[Olias of Sunhillow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2enty3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
If some one doesn't mind, can we have a simplified version of all of this? more specifically; What bitrate is best for use with NFB12?
How does using a higher bitrate affect what we hear through the headphones?
10Khz above audible range? Will I hear any significant difference in sound?
How will this affect my listening experience?

Very reasonable questions. I've had my NFB-12 for a few weeks, and while I'm not ready to write a full review yet, I will say that during the break-in period I've heard no discernible difference when feeding it content with different bit rates. I do not question the data results that some in this thread have found through their testing, but I do question how much of a practical effect it has on the listening experience the NFB-12 provides.
 
BTW, my work rig is MacBook Pro > NFB-12 via toslink > Grado RS-1. I think the high frequency roll-off that the NFB-12 was specifically designed to provide is an excellent match with my Grados, as long as you're OK with the RS-1s being tamed a bit (which I am -- at work, at least).
 
Happy listening!

 

[madwolf]

 
Quote:

I have a wellknow USB soundcard , it had a lot RMAA test show it had excellent results can search in internet.
Today I just for fun do a simple test by classis instruments and what a surprise to me, so I take the photos. The blue wire is original input signal and the yellow wire is the output signal of the soundcard.
I won't say how sound of this soundcard .
Read the RMAA test results of any gears I don't know is it sound bad or good.
But read the classis waves test, most time I can know what sound it is, and what flavors it is.

Thanks for teaching me another method of reading the scope and a very interesting test.
So I perform the same test, but now it is on the NFB12
 
Using a computer to feed the 10K Square wave to NFB12 and measuring the output, 
Using a 48K sampling frequency I got this graph

The Square wave become a sine wave ......
 
Next I test with a 96khz to generate a 10K square wave just like what you did

The wave become round top and bottom
 
Lastly I tried using 192K and this is what I got

This looks very similar to the test pattern generated by you.
 
So which sound and flavors do you prefer or which is neutral or which is musical ?

 

[tlniec]

Not sure what the ranges are on the scope (so I can't tell frequency of the output signal).  But isn't a square wave essentially a superposition of sines?  So your output is likely a 10KHz sine using 48KHz sampling, a 10KHz sine-ish wave at 96KHz sampling, and finally a squarish wave with a 10KHz fundamental and some of the second harmonic (one octave up) coming through when sampled at 192KHz.  Is that right?
That's interesting, but I'm trying to decide what it would mean audibly, since I've never listened to a 10Khz square wave (nor an approximation thereof) that I can recall.  I know "in general," sines/sawtooths/squares sound different, but I'd say that's bounded somewhat by what the fundamental frequency is.
I guess my expectation would be that your three results ought to all sound very similar.  Even the "squarest" wave would probably sound much like a 10KHz sine tone, since the 20KHz overtone would be all but inaudible to anyone without excellent hearing (and even then, wouldn't their aural sensitivity be rolled off?).  Maybe I'm wrong about that.  To me, what would be more interesting to look at is how changing sampling rate affects a 1Khz square wave.  A 1KHz fundamental is right in the fat part of the aural sensitivity curve, and plenty of harmonics will be audible (which I'd expect to make the square-wave "buzz" characteristic more discernible). 

 

[Greg121986]

This thread seems to have died. Has anyone received their NFB-12 this week? Upon initial order of my NFB-12 during the first week of January I was told it would ship after February 15th. After emailing Kingwa again a few weeks ago they said February 20th. Hopefully I will be receiving mine soon! I have been waiting every morning for the DHL guy to show up.

 

[Poetik]

Quote:

This thread seems to have died. Has anyone received their NFB-12 this week? Upon initial order of my NFB-12 during the first week of January I was told it would ship after February 15th. After emailing Kingwa again a few weeks ago they said February 20th. Hopefully I will be receiving mine soon! I have been waiting every morning for the DHL guy to show up.

There's only so much technical stuff you can talk about but I suppose everyone got the hint and started listening to their gear instead of talking about it.

 

[legcramp]

In for one, hopefully I'll get it in under 1.5 months or so. 
 
