[jodgey4]

My apologies if this has been addressed before, but can anyone speak to the differences between this and the NFB-10.33 (or 10SE)?  I guess I really just don't understand all the technical mumbo-jumbo and I'm curious what the real-world effective differences are.  The NFB-10 is about $200 cheaper than the -28 and I suspect it can't just be the DAC that's the difference since the 15 and 11 are less than $100 apart.

There are no analog inputs on the 10.33 and variants. I wonder why he didn't just make it the exact same as the 28, save the DAC section?

 

[Stillhart]

There are no analog inputs on the 10.33 and variants. I wonder why he didn't just make it the exact same as the 28, save the DAC section?

 
What would the analog inputs be used for?  Just as a passthrough for amping if you wanted to have a single control center type thing?
 
^^^^ This question is probably why he didn't bother making it the same as the 28.  lol
 
I noticed that the 10.33 is a little outdated in that it doesn't support DSD like the new (2014) versions of the 15 and 11.  I wonder if it's due for an update soon...

 

[Keevs]

The analogue input is great to hook up a TT. I use my NFB28 in my main setup as my head amp and preamp. Does a really good job.

 

[Solude]

10.33 or 28 comes down to whether you are a Sabre or Wolf type listener.  I personally prefer the Wolf and the amp stage in the 10.33 so... no brainer... for me.
 
That said the 29 is the real bang for the buck for those without a preference.  Get the higher level DAC and amp at a lower price than the 28 with no power drop.  Gain may be an issue for IEM users though.  Maybe.

 

[Stillhart]

  10.33 or 28 comes down to whether you are a Sabre or Wolf type listener.  I personally prefer the Wolf and the amp stage in the 10.33 so... no brainer... for me.
 
That said the 29 is the real bang for the buck for those without a preference.  Get the higher level DAC and amp at a lower price than the 28 with no power drop.  Gain may be an issue for IEM users though.  Maybe.

 
Kingwa made it sound like the 28 is the better choice for balanced.  Seems like if I'm spending that much to get a balanced system, I might as well spend the extra $100 on the one that sounds better balanced.  
 
Then again, I doubt anyone on here has tried them both to see if there's much of a difference...

 

[Solude]

  Kingwa made it sound like the 28 is the better choice for balanced. 

 
Given Kingwa has pretty much decided to develop only Sabre DACs now I would assume he prefers the sound of the Sabre to the Wolf.

 

[zach915m]

   
Kingwa made it sound like the 28 is the better choice for balanced.  Seems like if I'm spending that much to get a balanced system, I might as well spend the extra $100 on the one that sounds better balanced.  
 
Then again, I doubt anyone on here has tried them both to see if there's much of a difference...

I actually owned both the 10.33 and NFB-28 for quite some time until I recently sold the NFB-28 to get the Reference 10.32.  I really loved both units and the differences in sound are minute, I used both with only the optical and USB inputs so I can't speak for the other inputs on each.  The NFB does have more choices for inputs.
 
As Kingwa says the 10.33 is a little smoother and has that "wolfson" sound especially when using it as a DAC only and passing through to an amp,  but when using the 10.33 as the headphone amp as well it is actually a touch brighter than when used as a DAC.  I have a feeling he may have done this for a more transparent type of wolfson sound, which turned out really nice.  The NFB-28 is a fantastic unit and I do miss it, especially since I don't have the 10.32 yet.  Even though it's the Sabre chip, it's exceptionally smooth and I actually probably find it a touch more natural sounding than the 10.33, and it has supreme punch and dynamics.  The 10.33 is smoother though, and has a touch rounder notes.  I wish I had them both side by side still so that I could do a better comparison for you all.  I hope this helps, you really can't go wrong with either.
 
Of note, the headphone sections of both will sound leagues better balanced and both have very similar amounts of power, enough to drive just about any headphone.  If making a choice it really comes down to whether you need those extra inputs and if you like the Wolfson sound more than the Sabre sound.  I will say Kingwa's implementation of the Sabre chip is absolutely fantastic.  I did not feel as if it was harsh in any way.

