[sang]

Not worth buying gear that you constantly have to mess with to make it work properly, IMO After a while you end up not using it because it frustrates you and this hobby is about pleasure and not pain! Customers should expect gear that works flawlessly from a supplier, we aren't, or shouldn't be, their R&D department. Personally, I don't care how good it sounds, if it doesn't work flawlessly, I will send it back and find a piece of gear that does work without hiccups. Just my 2c.

 

Eh considering the superb price to performance ratio, and that the only nuisance is the usb input, I'd take the trade. Just don't use USB if you run into any problems with the driver and problem solved.

 

[cel4145]

Using USB input for NFB-11 was a headache from the start. Biggest issue's the hiccups and stuttering in the sound fairly frequently.

To me, that sounds like something else in your system is interfering with the driver.

 

[Douglaster]

If your USB is giving you pops or stuttering, ITS THE USB CABLE.
 
Use another cable, preferably the one that came with it.
 
DONT USE CABLE EXTENSIONS !!! DONT USE A LONGER CABLE THAN THE ONE SUPPLIED.
 
As the usb cable isnt connected to the 5v feed, the signal will degrade and cause pops/stuttering.
 
If you really need to use the unit too far away from the host pc, use an ACTIVE USB HUB (energized)
 
----
 
 
The software part is really bad at this point. The BSDeck on my pc detected the NFB-11 as a SPDIF only interface 

 !
 
But i really dont need the Deck anyway. Just set the Adapter (in the windows audio properties) to 32bit 192khz and you´re 95% done.
 
Dont use 384khz, as KingWa himself said, the support for this is only in Foobar and other compatible media players (i use AIMP and works great).
 
If you need to use ASIO (foobar etc) then you need to install the ASIO driver and thats that !
 
 
On the bright side, the sound quality is stellar and rivals many other high end products that cost much, much more.

 

[sang]

It's not "traditional pops/stutterings." Kind of hard to explain but when it starts happening music's eventually distorted to the point that it's not possible to listen until it's reset. And the distortion's there till it's reset. Maybe there could be some interference with drivers, but I didn't have any similar issues with my last USB DAC. I used the supplied USB cable but my power plug's connected to an outlet with like 8 other plugs.
 
Optical works fine anyway, so not really concerned for now

 

[wmedrz]

For what it's worth the only problems I've experienced so far were user error. Had it playing for over 8 hrs straight the other day and it's sound better all the time. Now if only I could find more of my favorite music in DSD. 
 
The problems I ran into were the loud popping noises when switching between tracks but that was resolved with a few foobar tweaks, I wasn't able to listen to anything online or skype but that was again fixed with a few tweaks to sound card and turning off other audio apps running on my computer, and I have to reinstall the drivers anytime I unplug the USB from my computer (but not the USB from NFB 11) but that's a given. 
 
And like Douglaster after reaching out to Audio gd regarding the TCXO upgrades was informed I had TCXO but also the 35w transformer upgrade! On top of that Audio gd refunded me the paypal transaction fee for whatever reason. Very pleased with Audio gd. After NFB 11 and HiFiMAN headphones I think of "made in China" in a much different way now than the pejorative way people look at it I know people put down HiFiMAN due to quality control and such but wow I think their headphones are rock solid. 
 
On a different note can someone tell me what these are? Grace from Audio gd simply told me the are "for the future" replacements? 
 

 

[FangJoker]

So the 2014 versions have USB problems?

 

[Saraugie]

  So the 2014 versions have USB problems?

WINDOWS and has been a problem for a long time I think. I bought mine in Feb 2013 and have had no problems with my MAC.

 

[JoeDoe]

WINDOWS and has been a problem for a long time I think. I bought mine in Feb 2013 and have had no problems with my MAC.

Boom.

 

[kvtaco17]

No issues here... On windows 7

 

[conquerator2]

For what it's worth the only problems I've experienced so far were user error. Had it playing for over 8 hrs straight the other day and it's sound better all the time. Now if only I could find more of my favorite music in DSD. 

The problems I ran into were the loud popping noises when switching between tracks but that was resolved with a few foobar tweaks, I wasn't able to listen to anything online or skype but that was again fixed with a few tweaks to sound card and turning off other audio apps running on my computer, and I have to reinstall the drivers anytime I unplug the USB from my computer (but not the USB from NFB 11) but that's a given. 

And like Douglaster after reaching out to Audio gd regarding the TCXO upgrades was informed I had TCXO but also the 35w transformer upgrade! On top of that Audio gd refunded me the paypal transaction fee for whatever reason. Very pleased with Audio gd. After NFB 11 and HiFiMAN headphones I think of "made in China" in a much different way now than the pejorative way people look at it I know people put down HiFiMAN due to quality control and such but wow I think their headphones are rock solid. 

On a different note can someone tell me what these are? Grace from Audio gd simply told me the are "for the future" replacements? 

That's a firmware chip.
I guess it's in case of shattering the one that's inside.

 

[FangJoker]

No issues here... On windows 7

 
Maybe I'll be ok.  But I'd hate ordering one and encountering problems as they are located overseas and even if they have a good return policy, it would cost an arm and a leg to ship back.   How is their return policy for those with issues?  This thing has the chip I want, the perfect size for my desk, and price is great.  I was looking at the  yulong d200, but it's wide and not narrow which is not what I want and the reason for selling my schiit bifrost uber and valhalla in the first place.  
 
I would also use this with jriver software.  I hope that it works fine with it. 
 
I live in vegas,  but don't like gambling on equipment.   Right now this is demoted to "maybe, but probably not" status.  
 
I'm also wondering the difference between this and the Compass-2.

 

[kingofzero]

I've been using optical with this thing since I bought it, I've had issues with USB on other devices before so I didn't want to waste my time with it.

Are there any major advantages to USB over optical?

 

[wmedrz]

I've been using optical with this thing since I bought it, I've had issues with USB on other devices before so I didn't want to waste my time with it.

Are there any major advantages to USB over optical?

Support Sampling

USB model: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz , 192kHz, 352.8kHz,384kHz  Coaxial model: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz ,192kHz  Optical model: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz

 
http://audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB112014/NFB112014EN_Specs.htm

 

[jaysins]

I wish they would post more detailed specs of their devices. Oh well. 

 

[Kamakahah]

Windows USB drivers can have issues depending on your system. DPC latency can also add to the problem. There are some fixes one can try, but results vary. Optical usually solves the issue at the loss of functionality.