[Currawong]

I recall the Compass having a bit of a narrow soundstage with Senn HD-600s, which are 300 Ohm. I'd indeed save up for an NFB-10 at least and do it properly.

 

[noxlord]

Quote:

I recall the Compass having a bit of a narrow soundstage with Senn HD-600s, which are 300 Ohm. I'd indeed save up for an NFB-10 at least and do it properly.

+1
 
I have both a NFB-11 and a Compass. I am seriously thinking of selling them both and getting a NFB-10. While the NFB-11 was a noticeable improvement over the Compass, I wish I went for the balanced route in the first place.

 

[cnk15]

Finally got my email that my unit has shipped.  Yippee!!

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Finally got my email that my unit has shipped.  Yippee!!

yeepeekaye .... 

 

[macrog]

I'm suprised there aren't more reviews up. I'm not allowed as a dealer. I am fascinated in other peoples opinions of the NFB-11.
 
Regards
 
Macrog

 

[coolice]

ordered mine on 9th dec and added nfb-12 + OPA on 20th dec, and now they told me that my order just shipped out this morning(29th China time) with OPA out of stock, pretty disappointing

 

[Tini]

Yesterday DHL delivered my NFB-11 after a long wait. Was it worth the waiting...?
 
After 4 hours burning in I started listening with my setup. I use foobar/USB on Dynaudio active studio monitors with active crossover and sub, connected with pure silver cable (no good headphone at the moment, sorry).
The NFB-11 replaces the Zero DAC with Musiland Monitor OI USD for the USB output.
The music I played is jazz and pop, like Patricia Barber (favorit!), Diana Krall, Pink Floyd and lots of other stuff.
 
The first impression is very a positive one.
A wide and steady soundstage with good focus and depth. Lots of detail with smooth highs. There is lots of space between the instruments and Voices sound very natural and clean with a lot of pressence.
I noticed much more push in the lower frequenties and detail in the mid lows then the Zero.
There is nothing negative I can discover, everithing is good to excellent.
 
KingWa states that this unit is neutral and the detail can reveil a bad recording.
I think he is wright. There is a lot of detail but never in a negative way. Don't be affraid of it with your bad recordings because also bad recordings will sound better with this unit. The only thing you will discover is that your cd's have more information on it than you heard before!
 
If I look at this unit then then my conclusion is that there are better DAC's in an absolute way. If we look at the price then there is only one conclusion possible; it's an absolute bargin! This unit has high-end aspirations!
 
This is my first GD-audio gear but i'm sure more will follow! Thanks KingWa!
 
Tini

 

[cdanguyen08]

shouldve jumped on this before it was discontinued. dont think the NFB 12 will be suited for my HD650s or k702s but guess itll have to do

 

[Tini]

I think the NFB-12 will have a lot of the same qualities the NFB-11 has because only the DAC chip is a major difference and that's not the only important component.
There will even be people who will like the 12 more because its a little softer (read what KingWa says about it) wich can be a bit more forgiven with lesser quality materials (music as well as gear).
Let us know what you think about it when you have it!
 
Tini

 

[Zynaps]

Sory for English, dont have time translate from russian languages.
Its my rew of NFB-11 from google translate . Original - http://doctorhead.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?p=136410#p136410
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 4 ordered NFB-11, 3 months later here HE! is on my desk!

When pick up the box, it seemed suspiciously easy. Unpacked about 20 minutes - my record on unpackings, a lot of adhesive tape have reeled up, they know as to pack , do packing well.

When it finally opened - its look like toy

Five hours expectations after the frost of the streets and  to fight .

At first I do a foolish think, plugged it outputs to  amplifier Cambrdge Audio Azur and stuck it in power, their headphones. It was a stereotypical solution, because the sound on my ASUS Xonar Essense to drain option bright and connection to the amp was for me the only way to get comfortable playing, for some reason it seemed to me that the plug so it will be the best option. Including ... Well sounds like sound, kind of like, even nothing has changed ... can not yet warmed up, I thought. Well, I think, Plug headphones into the DAC itself, there is sort of like digital amplifier ... in here, with me from behind, stole WOW!

The first hit - a detail - is the number of new sounds, no, they were before, I think, but they seemed to zap the background of other, an impression that the sound that I heard before was cloudy, as Bud something before I was looking through a dirty glass and suddenly cleaned, and a diversity and complexity of overtones describing the space in the records of live instruments - it just does not pass, can be heard every rustle, every movement of his fingers on the strings of an instrument, but now I heard a sound that can be described as realistic - creates a feeling that you sitting directly in front of a live instrument and can reach up to him, unfortunately, my headphones do not give me a chance to feel the exact 3-dimensional arrangement of instruments in space, but that others with the help of NFB-11, I hear it's not even in doubt , very much clear instruments are separated from each other, very accurately, I can appreciate someone who is more closer to the two-dimensional plane.

