[kite7]

Seriously, I need to stay off this site. It does everything I want it to do and more. Headphone and line out switch is very important to me. Time to think it over during my sleep but $260, geez and I just bought a dac/amp not too long ago.

 

[shadowlord]

I like the sound of the dual wolfsons (8740) in my cambridge audio cd-player.
i think the nfb-11 will be a decent priced option to try out the sabre dac chip.
 
Quote:

Only one wm8741. I wouldn't be put off by the back power switch myself... hardly takes any time to reach around to the power switch. Maybe a more important consideration is whether you like the wm8741 or es9018 sound signature. And if you want a smaller dac/amp, nfb11 vs sparrow.

 

[vrln]

On paper NFB-11 looks to be the best value in headphone audio right now... Wasn´t supposed to get any more audio gear for a long time, but it looks like I might just have to go for this after all.

 

[DundukovEM]

In any case, it is single cheap and enough high-quality solution on a chip ESS ES9018, recognized by most experts at the best DAC chip today.
$260 for this DAC is amazing! But I'm looking on the NFB-7, which have a much better sound quality and fidelity according kingwa.

 

[crumpler]

Just ordered one as well. If it fares close to the HDP i have, i'ld be really amazed considering its price!

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Seriously, I need to stay off this site. It does everything I want it to do and more. Headphone and line out switch is very important to me. Time to think it over during my sleep but $260, geez and I just bought a dac/amp not too long ago.

 
Quote:

On paper NFB-11 looks to be the best value in headphone audio right now... Wasn´t supposed to get any more audio gear for a long time, but it looks like I might just have to go for this after all.

LOL.  I definitely need to stay off this site for a good while....But at that promo price, I could not pass up the opportunity.  I have ordered one as well...

 

[EmptyTalk]

I've been looking for some new gear, and this sounds interesting.  Long ago I was about to buy the Compass when it first came out, but ultimately went with a Keces DA-131MK2 DAC with a Keces HA-171 amp.  Does anyone have an opinion regarding whether the NFB-11 would be an upgrade with better sound, a downgrade, or about the same?  Even if it's about the same, it would be nice to try something new and to eliminate one component from my desktop.
 
Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Shirukii]

Does anyone know how long the promo price will be valid for?
 
I've been putting off buying a DAC for my setup for a long time, this seems like a good starter and depending on how I like the sound of the Sabre, it'll sway my decision when I ultimately decide to upgrade to better equipment.

 

[vrln]

Quote:

I've been looking for some new gear, and this sounds interesting.  Long ago I was about to buy the Compass when it first came out, but ultimately went with a Keces DA-131MK2 DAC with a Keces HA-171 amp.  Does anyone have an opinion regarding whether the NFB-11 would be an upgrade with better sound, a downgrade, or about the same?  Even if it's about the same, it would be nice to try something new and to eliminate one component from my desktop.
 
Thanks in advance for any replies.

I haven´t heard the Keces DAC/amp, and noone has the NFB-11 except Kingwa & his company so far

But it does have the Sabre32, which is by far considered the highest performing Delta-Sigma type DAC chip on the market ("latest and greatest"). So far the chip has been completely unheard of in sub-750 (Eastern Electric Minimax DAC) dollar products. To see it in a 260 dollar one that also includes a headphone amp section is unbelievable. My personal guess would be that it might even be a clear upgrade at least if you are into analytical sound, but maybe I´m just a victim of the Sabre32 hype machine. I can´t see Kingwa making much profit off this with the promo price. I´d assume it´s a trojan horse to get people to try out the Sabre32 chip - sort of a "taster". When people want more, then eventually they might buy one of its bigger brothers.
 
Interesting point to consider: with the promo price being so low I can´t imagine it being hard to sell it for minimal loss if you don´t like it. Another interesting thing is that the first ~35 units will be built with Vishay resistors that apparently have a very neutral sound signature. Kingwa told me in a mail that if the feedback on the Vishay resistors is positive, he´ll keep them. But if the initial customers find it too neutral sounding, he´ll change them to something else. So even if he ends up changing the part, you´ll have a very limited edition super neutral NFB-11 Again: the promo version might not end up being the same as the final version. Personally I love this approach, everyone wins.
 
Shirukii: I´d assume it´s for the first units with the Vishay resistors that might or might not be changed in the final version (+ price increase etc).

 

[Shirukii]

I'm going to email Kingwa and ask him, I'll let everyone know when he gets back to me.

 

[haloxt]

He might not give an exact date, I think one of the main purposes of NFB-11 is to get people to try out the ES9018 and get an idea of its sound signature and performance. This would be useful not just for people interested in the es9018, but also people worried about whether or not they would like the higher end dac's with es9018. The NFB-11 product page warns buyers that they may prefer the wm8741. I've tried a few wolfson dac's and I am a real sucker for their sound signatures.

 

[Shirukii]

This is the reply I got:
 
"The first 38 units order will be with the Vishay resistors.The price of the NFB-11 is not limited,thanks"
 
So...if I'm reading that right, the first 38 units will have Vishay resistors, but even after that, the price will remain $260?

 

[Epoch]

I think that means that the first 38 units have Vishay resistors, but that he doesn't have a cap on the number of units that sell at $260.
I would say there is no hard limit on the number of units he sells at that price, but it could still mean that there is a time limit on that price.

 

[CEE TEE]

Question:  I see that some of you ordered this already, I was going to get one instead of a u-DAC 2 but can't order on English version of website...how did you do it?

 

[Epoch]

You email them to place an order, and pay via paypal.  Its not done directly on the website.