[Darien]

cus im thinking of getting the nfb-11 cus it looks well built, but i love the sound of my o2odac, so im hoping the nfb-11 will sound excatly like the o2odac....anyone know how the sound of the nfb-11 compares to o2odac? are they both neutral/transparent or is the nfb-11 more bright? id like the nfb-11 cus it looks super LEET and i like how it has coaxial, optical and usb input and fixed and variable outputs along with headphones <3 seems like the perfect dac/amp imo, but i want to be sure before i spend that much money from a company on the other side of the planet!! also dat aluminum volume knob <3 

 

[willowbrook]

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

Wouldn't recommend it. Haven't personally tried, but having seen impression even with other warmer amps, NFB-11 is probably not ideal.

 

[Botudi]

But when it's fed the already mixed sound by windows, does the dac do anything more to it? Do you still benefit from having an external dac in any way ? Or it's just there to drive the headphones or pass it through to the speakers?

 

[voldemortnbk]

  Wouldn't recommend it. Haven't personally tried, but having seen impression even with other warmer amps, NFB-11 is probably not ideal.

 
Thank you. Maybe i have to find another way.

 

[Botudi]

Wouldn't recommend it. Haven't personally tried, but having seen impression even with other warmer amps, NFB-11 is probably not ideal.

So would you say the safest bet, on a budget, would be the hd650 for the nfb11 ?

Would it be a big step up and a very noticeable difference from the hd555 ? (no way to compare in real life unfortunately)

 

[Darien]

So would you say the safest bet, on a budget, would be the hd650 for the nfb11 ?

Would it be a big step up and a very noticeable difference from the hd555 ? (no way to compare in real life unfortunately)

yeah, the hd650 is light years ahead of the 555 lol, many consider it the one of greatest set of cans of all time. I'm ordering the nfb-11 now so i cant comment on how it sounds as i haven't heard it yet, but theoretically it should sound just like the o2odac - neutral, transparent, and clean - which pairs perfectly with the slightly warm hd650. Don't buy into all the BS marketing from companies like schiit. Check out Z's video on youtube where he calls out the "multibit processing" bifrost - and mathematically it should be awesome - but it's no different from an odac as far as the human ear can hear. (sorry i just really hate schiit cus their products feel so cheap, overpriced and unfinished, and when you open them up its just basic circuit board in a shiny box with no cables set at a high price with the illusion that you are getting a bargain! but the audiogd products definitely scream quality imo.)
 
If you hop in the hd650 thread, you can see the eternal battle between people who realize that after you get to a certain level with dac/amps (around 300$) if its transparent and clean (the definition of hifi (fidelity) you wont hear any difference - but lot of people just want to show off their tube amps which distort the sound to make it sound warmer, which is cool if you are into that, but lot of people carry a snobby attitude with it too.  but i think the nfb-11 is reasonably priced, has good power with a clean dac, and coaxial and optical inputs with an output switch, i feel like its the best dac/amp atm because i dont see any other dac/amp that is out right now that has its own power and a switch for fixed, variable and headphone output- WITH coaxial input, and optical, and usb, hand crafted and sold factory direct - this is literally the most versatile dac/amp out right now!! 
 
also don't confused detailed for sharp/harsh.... thing is lot of headphones that are treble heavy and are heavily detailed feel sharp and painful to listen to, but thats just how it is - some people like that, but in general a warmer sound is more euphonious to the human ear which is why people opt for tube amps, but i found the hd700 and hd800 unpleasant so i really love the hd650s, neutral with just a slight bit of pleasurable warmth with a huge sound stage, paired with a clean transparent dac....brb i need to change my underwear.

 

[Botudi]

well as an idea I like neutral or better said as the creator intended
that's why I went for the nfb11
but nothing in high dosage is good so that's why I tend to think that a tiny bit of warmth, like the hd650 it's supposed to have, would make the dac shine.
 
not being able to test them out while being stuck with my present 555s makes it a bit hard to pull the trigger .....more so since I have discovered over the years that many things that are overly stated, especially in very specialised fields, are only about 10% real life true after a certain level

 

[Darien]

  well as an idea I like neutral or better said as the creator intended
that's why I went for the nfb11
but nothing in high dosage is good so that's why I tend to think that a tiny bit of warmth, like the hd650 it's supposed to have, would make the dac shine.
 
not being able to test them out while being stuck with my present 555s makes it a bit hard to pull the trigger .....more so since I have discovered over the years that many things that are overly stated, especially in very specialised fields, are only about 10% real life true after a certain level

yeah i agree 100%. In the end, if you go with o2odac, schiit modi2/magni2 stack, or the nfb-11 - they sound  all sound the same more or less, but i feel like the nfb-11 is the most well built and has the best features - the preout volume control for my powered monitors alone make it amazing to me. 

