[Stillhart]

Doesn't mean burn in. The DSPs, some brands write their own DSP, some don't.

 
I don't believe the NFB-28 uses a custom DSP.  The PCM1704 ones do, but this one doesn't seem to.  
 
That said, it's one of the best Sabre implementations I've personally heard.  So whatever he does to it, it's pretty good for a Sabre.

 

[Lebowski31]

After reading all pages (yes ... all !!! My god!!!), I'm waiting so hard that Kingwa is coming back from holidays to order this beauty !!!

Come back Kingwa !



Envoyé de mon HTC One_M8 dual sim en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Luckbad]

After reading all pages (yes ... all !!! My god!!!), I'm waiting so hard that Kingwa is coming back from holidays to order this beauty !!!

Come back Kingwa !

Envoyé de mon HTC One_M8 dual sim en utilisant Tapatalk

 
Did they get back to you? They're probably back in the office by now...

 

[Lebowski31]

Yes !!!
Excellent customer service !!
 
Love that.
 
And I ordered one !!

 

[SashimiWu]

Looking for a new solid state amplifier combo unit and this unit looks to tick a lot of marks.  Really impressed with the build quality and price/performance ratio.  Also think it looks really nice and minimalist with the front panel.
 
Wondering if balanced connection is actually worth it?  Only reason I am considering this over the NFB-29 is because I plan to purchase a set of HD800S which comes stock with a balanced cable.
 
It seems that the NFB-29 single ended output will perform better than the single ended than that of the NFB-28 but balanced (theoretically) should perform better on the NFB-28 overall.  Just a question for those of you who go balanced, how much more expensive is it to recable everything into balanced?

 

[TheChillburger]

  Looking for a new solid state amplifier combo unit and this unit looks to tick a lot of marks.  Really impressed with the build quality and price/performance ratio.  Also think it looks really nice and minimalist with the front panel.
 
Wondering if balanced connection is actually worth it?  Only reason I am considering this over the NFB-29 is because I plan to purchase a set of HD800S which comes stock with a balanced cable.
 
It seems that the NFB-29 single ended output will perform better than the single ended than that of the NFB-28 but balanced (theoretically) should perform better on the NFB-28 overall.  Just a question for those of you who go balanced, how much more expensive is it to recable everything into balanced?

For most purposes, I honestly think you're fine staying with single ended. I wanted the XLR outs from the preamp for my desk setup, so I personally splurged for the 28, but the 29 I think is going to sound just about as good.

 

[SashimiWu]

  For most purposes, I honestly think you're fine staying with single ended. I wanted the XLR outs from the preamp for my desk setup, so I personally splurged for the 28, but the 29 I think is going to sound just about as good.

 
Thanks for the input.  I definitely think that the NFB-29 would suit my needs fine but want to make sure before I purchase either unit.
 
I was actually thinking that the NFB-28 might be slightly better for my use since I can use my SE846 with it when I am at home due to the weaker single-ended output.  8 W into 40 ohms seems like it could blow up my IEM's pretty quickly.
 
But this doesn't seem to be a big issue and I am leaning towards not investing into a fully balanced setup since single ended seems more flexible.  Will have to do some more research.

 

[TheChillburger]

   
Thanks for the input.  I definitely think that the NFB-29 would suit my needs fine but want to make sure before I purchase either unit.
 
I was actually thinking that the NFB-28 might be slightly better for my use since I can use my SE846 with it when I am at home due to the weaker single-ended output.  8 W into 40 ohms seems like it could blow up my IEM's pretty quickly.
 
But this doesn't seem to be a big issue and I am leaning towards not investing into a fully balanced setup since single ended seems more flexible.  Will have to do some more research.

I'd just invest into the headphones you know you like and the feature set on the DAC you want. Amps come and go.

 

[bimmer100]

Looking for a new solid state amplifier combo unit and this unit looks to tick a lot of marks.  Really impressed with the build quality and price/performance ratio.  Also think it looks really nice and minimalist with the front panel.

Wondering if balanced connection is actually worth it?  Only reason I am considering this over the NFB-29 is because I plan to purchase a set of HD800S which comes stock with a balanced cable.