The second hit - finally I heard the bass, it is very low on electronic music, honestly did not expect that the headset is able to, I used to think that because sound can only dynamics. But the most impressed with is that, while sounding very low frequencies are high and ultra high sounds remain the same clear, not crumpled and with no overtones of digital gnashing, I'm no expert, but something like this is called dynamic range, and it seems very big.

In the third, finally, I have goosebumps escape from singing some of the singers

. Began to notice a lot of nuances of singing, timbre differences in the voice, until the mood with which the singer was released. Sound of a voice now involves you empathize and sometimes he start to sing along

In general, the sound is very detailed, multi-faceted, the hard rock is not lost and where it used to mess (on ASUS) is now distinguishable individual instruments. Sound is super-neutral, although despite that this implies, for me, neutrality - is the lack of protrusion of some sounds over others - the lack of brightness in a certain frequency range, may be it is the prerogative of amplifiers, not chip converters (I'm not an expert), but in general for NFB-11 neutrality of this fad.
Did not expect that the NFB-11 without problems you can listen to MP3, so it is noise conversion and a small zazhevanost sound, but it's not annoying, but in some moments even gives a look at the new track got a new pleasure from the hackneyed themes.

p.s. The first night no one I could not tear away

Listened to three hours the night before my wife to the scandal is not packed

. Tomorrow at work was hardly awake, but very happy

Definitely the best sound I ever heard. For this sound I would pay more if I knew

. The idea that there is a NFB-10ES and NFB-7ES excites, if NFB-11 already above the roof, then surely the sound can be even better! Definitely need to buy a new good headphones, and then find out whether

p.s.2
Yesterday I compared the sound quality through the coax and through USB. The difference in sound just cut ears in favor of the coaxial cable, a USB audio sounded brighter, sound is muted among others, the space has shrunk, the spatial sound - reverb became smoothed, bottoms dimmed, the impression that, compared with coaxial fell permission of sound - less information about the sound was come to the DAC (or maybe it is a manifestation of a terrible and horrible jitter

.
I think the resolution is really not enough, because I understand fubar when selecting "KS: ... USB" sends a signal directly to the DAC, and in what format (with any resolution) God knows. But the derivation of coaxial via sound card out there connects DSP processor for this card, increase the resolution (I have exposed to 192 - I'd love to think

because the test is not possible). IMHO
In general, judging by the sound of King-wa knowingly abandoned in the implementation of USB DACs for ES9018, I think the reason is certainly not in the problems of implementation (which he successfully solved by the way), the problem is clearly noticeable audio quality on USB, which is visible on the ES9018 are not armed (even on headphones as I) ear compared to coaxial.
I think in other DAC be a similar situation c implementation of USB, but the ES9018 with its detail too well, are already noticeable difference.

 

[Caphead78]

Quote:

Prints about 20 minutes - a record for the duration of Scotch reeled Mama Do not Cry, with knowledge of the case, with a sense of

When it finally opened it struck sizes - toy

Five hours after the frost has lain in the streets and fight.
 

Wait........ What?
 

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Quote:

Prints about 20 minutes - a record for the duration of Scotch reeled Mama Do not Cry, with knowledge of the case, with a sense of

When it finally opened it struck sizes - toy

Five hours after the frost has lain in the streets and fight.
 

Wait........ What?
 

probably the Google translator doing an "excellent" job again
 

 

[dinkoy]

Purchased mine on the first week of November. Still got nothing on my desk.

 

[vpsporb]

Thanks for the mini reviews Tini and Zynaps.
 
Could somebody test the SPDIF vs Toslink inputs?
 
My SPDIF is being used for DD/DTS, so I'll have to use Toslink or USB from my PC to NFB-11.
But if SPDIF is clearly the best input, i'll have to change things.
 
Thanks

 

[BuFFys]

Quote:

Thanks for the mini reviews Tini and Zynaps.
 
Could somebody test the SPDIF vs Toslink inputs?
 
My SPDIF is being used for DD/DTS, so I'll have to use Toslink or USB from my PC to NFB-11.
But if SPDIF is clearly the best input, i'll have to change things.
 
Thanks

 
 
both coaxial and optical are spdif so i think you referring to;
SPDIF = Coaxial input?
Toslink = optical input?
 
Well sound from the coaxial and optical so be no different, and I found the USB equally good when i did a quick test with my NFB-12.