[Pine]

Just ordered. Apparently it should be shipping out mid March, however I really doubt that. Going to kill myself waiting...

 

[twwen2]

I just got home from a month overseas and found my NFB-12 on my bed
 
After a quick comparison with my current DAC (Stello DA100), I noted the following:
 
- Bass seems clearer/cleaner. It seems to bring out more detail down low and hits a little harder. 
- Restricted mid-range. It just doesn't have the depth or space of the Stello. Things sound a little crowded and muddied in the mid-range. The soundstage (voices in particular) is less 3D (if that makes sense).
- More treble response. I'm noticing more details up top in tracks that I'm familiar with.
 
So overall, I think I prefer the Stello. I guess it was unfair to put a $200 DAC/Amp up against a $700 dedicated DAC, but on paper the NFB-12 has a lot going for it. I think my next step is to see if I can get my hands on a DAC-19 and hear those PCM1704-UK chips!

 

[j2kei]

try burning it in. i had to burn mine in for around 150hrs before there was a significant sound change and the sound cleared up significantly
 
Quote:

I just got home from a month overseas and found my NFB-12 on my bed
 
After a quick comparison with my current DAC (Stello DA100), I noted the following:
 
- Bass seems clearer/cleaner. It seems to bring out more detail down low and hits a little harder. 
- Restricted mid-range. It just doesn't have the depth or space of the Stello. Things sound a little crowded and muddied in the mid-range. The soundstage (voices in particular) is less 3D (if that makes sense).
- More treble response. I'm noticing more details up top in tracks that I'm familiar with.
 
So overall, I think I prefer the Stello. I guess it was unfair to put a $200 DAC/Amp up against a $700 dedicated DAC, but on paper the NFB-12 has a lot going for it. I think my next step is to see if I can get my hands on a DAC-19 and hear those PCM1704-UK chips!

 

[haloxt]

Quote:

I just got home from a month overseas and found my NFB-12 on my bed
 
After a quick comparison with my current DAC (Stello DA100), I noted the following:
 
- Bass seems clearer/cleaner. It seems to bring out more detail down low and hits a little harder. 
- Restricted mid-range. It just doesn't have the depth or space of the Stello. Things sound a little crowded and muddied in the mid-range. The soundstage (voices in particular) is less 3D (if that makes sense).
- More treble response. I'm noticing more details up top in tracks that I'm familiar with.
 
So overall, I think I prefer the Stello. I guess it was unfair to put a $200 DAC/Amp up against a $700 dedicated DAC, but on paper the NFB-12 has a lot going for it. I think my next step is to see if I can get my hands on a DAC-19 and hear those PCM1704-UK chips!

 
From my experience with sparrow wm8741 and dac19mk3 (no dsp-1, uses pmd-100 or df1704 filters), I have to say it won't be a massive change if you go to dac19. I believe the nfb-2 is about the same level as the dac19, while nfb-3 is somewhat/a little below them in technical ability. I think the main difference is it seems dac19 releases its grip on microdetails, allowing more to expressed somewhat more clearly, while sparrow makes microdetails seem like its being added onto macrodetail. But again, I don't think the difference is massive. You will likely notice a bigger difference between nfb-12 and nfb-10es/wm. Value is subjective, but in my opinion, audio-gd's entry level dac/amps are the best value, even though they do present music in a different manner than more resolving gear.

 

[bhaishaki]

This is second impression mentioning about congested mids. Could anyone confirm if this clears up after burn in? Also, could anyone tell how does it compare with Sparrow/Fun A?
 
Quote:

I just got home from a month overseas and found my NFB-12 on my bed
 
After a quick comparison with my current DAC (Stello DA100), I noted the following:
 
- Bass seems clearer/cleaner. It seems to bring out more detail down low and hits a little harder. 
- Restricted mid-range. It just doesn't have the depth or space of the Stello. Things sound a little crowded and muddied in the mid-range. The soundstage (voices in particular) is less 3D (if that makes sense).
- More treble response. I'm noticing more details up top in tracks that I'm familiar with.
 