 

[Stillhart]

Sorry for the confusion, when I was talking about "both" in the last section, I meant the NFB28 vs NFB-29.
 
But I do appreciate the info on the 10 vs the 28 because I'm still struggling with that decision.  Right now I have the NFB-15 and I feel like the LCD-2f could maybe stand to be a bit brighter.  Unfortunately, I've never heard any Sabre implementation yet so I don't really have a basis for comparison.  But I did try my LCD-2 through my Audioengine D3, just for grins, and though the DAC and Amp weren't quite pushing the headphones to where they needed to be, I did like the slightly brighter sound.
 
So yeah, I think I'm leaning towards the Sabre.  Especially since it has DSD for future-proofing.  But as I was saying before, the NFB-29 is $100 cheaper than the 28 and they both have SE and Balanced outs, but Kingwa says the 28 is better for balanced and 29 is better for SE.

 

[zach915m]

  Sorry for the confusion, when I was talking about "both" in the last section, I meant the NFB28 vs NFB-29.
 
But I do appreciate the info on the 10 vs the 28 because I'm still struggling with that decision.  Right now I have the NFB-15 and I feel like the LCD-2f could maybe stand to be a bit brighter.  Unfortunately, I've never heard any Sabre implementation yet so I don't really have a basis for comparison.  But I did try my LCD-2 through my Audioengine D3, just for grins, and though the DAC and Amp weren't quite pushing the headphones to where they needed to be, I did like the slightly brighter sound.
 
So yeah, I think I'm leaning towards the Sabre.  Especially since it has DSD for future-proofing.  But as I was saying before, the NFB-29 is $100 cheaper than the 28 and they both have SE and Balanced outs, but Kingwa says the 28 is better for balanced and 29 is better for SE.

 
 
Yeah that all makes sense.  So I guess it's whether your going to be going single ended or balanced at this point.  I haven't heard the NFB-29. The single ended out on the NFB-28 is okay, the balanced section sounds fantastic.

 

[jodgey4]

The 29's XLR on the front is a SE connection with one common ground for both channels, it's just there for convenience for those that don't want to or can't swap cables all the time.

 

[barretp]

Just got my NFB-28. I'm coming from the Lyr with ODAC. I'm listening on HE-500. I'm sad to say, it doesn't sound as good. Maybe I didn't install the drivers correctly. The NFB-28 does not sound as clear or smooth. =[
 
Edit: I also can't hear any audio from the chrome browser. 
 
Edit2: My NFB-28 is now bricked after a failed firmware upgrade. Kingwa gave me the wrong file.

 

[jodgey4]

You running balanced or single ended? I wouldn't've expected anything different from what you stated about sound... though detail levels should be at least on par. The 28 has lots of great features you pay for, and hybrid designs should be warmer and smoother, so they're pretty different gears. I'm not sure why you switched to SS if a colored amp is your preference.

 

[barretp]

You running balanced or single ended? I wouldn't've expected anything different from what you stated about sound... though detail levels should be at least on par. The 28 has lots of great features you pay for, and hybrid designs should be warmer and smoother, so they're pretty different gears. I'm not sure why you switched to SS if a colored amp is your preference.

Single ended for now until I get a balanced cable for the HE-500. I was thinking the Sabre DAC would improve the sound over the ODAC.

 

[teofilrocks]

Dumb question, but would I need to install drivers for 16/44 files from iTunes/Spotify? Considering a move to the NFB-28 to try out a balanced setup, but I'm not looking for drivers issues, and that seems to be a weak area with Audio-gd.

 

[zach915m]

  Dumb question, but would I need to install drivers for 16/44 files from iTunes/Spotify? Considering a move to the NFB-28 to try out a balanced setup, but I'm not looking for drivers issues, and that seems to be a weak area with Audio-gd.

I have never had any issues with the Audio GD drivers, granted I only had units since the switch to USB-32.  Installing the drivers is very easy and getting playback takes just a minute from setting the unit down.  I do have a PC and not a mac BTW. 
 
Using the NFB-28 through itunes/spotify won't be an issue at all!