[BenF]

  I have listened to NFB-10ES3 on Warsaw Audio Show in November on Shure SE215. 10ES3 is on SABRE and it was sounded very flat but naturality keeps me listening for long time.
So, I'm interesting in to purchase 11.32 for my Grado SR60i (in the future for Mad Dogs) or getting Schiit Vali + some DAC.
I'm going to listen mostly from Computer source.
I just nearly brought DYI OTL tube amp for headphones. But Grados are only 32ohms so OTL will not drive them well. DYI vacuum amps (those with warranty ofkozz have one very nice option that you can swich between tubes.
Bypassing DYI apms:
Which one will you reccomend for my preferences: NFB 11.32 or Vali + DAC???
 
Cheers
Seb

NFB 11.32 will be a better choice at this price point.
Although it does have the Sabre 9018 inside with all the amazing resolution, it does sound a bit warm, which will benefit your Grados.
 
Another great option is ODAC+FIIO E12. Same cost, but can be used on the go.

 

[roguegeek]

The 11.32 for an HD 700. It meets my budget and needs, but I don't know how they'll play together. Thoughts? Is there something else I should be looking at instead?

 

[SaLX]

Generally the rule of thumb with Audio_gd's:
 
Wolfson for neutral headphones like AKG's (even the K712).
Sabre for slightly warmer headphones like the Sennheiser HD 600, Philips X1.

 

[roguegeek]

  Generally the rule of thumb with Audio_gd's:
 
Wolfson for neutral headphones like AKG's (even the K712).
Sabre for slightly warmer headphones like the Sennheiser HD 600, Philips X1.

So you are not recommending the the 11.32 then since it is Sabre?

 

[SaLX]

Well.. that's the same question I was asking myself - therefore I got the Sabre equipped Compass 2 so that I could swap out the chips.
 
AFAIK the HD 700 got rid of the veil on the 6** series. How the 11.32 plays with the Sennhieser I would not know to be frank. The Sabre chip is not by any means horribly analytical or bass light - from what I've heard most of the changes between Wolfson and the ES9018ESS are chiefly in the treble, with the bass tightened up on the Sabre.
 
There's a good explanation of the two chips here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/631659/audio-gd-compass-2-amp-dac-impressions-thread/195

 

[roguegeek]

Gotcha. And that's another reason to possibly buy the Compass 2 then? Because of the ability to do the chip swap?

 

[BenF]

  Gotcha. And that's another reason to possibly buy the Compass 2 then? Because of the ability to do the chip swap?

Are you really going to bother with the swaps? Not to mention purchasing the extra modules?
It's 200$ more expensive than 11.32, and the extra modules can easily cost another hundred or two.
 
NFB-11.32 is actually slightly warm, thanks to its amplifier. It will work just fine with neutral headphones.
If you want to be 100% sure, better ask in the HD700 thread about this pairing.

 

[SaLX]

Actually it's another $55 + shipping if you just wanted the Wolfson module, however I do see your point BenF.

 

[rubinstein]

I received 11.32 about 7 hours ago. It took awhile to configure foobar2000 properly. I am pleased with my decision so far.

 

[jopaa200]

even without foobar, and using usb mode, this sound is awesome, I can't describe it any better. It took a while to get use to. 

 

[Francisk]

Heheh I totally understand how you feel joppa200. I felt the same way when I first received mine. Right now I'm having audio bliss with my portable CEntrance Hifi-M8 DAC/Pre. My Audio Gd NFB11.32 is for my home setup 

 

[rubinstein]

I have a problem while using VLC player to watch movies. There are unwanted noises (such as in old recordings), but the movie files sound fine when I use the E17. Even in Foobar, if I use output as ASIO: VIA DirectKS ASIO, the songs sound fine. However, if I use KS or DS, I hear the noise.
 
I would like to know, how you guys watch movies with 11.32. Is there any particular setting that I should use for VLC player?

 

[SaLX]

I have the Compass 2. VLC was stuttering with FLAC audio files.. at first I thought it was my unit, but then I did a clean install (with reg clean) of VLC and the problem went away. You could try that. Same problem with WMP?

 

[rubinstein]

I reinstalled the driver for 11.32 last night. I do not hear the noise with VLC player now. I've been using vlc player only to watch movies. Today is the second day of using 11.32. I will wait for few days and then decide to tweak vlc player installation or not. I do not use WMP at all.
 
However, I found that the problems listed in this post (http://www.head-fi.org/t/624517/audio-gd-nfb-11-32-delivery-impression-thread/480#post_9310236) are due to another software using audio GD. In my case, a VOIP software has been using it. I disabled the VOIP software to start with windows startup. Then the problem disappeared.

 

[eastpac]

A local retailer stocks the NFB 11.32/15.32 but said they don't keep many in store (they just order as people ask) as Kingwa always makes changes to the specifications. is there is list of past changes? or how often these occur/what these changes mean?