 

[Botudi]

for a desktop system I don't think you need anything more than a dac, amp and decent pair of speakers  to have a decent sound at moderate volume levels...........also you are a bit worry free in terms of another big debate (balanced/unbalanced) as the "smallness'' of such a system helps a lot  
 
can't see how any headphones can beat decent full size speakers
of course there are situations when the headphones come in handy.....and as such being decently equipped here as well it's a good thing
 
being already overboard (pushed in part by PurpleAngel's idea) I might go all the way and add a pair of headphones as well, but I just want to be sure that it's an upgrade not just on paper......so a good match for the nfb11 would be aces. Too bad I cannot test until it's somehow too late

 

[willowbrook]

  yeah, the hd650 is light years ahead of the 555 lol, many consider it the one of greatest set of cans of all time. I'm ordering the nfb-11 now so i cant comment on how it sounds as i haven't heard it yet, but theoretically it should sound just like the o2odac - neutral, transparent, and clean - which pairs perfectly with the slightly warm hd650. Don't buy into all the BS marketing from companies like schiit. Check out Z's video on youtube where he calls out the "multibit processing" bifrost - and mathematically it should be awesome - but it's no different from an odac as far as the human ear can hear. (sorry i just really hate schiit cus their products feel so cheap, overpriced and unfinished, and when you open them up its just basic circuit board in a shiny box with no cables set at a high price with the illusion that you are getting a bargain! but the audiogd products definitely scream quality imo.)
 
If you hop in the hd650 thread, you can see the eternal battle between people who realize that after you get to a certain level with dac/amps (around 300$) if its transparent and clean (the definition of hifi (fidelity) you wont hear any difference - but lot of people just want to show off their tube amps which distort the sound to make it sound warmer, which is cool if you are into that, but lot of people carry a snobby attitude with it too.  but i think the nfb-11 is reasonably priced, has good power with a clean dac, and coaxial and optical inputs with an output switch, i feel like its the best dac/amp atm because i dont see any other dac/amp that is out right now that has its own power and a switch for fixed, variable and headphone output- WITH coaxial input, and optical, and usb, hand crafted and sold factory direct - this is literally the most versatile dac/amp out right now!! 
 
also don't confused detailed for sharp/harsh.... thing is lot of headphones that are treble heavy and are heavily detailed feel sharp and painful to listen to, but thats just how it is - some people like that, but in general a warmer sound is more euphonious to the human ear which is why people opt for tube amps, but i found the hd700 and hd800 unpleasant so i really love the hd650s, neutral with just a slight bit of pleasurable warmth with a huge sound stage, paired with a clean transparent dac....brb i need to change my underwear.

I personally wouldn't trust z review on everything especially when he bases conclusions on high end headphones without even trying to match it. That's just not how it works when you go above a certain level and most of them in the price range have fantastic detail and extension which will certainly make some recordings sound too bright, lean, sibilant etc. Hence the reason for people rolling amps, tubes, op-amps and what not to match their own tonality preference. It is really interesting to hear the differences in tonality by swapping certain parts.
 
Had the HD650 w/ NFB-11, sounded very special. I felt like I was experiencing the exact same things as other people's impressions, so that was really interesting. A lot of people called HD650 as being veiled, but I think the new revision and the NFB-11 match made it just the right amount of brightness for me. The laid back signature was really something. I saw tremendous amount of people keeping their HD650 and spending more on matching. IMO was just not worth it as there are a lot of headphones to be had for better technicality in terms of resolution, extension, and openness. I think it's one of those headphones that a lot of people go by during the audiophile journey.

 

[Botudi]

will be hard to decide only by reading which is my only option
 
hearing from people that had or have the combo is very helpful
 
thank you

 

[zentg]

  I think it's one of those headphones that a lot of people go by during the audiophile journey.

 
Actually the 650s are headphones that people buy, then always come back to, even after trying planars and electrostatics. 

 

[willowbrook]

   
Actually the 650s are headphones that people buy, then always come back to, even after trying planars and electrostatics. 

Well you can always keep it with other headphones ^^ I'd love to hear it right now as always.

 

[Darien]

cant wait to get my nfb-11, i been wanting a dac/amp that has a good bit of size and weight to it, so it doesn't slide across my desk with my headphones cable (i like to keep my headphones plugged in) i got the rubber feet on the o2odac and it still slides around cus its so small, but hoping the nfb-11 will be a lot bigger and meaner and be like "look here headphone cable, u dont pull me -  i pull you!" 

 

[Botudi]

  cant wait to get my nfb-11, i been wanting a dac/amp that has a good bit of size and weight to it, so it doesn't slide across my desk with my headphones cable (i like to keep my headphones plugged in) i got the rubber feet on the o2odac and it still slides around cus its so small, but hoping the nfb-11 will be a lot bigger and meaner and be like "look here headphone cable, u dont pull me -  i pull you!" 

​sorry if I didn't get it by now and I should have, but do you own also the 650s ?
what's the eta on your nfb11 ?