The last dozen pages or so are all about that high-end roll off "problem", so if I am using this with my windows pc what signal should I send the DAC to avoid all of that using foobar and wasapi?
 
Hopefully this thing smooth out my D2000 even more and do what the D2000 does best but better
 
Coming from an x-fi xtrememusic that I hot-rodded a few years ago that I broke yesterday.

 

[sayh]

Quote:

In for one, hopefully I'll get it in under 1.5 months or so. 
 
The last dozen pages or so are all about that high-end roll off "problem", so if I am using this with my windows pc what signal should I send the DAC to avoid all of that using foobar and wasapi?
 
Hopefully this thing smooth out my D2000 even more and do what the D2000 does best but better
 
Coming from an x-fi xtrememusic that I hot-rodded a few years ago that I broke yesterday.

You should not be bothered with the all the technical measurements and talks generally. Stretch your wallet to the max high-end if you are worried.  Any input would fine as long it sounds best to your own ears. Add a transport like DI, hi-face etc. and you are insured sonically. I am sure when you came from a sound card setup, it will be miles ahead and exceed your expectation. Just be prepared for a some patience and wait up =) 

 

[JaMo]

Hi
 
@ sayh saying:
" You should not be bothered with the all the technical measurements and talks generally. Stretch your wallet to the max high-end if you are worried.  Any input would fine as long it sounds best to your own ears. Add a transport like DI, hi-face etc. and you are insured sonically. I am sure when you came from a sound card setup, it will be miles ahead and exceed your expectation. Just be prepared for a some patience and wait up =) "
 
I agree completely with that.
 
I think AGD have a quite big backlog of NFB-12's so a wait is expected. (I've got a meesage from AGD that my ESS-gear is on delivery but the NFB-12 will take a while to get.
 
/Jan

 

[zenki14]

I'm in a search for an USBDAC/amp.
This thread really helped deciding what to get, either the NFB-12 or NFB-11 + digital interface.
 
I'm getting DT990 600ohms soon, and thanks to members' impressions about them being used with the NFB-12, I guess it's a good call.
 
Will order soon I guess.

 

[turn1200]

I think we are all waiting.  I ordered mine on Feb 1.  Can't wait to hear it.

 

[Aizura]

Do you think the NFB-12's DAC would sound comparable to the NFB-3? They both seem to use the same chipset but the NFB-12 is $100 cheaper.  I already have an amp so I'm only interested in the DAC.

 

[attenuated 3db]

Do you think the NFB-12's DAC would sound comparable to the NFB-3? They both seem to use the same chipset but the NFB-12 is $100 cheaper.  I already have an amp so I'm only interested in the DAC.

Perceived sonic differences are, of course, both subtle and subjective, but I while the NFB-12 used as a DAC only with your existing amp might sound "comparable" to the NFB-3, I don't think it would sounds as good, at least in theory, and quite possibly in practice. The fact they both employ dual Wolfson 8741 D/A converter to chips is significant, but not as much as how those chips are integrated into an entire component's circuit topology. Simply put, the NFB-3 has a much better power supply implementation for a DAC-only component than the hybrid DAC/headamp NFB-12. Plus, none of its cost of production (and component quality) is spent on a headamp section, which necessarily consumes a significant part of the parts budget for the NFB-12.

So, if you're happy with your existing amp, I'd say get an NFB-3 to go with it. If you want an integrated DAC/headamp that might be closer to being up to par with the NFB-3 and a good separate headamp, the Audio-gd FUN would be a better bet than the NFB-12. Same Wolfson 8741 D/A chips, but once again, a matter of a much better implementation at a necessarily higher (but not much) cost.

 

[zenki14]

Ordered mine yesterday.
As expected the waiting list seems to be fairly long, been told estimated shipping is mid March.
 
Till then I'll probably have a good read through this thread

 

[legcramp]

Quote:

Ordered mine yesterday.
As expected the waiting list seems to be fairly long, been told estimated shipping is mid March.
 
Till then I'll probably have a good read through this thread

You and me both, heck mid march is earlier than I was expecting

 

[tarnishedhalo]

I asked for a shipping update today. Ordered end of Jan, will also be getting it mid March.