol coming out of a playback unit - esp with mac's being so connection friendly.
Also, the NFB unfortunately has no display to tell me whether it is locking, etc etc ... 
 
I'm a little frustrated that all I can do is look at the unit and scratch my head... I'll try some other options of connection and see.
 
 
 
Quote:

I've been using the USB32 in my Master 7 from a Mac with a USB3 port with no problems. The firmware in the Master 7's USB32 is possibly different to that in the NFB 10.32 however.

 

[cynan]

I finally got around to installing the USB-32 module in my NFB-10WM. The whole thing was pretty painless. Just a matter of finding where to put it and how to mount it. Only required 6 solder points and cutting 5 resistors. There was the one embarrassing (and potentially catastrophic) snag of mixing up one of the wires due to confusion over the diagram Kingwa sent me, but he straightened me out right away.
 
First the mounts (lucky I work in a hospital)

 
Positioning them in the chassis...

 
USB-32 board in place (with the help of some 3M heavy-duty double-sided tape)
 
 
And the finished product.

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

I finally got around to installing the USB-32 module in my NFB-10WM. The whole thing was pretty painless. Just a matter of finding where to put it and how to mount it. Only required 6 solder points and cutting 5 resistors. There was the one embarrassing (and potentially catastrophic) snag of mixing up one of the wires due to confusion over the diagram Kingwa sent me, but he straightened me out right away.
 
First the mounts (lucky I work in a hospital)
 
 
Positioning them in the chassis...
 
 
USB-32 board in place (with the help of some 3M heavy-duty double-sided tape)
 
 
And the finished product.
 

 
 
Great work! But you didn't post anything about sound?!!?! How much did the upgrade cost from Kingwa?

 

[cynan]

Quote:

Great work! But you didn't post anything about sound?!!?! How much did the upgrade cost from Kingwa?

 
The kit came to $80, though that included $24 for DHL shipping.
 
I've only had it installed for a couple of days. But it does sound good. Kingwa sent me both firmware chips, but I've only tried the one that came installed (the one that goes with the 1.22 driver) which is supposed to be more neutral/detailed. The drivers are a bit more finicky than the Tenor USB (I'm on Windows 7), but they installed without issue and as long as I turn on the DAC before the PC, I haven't had a problem. When I've not done this, I experienced frequent dropouts the one time so far - fixed by restarting the PC. While I can't give it a proper review yet, I do think that everything sounds a bit more detailed, yet at the same time a bit more musical (which I know sounds a bit paradoxical). I think it's safe to say its an improvement over the Digital Interface version 1 -> Coax I was using, and a definite improvement over the Tenor USB implementation that it replaced. There was some talk on these forums about removing the 5V line from the USB cable. However, I did not bother to do this, but it would just be simple matter of cutting one of those white wires from the USB socket to the USB-32 module.
 
I have no idea if this is worth the hassle instead of simply ordering a DI-V3, though if you are at least moderately handy with a soldering iron, it saves you a good $100.
 
 
 If only I could find some 32-bit encoded audio tracks... 

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

 
The kit came to $80, though that included $24 for DHL shipping.
 
I've only had it installed for a couple of days. But it does sound good. Kingwa sent me both firmware chips, but I've only tried the one that came installed (the one that goes with the 1.22 driver) which is supposed to be more neutral/detailed. The drivers are a bit more finicky than the Tenor USB (I'm on Windows 7), but they installed without issue and as long as I turn on the DAC before the PC, I haven't had a problem. When I've not done this, I experienced frequent dropouts the one time so far - fixed by restarting the PC. While I can't give it a proper review yet, I do think that everything sounds a bit more detailed, yet at the same time a bit more musical (which I know sounds a bit paradoxical). I think it's safe to say its an improvement over the Digital Interface version 1 -> Coax I was using, and a definite improvement over the Tenor USB implementation that it replaced. There was some talk on these forums about removing the 5V line from the USB cable. However, I did not bother to do this, but it would just be simple matter of cutting one of those white wires from the USB socket to the USB-32 module.
 
I have no idea if this is worth the hassle instead of simply ordering a DI-V3, though if you are at least moderately handy with a soldering iron, it saves you a good $100.
 
 
 If only I could find some 32-bit encoded audio tracks... 

 
Great information. Thanks for the impressions. I think I'll try to venture off and try to upgrade my old Reference 3 with the USB 32 upgrade. Hopefully it won't be too painful! 

 

[kidchunks]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply - I'm actually a step back from the 10.32 - mine is the 10.2 unmodded (i'm pretty sure). I was thinking of upgrading to the USB-32 version via a mod.. until I got his email.
 
.. its just the first time I have seen anything mentioned about USB DAC's being fussy about the USB protocol coming out of a playback unit - esp with mac's being so connection friendly.
Also, the NFB unfortunately has no display to tell me whether it is locking, etc etc ... 
 
I'm a little frustrated that all I can do is look at the unit and scratch my head... I'll try some other options of connection and see.
 

 
I upgraded my 10.2 with the USB-32 chip and have no regrets! I had nothing but trouble with the tenor 8802 chip.
 
 
You can read about my experience here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/627565/a-gd-tenor-te8802-thread-installation-successes-problems-troubleshooting/15
 
It was easy to install the USB-32 chip. Kingwa even included an extra firmware chip. In total the upgrade was around $40 (I sent back my tenor for a discount).
 
I use a dedicated mini-itx box for my listening so it isn't a big deal if usb 3.0 isn't supported right now. However, I have a macbook pro with the usb 3.0 ports coming on Tuesday that I can test the usb-32 on. I'll let you know of my findings.

 

[ClintonL]

Hey guys, i have the nfb10se. Bit underwhelmed by it and my he400s. Wondering if i should use via usb or optical. Also what settings should i use? What filter/hi or low gain and what volume should i set it on the amp and then control it in windows at.

Cheers