[jTizMLG]

Does the NFB-12 have a dedicated DAC?
 
Or is it just a mini-dac like on the Sparrow?

 

[Tilpo]

Yes it has a dedicated DAC, and a good one at that.
In fact I use only the DAC section, and even then it's still worth the $200.

In my opnion it's more like a DAC with a 'mini' headphone amp circuit. And besides, a good amp is good for a DAC as well, since the signal needs to be amplified to line level in any case.

 

[jTizMLG]

So, it does not have a dedicated AMP?
 
Quote:

Yes it has a dedicated DAC, and a good one at that.
In fact I use only the DAC section, and even then it's still worth the $200.

In my opnion it's more like a DAC with a 'mini' headphone amp circuit. And besides, a good amp is good for a DAC as well, since the signal needs to be amplified to line level in any case.

 
 

 

[Tilpo]

So, it does not have a dedicated AMP?
 

 
 

It does, don't get me wrong.

What I meant is that it is a regular amp/DAC combo, but the focus is laid on the DAC.

 

[ac500]

Does that mean, for example, someone with an HD 650 (which is supposed to scale well) and an NFB-12 could scale to notably better sound quality by buying a better Amp to add after the NFB-12?
 
In other words how much does the NFB-12 Amp leave to be desired?

 

[jTizMLG]

Quote:

It does, don't get me wrong.

What I meant is that it is a regular amp/DAC combo, but the focus is laid on the DAC.

Would you consider the NFB-12 to be at this "Hi-Fi" level?

 

[Tilpo]

Would you consider the NFB-12 to be at this "Hi-Fi" level?

I don't quite understand what you mean.

Does that mean, for example, someone with an HD 650 (which is supposed to scale well) and an NFB-12 could scale to notably better sound quality by buying a better Amp to add after the NFB-12?
 
In other words how much does the NFB-12 Amp leave to be desired?

I notice that my Little Dot MKIV sounds noticeably better than the NFB-12's headphone output.
It's not a huge difference, but in my opinion still worth the money.

Therefore I would say that the amp of the NFB-12 does leave something to be desired, and it's worth investing in a better amp and using the NFB-12 as a dedicated DAC. Especially having future headphone upgrades in mind.

 

[captouch]

I agree with Tilpo.  Based on what I've heard so far, the headphone output on the NFB-12 is nothing special - I had hoped for better.  It's usable, but it doesn't do justice to better headphones.  On bad recordings where you want to minimize the details/harshness, etc, it could be beneficial, but it's not at all revealing and PRaT isn't really there to my ears.  I haven't done any comparisons to see how it compares with the headphone outs of my Sony ES pre-amp, but I'll try that later.  Most of my listening has been with 600ohm DT880's, so I may do more listening later with low impedance IEMs to double check these impressions.
 
The DAC is definitely an improvement over my Sony ES built-in DACs though.  I'm satisfied with it as a DAC.
 
 

 

[satwilson]

There are alot of late comers to this thread. This is one of the best DAC/HEADPHONE units available. There are few DACS greater than this<$1000/Best Solid State Headphone Amp, Jump in there if you can!

 

[ac500]

Best solid state headphone amp? I'm curious after Tilpo and captouch's comments if this is sufficient to do justice to higher end stuff like say LCD-2's. I'm just thinking ahead in case I upgrade, but from what I'm hearing it seems this DAC is sufficient at least, but the Amp might be lacking?

 

[jTizMLG]

I think I may get the NFB-12 along with the HD650.....
 
Any last second suggestions?

 

[zenki14]

To be honest, I think the amp section certainly does fine for this price range, if you consider it as mainly being a DAC and the amp being a bonus feature.  It's just not up to it against amps that are in a bit higher prices ($200 to $400).  I think the DAC section has goods and bads too.
 
I sold the NFB-12 a while ago and went to the Little Dot DAC_I and MK VII+.
Yesterday I just received the Matrix mini-i, burning in now.
 
I think later I'll post a comparison and thoughts about these setups.
 
For now I can just say if you want to get the most out of expensive headphones,
you're probably missing quite a lot you can experience if you just stick to combo units like the NFB-12..

 

[quasio]

lol.. the NFB-5 and in all my readings.. nuforce hdp..
 
but yes i haven't tried any of them, trying to wade through the pool of info before spendin me dough.

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

What of the NFB-5?
 
Quote:

lol.. the NFB-5 and in all my readings.. nuforce hdp..
 
but yes i haven't tried any of them, trying to wade through the pool of info before spendin me dough.

 

 

[captouch]

Quote:

Best solid state headphone amp? I'm curious after Tilpo and captouch's comments if this is sufficient to do justice to higher end stuff like say LCD-2's. I'm just thinking ahead in case I upgrade, but from what I'm hearing it seems this DAC is sufficient at least, but the Amp might be lacking?

I don't think you can spend $250 and get a good DAC and something that will do justice to the LCD-2's.  There's a whole long thread on amplification for the LCD-2's, which I've heard are power-hungry.  So if you buy this, buy it for the DAC.  With coax/opt/USB and 9-way digital filters, you'll have a lot of versatility on inputs and digital filter tuning.  You can use the HP out in the interim (I agree with zenki14, look at it as a bonus), while you research the best amp choice for the LCD-2's.  As long as you do your homework/research, what you buy later as an amp will be a nice upgrade from the NFB-12 HP outs and you'll have a nice DAC feeding it.