[Stillhart]

Well, my beast of a unit came in today.  @zach915m, do you know which USB driver to use?  
 
This thing is seriously huge!  lol
 
EDIT - I'm getting crackle using the optical input.  I'm not sure what's causing it.  Moved the cable back to the NFB-15 and the crackle went away.   Need to test the USB once I figure out which driver to use.

 

[zach915m]

It's the June 2014 version!

 

[Stillhart]

It's the June 2014 version!

 
Thanks!  That's the one I decided to randomly guess, and it's working.  USB sounds fine.  It'd be a bummer if there was an issue with optical as it would mean I can't use it for PC gaming.   I'll mess with it more later.

 

[SpirosG]

I believe you'd better flash the newest firmware that allows you to use the latest driver, that was out like 20 days ago ....

 

[scizzro]

  Well, my beast of a unit came in today.  @zach915m, do you know which USB driver to use?  
 
This thing is seriously huge!  lol
 
EDIT - I'm getting crackle using the optical input.  I'm not sure what's causing it.  Moved the cable back to the NFB-15 and the crackle went away.   Need to test the USB once I figure out which driver to use.

I'm not sure if this is the solution, but I had some problems with the unit until I did this
 
(windows 7) Right click the volume control in the task bar, playback devices, audio-gd usb audio (or whatever it's called in spdif mode), properties.
 
in the supported formats tab i checked all the sample rates, and in the advanced tab i changed the default format to 24-192.
 
edit - you probably already did that on whatever device is outputting the optical. derp.

 

[Solude]

 
in the supported formats tab i checked all the sample rates, and in the advanced tab i changed the default format to 24-192.

 
Getting 24/192 from toslink is winning the lottery.  24/96 is really the highest you can expect without garbage jitter numbers.
 
No idea why you couldn't game using the USB, I have for a nearly decade now.

 

[scizzro]

   
Getting 24/192 from toslink is winning the lottery.  24/96 is really the highest you can expect without garbage jitter numbers.
 
No idea why you couldn't game using the USB, I have for a nearly decade now.

yeah, what i typed was what I did for the usb settings. I realized afterwards most of it doesn't apply to his situation.
 
I'm guessing he has a sound card that has some sort of dolby effect that he enjoys during gaming

 

[Stillhart]

   
Getting 24/192 from toslink is winning the lottery.  24/96 is really the highest you can expect without garbage jitter numbers.
 
No idea why you couldn't game using the USB, I have for a nearly decade now.

 
Because I use my Sound Blaster to provide virtual surround DSP and pass that via optical.  Without using the optical, I'd be limited to using the NFB-28 via USB for music and using the Omni + NFB-28 amp for gaming, losing out on the DAC in the NFB-28.  It also means i have to mess with swapping inputs and outputs depending on what I'm doing (listening to music with game music muted but game sounds on?  change setting in winamp!  listening to just music?  change them back, as well as the input on the DAC!)
 
It's not the end of the world, but I liked my current setup so I'm going to keep trying to get this figured out.  I'm going to haul this beast over to my PS4 and try a different source shortly...

 

[Miracle1980]

Anybody that use the resampling option from the applications (es. Foobar with Sox or Jriver) and plays at 352800hz  (or 384)?
Any feedback?

 

[Stillhart]

Hi all,
 
Well I gave up on the optical for today because I just wanted to do some listening with my new DAC/Amp and my new headphones.  I'm glad I did; it's been very enjoyable.  

 
I wrote up a big first impression post about the HE-560 and I wanted to cross post some of the stuff about the NFB-28:

Now I have to mention that I just received my new (to me) NFB-28 (Sabre) today as well.  I've been listening to it using the Single Ended output because I haven't gotten my new balanced cable parts yet.  It also lets me do a somewhat apples to apples comparison to my NFB-15 (Wolfson) and the Geek Out Signature Edition (Sabre) I'm borrowing from a friend.
 
Comparing the three has been interesting.  The NFB-28 has been my favorite of the three because it's smooth.  The NFB-15 is warmer with a mid-centric presentation, which I though might suit the HE-560 well.  While it does do wonderful things to the mids, the highs became harsher and the bass lost some of its... dimensionality.  The GO SE is a fantastic DAC.  It's even more detailed and revealing than the NFB-28, but again with a harsh, digital sound to the trebles.  I tried it with both the built-in amp and through the amp on the NFB-28 and they both had the same issue.  The 28 doesn't have that issue.  It's almost tubey in its ability to smooth down the treble, yet it still feels quite detailed and lively.  It's just really listenable, if that makes sense.  Very happy with it so far!

 
I find myself really impressed with the smooth Sabre implementation.  I honestly don't know if the slightly improved detail and noise floor on the GO SE is worth the harsher sound.  That's a tough call to make.
 
I need to do some more testing later of the NFB-15 using the amp on the NFB-28 so I can apples-to-apples the DAC sections.  I'm curious if the DAC or the amp is causing the harsh treble and lack of bass dynamics I was hearing.  I'm using the SE output of the 28 so the 15 shouldn't really be that far off... might even be more powerful.  *shrug*
 
Man, to think this is going to sound even better once I get my balanced cable going... can't wait!

 

[fob69]

I had same problems with optical output of my adsl tv box and NFB11. Sabre 9018 implementation does not support well bad optical outputs, with unstable clocks. i plugged my box on philips TV with hdmi, and then use the optical from my philips tv and it was ok (probably better optical output).
 
B.

 

[barsailer]

Hello,
 
I would be interested in getting experience & feedback of NFB28 2015 user with I2S input, did someone already succeed to use the NFB28 I2S input working ?
 
I own a NFB28 2015 for a few weeks and did not succeed to get any sounds out of the DAC using the I2S input.
 
According to Kingwa NFB28 I2S can work without MCLK Master Clock supplied (with only DATA, Bit Clock and frame Clock supplied) but I'm now very sceptical.
Thanks

 

[Solude]

 
Man, to think this is going to sound even better once I get my balanced cable going... can't wait!

 
You could use the HD650 as well to be sure it isn't the 560 upper mid/lower treble spike that you don't like as well.  
 
Balanced will give you a ~5-10% bump from where you are now in sound quality and of course bump up the power 4x but chances are you aren't listening anywhere near that loud

 

[Stillhart]

   
You could use the HD650 as well to be sure it isn't the 560 upper mid/lower treble spike that you don't like as well.  
 
Balanced will give you a ~5-10% bump from where you are now in sound quality and of course bump up the power 4x but chances are you aren't listening anywhere near that loud

Yeah, I have to try the HD650 and Q701 with the NFB-28 and do some comparisons.  I never noticed anything weird with the bass or treble before, but I've also not directly compared the NFB-15 to anything like the NFB-28.

 

[RobinK]

Has anyone had the opportunity to compare the NFB-28 with and without TCXO upgrade side by side?

I have the NFB-28 without TCXO (Not my intention. I would have ordered it but I was not aware of such an option when I purchased it). After spending a month listen to my LCD-XC with it and I am come to the conclusion that the DAC in the NFB-28 is lackluster. It doesn't to headphones as great as the LCD-XC justice and there is a lot more potential untouched in them.

I am wondering if the TCXO is what is missing to bring out the best in the DAC. However, I have a feeling based on how much feels like it is missing from the NFB-28 DAC that it is simply not because of the TCXO.

I guess small DACs and all in one units just cannot cut it for me anymore after owning a REF1 for so long.