[lucianpescaru]

  hey guys im thinking of ordering the nfb-11, are there currently any issues to be aware off? i saw some old posts where it said it would start making clicking noises when you change songs or pause a youtube video and stuff....also i currently have the o2odac and i like how it is transparent but i saw some people say nfb-11 is bright...would you say its still bright or transparent? 
 

The clicking noise is on DSD mode only (SACDs) and it has a switch on back to avoid that (muted delay). Mine also clicks when changing gain setting, but other than that there are no pops or stuff like that.

 

[godlyatheist]

  hey guys im thinking of ordering the nfb-11, are there currently any issues to be aware off? i saw some old posts where it said it would start making clicking noises when you change songs or pause a youtube video and stuff....also i currently have the o2odac and i like how it is transparent but i saw some people say nfb-11 is bright...would you say its still bright or transparent? 

That's only if you use the USB input, due to driver issue. I only use optical so no clicking noise or pause.

 

[Darien]

right on thanks guys, ya thats what i like about the nfb-11, how it has usb AND optical option, AND a switch for headphones AND preamp capabilities for rear speakers all in 1 unit....its like the perfect dac/amp!! im surprised its not as talked about as the schiit stack or o2odac, seems miles ahead imo. 
 
i personally also do not like how buggy usb can be, so i like the idea of getting a cheap sound card just for an optical output then using it into my nfb-11 and have my sound carried by the light of the gods!! 

 

[willowbrook]

Yep, the new ones have a switch. Should be perfect, but mind that NFB-11 is very close to neutral and may not pair well with neutral/bright/analytical headphones especially in the upper price range. It should do pretty well with headphones like HE-400i, HE-500. I tried HD600&650, pretty good pairing. Headphones like DT-880, HE-560 that I've tried is sometimes harsh to listen to. For those I recommend a warmer amp section or whole new pairing.

 

[Botudi]

is there a way to make the NFB11 play multiple sound sources from the pc and hearing them simultaneously ? I mean like running a game while in the background foobar plays music.....
 
have I misunderstood that DACs cannot cope with such scenarios ?

 

[lucianpescaru]

  is there a way to make the NFB11 play multiple sound sources from the pc and hearing them simultaneously ? I mean like running a game while in the background foobar plays music.....
 
have I misunderstood that DACs cannot cope with such scenarios ?

If you set foobar to directsound (not exclusive ASIO or WASAPI) you can play multiple sources.

 

[Botudi]

thanks for the fast reply !
and is this valid for all inputs methods ?

 

[lucianpescaru]

  thanks for the fast reply !
and is this valid for all inputs methods ?

You're using windows mixer w/directsound so yes, does not matter if you go USB or SPDIF/Optical.

 

[voldemortnbk]

  Yep, the new ones have a switch. Should be perfect, but mind that NFB-11 is very close to neutral and may not pair well with neutral/bright/analytical headphones especially in the upper price range. It should do pretty well with headphones like HE-400i, HE-500. I tried HD600&650, pretty good pairing. Headphones like DT-880, HE-560 that I've tried is sometimes harsh to listen to. For those I recommend a warmer amp section or whole new pairing.

 
How about the HD800? I'm planning to get one...

 

[Botudi]

ok, thanks again.
 
since the NFB 11 hasn't got a display is there a way to check the actual sampling rate of the playback ?
(sorry if questions are noob-ish)

 

[PurpleAngel]

  is there a way to make the NFB11 play multiple sound sources from the pc and hearing them simultaneously ? I mean like running a game while in the background foobar plays music.....
 
have I misunderstood that DACs cannot cope with such scenarios ?

 
The NFB-11 itself can only take in one digital audio signal at a time (USB or optical or coaxial).
Something (software?) would have to premix the audio (game + music), before it gets sent to the NFB-11.
 
It might be easier to game with open headphones and play music audio from a separate source, that would be connected to speakers.

 

[Botudi]

thanks for the idea !
I will try first the way Lucian has told me to do it.....and see how it goes once I get the DAC.
 
@PurpleAngel
your solution would take me at the end of the road (at least for me) in terms of a desktop hi-fi system.....which is a bit hard to do in the next several months.....due to some constraints present at this time.
Nevertheless, having been given this advice, I will give it a go at speeding things up )

 

[Darien]

  is there a way to make the NFB11 play multiple sound sources from the pc and hearing them simultaneously ? I mean like running a game while in the background foobar plays music.....
 
have I misunderstood that DACs cannot cope with such scenarios ?

PC gaming ftw! if you have nfb-11 connected via USB to computer and play music in foobar, it should play the game and the music unless you are using wasapi or something...i dont use wasapi because i feel its annoying when im switching back and forth and it makes me reload a youtube video or video game - also i cannot hear any difference whatsoever between wasapi and direct sound. i can understand it was better with older versions of windows and in theory it should be better, but using windows 10 atm and dont notice any difference so i dont use it cus its not worth the annoyance imo. 

 

[Botudi]

  PC gaming ftw! if you have nfb-11 connected via USB to computer and play music in foobar, it should play the game and the music unless you are using wasapi or something...i dont use wasapi because i feel its annoying when im switching back and forth and it makes me reload a youtube video or video game - also i cannot hear any difference whatsoever between wasapi and direct sound. i can understand it was better with older versions of windows and in theory it should be better, but using windows 10 atm and dont notice any difference so i dont use it cus its not worth the annoyance imo. 

are you using a headphones or speaker system ?
if you are willing to inform, which headphones/speakers show this similar sound results?
 
is the DAC working as intended if it's given the already mixed sound by windows ? I mean, in this scenario  did you hear any difference with or without the DAC between the pc and the headphones/speakers ?

 

[Darien]

 
are you using a headphones or speaker system ?
if you are willing to inform, which headphones/speakers show this similar sound results?
 
is the DAC working as intended if it's given the already mixed sound by windows ? I mean, in this scenario  did you hear any difference with or without the DAC between the pc and the headphones/speakers ?

I got 2 JBL studio monitors connected to the back of my o2odac  with a 3.5 to dual 1/4 cable.
 
and i plug in my headphones in the front headphone jack.
 
so what you can do with the nfb-11 is go from the rca output ont he back to 2 powered speakers with a rca to 1/4 cable, and then plug your headphones in the front, though it wont play them both speakers and headphones at the same time, though i dont see why ya would need to - i use a passive volume controller to cut off speakers when i want to use headphones, but with the nfb-11 you can just flip the switch to headphones and it will not output to rear speakers.