So overall, I think I prefer the Stello. I guess it was unfair to put a $200 DAC/Amp up against a $700 dedicated DAC, but on paper the NFB-12 has a lot going for it. I think my next step is to see if I can get my hands on a DAC-19 and hear those PCM1704-UK chips!

 

[treaves]

You'd have to ask those two people.  No one else could confirm it.
 
Quote:

This is second impression mentioning about congested mids. Could anyone confirm if this clears up after burn in? Also, could anyone tell how does it compare with Sparrow/Fun A?
 

 

 

[BrianMendoza]

I can confirm that the congested mids clear up after burn-in.
 
When I first got the NFB-12, the mids were definitely congested, I'd even go as far as saying pretty sloppy too.
 
But after 100+hrs of burn-in, it definitely became more refined, with much better separation.
 
Trust me, when I first got my NFB-12, I was a bit discouraged, but AudioGD is known for needing some burn-in, so I did, and afterwards, I was convinced that at ~$200 dollars, the value was a very very tough one to beat.
 
When it comes to AudioGD products, you can't take early impressions too seriously, the sound definitely changes with time spent on it.

 

[bhaishaki]

Thanks for the clarification. Waiting to receive mine.

 

[treaves]

Just got notification that mine shipped.  So for mine, they are not too far off of when they estimated.  So I'm anxiously waiting...

 

[allyl]

Is there a reliable estimate for how long it takes between notification that the unit has shipped and actual delivery of the unit? for reference i'm on the US East Coast

 

[Jupe]

Quote:

Is there a reliable estimate for how long it takes between notification that the unit has shipped and actual delivery of the unit? for reference i'm on the US East Coast

It took mine about a week, though I'm on the West coast. I tracked the package like a hawk, and for the first 4-5 days it just seems to circulate in Hong Kong. Once it's reached the states though, it moved pretty fast, and I got mine a day or two ahead of what their estimate was. I was very impressed.
 
For you I suppose a few extra days would be expected, though I don't think you'd have to wait 2 weeks

 

[movi]

mine shipped in 4 business days to Canada by DHL. there were some updates in the online tracking on a Saturday, though, so i guess Saturday is a business day for DHL in HK. in that case 5 business days

 

[legcramp]

Quote:

mine shipped in 4 business days to Canada by DHL. there were some updates in the online tracking on a Saturday, though, so i guess Saturday is a business day for DHL in HK. in that case 5 business days

How about some impressions with your D2000? I can't wait until mine ship.

 

[movi]

impressions so far are good, although i haven't ever experience higher end gear than this, so i guess synergy is the only thing i can really comment on..
 
i'm at about 20 hours listening/burn-in so far. the soundstage is certainly much wider than my old Meier CORDA Move. bass is also deeper and slightly more impactful.
 
synergy with D2000 seems very good. on the whole i like a slightly dark presentation, although my HD-650 has been a little too dark for my liking. D2000 isn't a particularly bright headphone, but i think if I paired it with a bright amp it would be too bright for my liking. NFB-12 seems to keep the treble at just the right level for me.
 
interestingly, the NFB-12 has brought out some midrange in the D2000 that I didn't know they had. on the whole I have found the mids to be slightly anemic in the D2000, and this has been my biggest gripe with this headphone. they are slightly improved with the NFB-12 (although perhaps any decent amp/dac would accomplish this).
 
synergy with HD-650 is not good unless you like a super dark presentation. perhaps the NFB-12 treble will open up a bit with burn-in, but i would say this unit works best with brighter headphones. the treble roll-off doesn't seem too significant given how my D2000 has reacted, so i expect Grado's, for example, will still have pronounced highs. just slightly less pronounced. i'm looking forward to an RS-1 or RS-1i purchase in the future to try with this amp.
 
personally, based on my first impressions, i would say dark head phone owners (HD-600, HD-650) will need a different amp/dac to enjoy that headphone.
 
overall great first impression though. Denon, Beyer, or Grado owners will probably be happy.

 

[Elanzer]

Yeah, it seems like the NFB-11 would have much better synergy for the HD600/650, I don't think I'd like the HD650  on the NFB-12 either. From the feedback with somewhat brighter headphones (ATH-M50, Beyers, Denons, K701, etc) it seems the NFB-12 is a great improvement.