It seems that the NFB-29 single ended output will perform better than the single ended than that of the NFB-28 but balanced (theoretically) should perform better on the NFB-28 overall.  Just a question for those of you who go balanced, how much more expensive is it to recable everything into balanced?

I was in the same position as you a while back and quite glad I chose the nfb28. It's now my wife's amp. But I still use it. I now have a master 11. And I do believe balanced is worth it. Each to their own. But other than the obvious Bump on power or volume maybe around 6db gain you might get by using balanced over SE... The sound stage is a bit better imho. And it's quite cheap to convert cables to balanced as long as they are four wire, which most are anyhow.
Recent converted my hd800's to 4pin xlr and boy am I glad. I have never heard them sound soooo good. I almost sold them as SE was ok but not ideal. And that's using it on either the nfb28 or m11. The m11 has plenty of power either way, but balanced just sounds better. Take my opinion with a grain of salt. But most local headfi guys I hang with all prefer xlr over SE. I think there is One guy who likes SE in our local group of audio meets.
If you choose the nfb28, you still can listen with SE and in most situations will have enough power too. But if your hd800s is balanced, then get a balanced amp.

Btw, I listened to the hd800S last night, enjoy.
Also the abyss, but I'm not thrilled about the abyss.
I own the hd800 and editionX, my wife had the pm3

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

  Looking for a new solid state amplifier combo unit and this unit looks to tick a lot of marks.  Really impressed with the build quality and price/performance ratio.  Also think it looks really nice and minimalist with the front panel.
 
Wondering if balanced connection is actually worth it?  Only reason I am considering this over the NFB-29 is because I plan to purchase a set of HD800S which comes stock with a balanced cable.
 
It seems that the NFB-29 single ended output will perform better than the single ended than that of the NFB-28 but balanced (theoretically) should perform better on the NFB-28 overall.  Just a question for those of you who go balanced, how much more expensive is it to recable everything into balanced?

 

   
Thanks for the input.  I definitely think that the NFB-29 would suit my needs fine but want to make sure before I purchase either unit.
 
I was actually thinking that the NFB-28 might be slightly better for my use since I can use my SE846 with it when I am at home due to the weaker single-ended output.  8 W into 40 ohms seems like it could blow up my IEM's pretty quickly.
 
But this doesn't seem to be a big issue and I am leaning towards not investing into a fully balanced setup since single ended seems more flexible.  Will have to do some more research.

I am not sure if the NFB28 would be a big upgrade or more of a side grade from your bifrost and lyr 2.

 

[SashimiWu]

Quote:

   
I am not sure if the NFB28 would be a big upgrade or more of a side grade from your bifrost and lyr 2.

 
I agree it probably wouldn't.  I am curious to try a legit solid state amplifier ever having heard some really high end solid state amps sound amazing with the HD800.  Another reason is the Audio GD products seem to be able to put way more power into higher impedance headphones which makes it really appealing.
 
I could go buy a pair of LISST's but to me that seems like a bit of a compromise (though a big money saver).  Plan is to demo both setups and to see which one I would want to keep.
 
 

I was in the same position as you a while back and quite glad I chose the nfb28. It's now my wife's amp. But I still use it. I now have a master 11. And I do believe balanced is worth it. Each to their own. But other than the obvious Bump on power or volume maybe around 6db gain you might get by using balanced over SE... The sound stage is a bit better imho. And it's quite cheap to convert cables to balanced as long as they are four wire, which most are anyhow.
Recent converted my hd800's to 4pin xlr and boy am I glad. I have never heard them sound soooo good. I almost sold them as SE was ok but not ideal. And that's using it on either the nfb28 or m11. The m11 has plenty of power either way, but balanced just sounds better. Take my opinion with a grain of salt. But most local headfi guys I hang with all prefer xlr over SE. I think there is One guy who likes SE in our local group of audio meets.
If you choose the nfb28, you still can listen with SE and in most situations will have enough power too. But if your hd800s is balanced, then get a balanced amp.

Btw, I listened to the hd800S last night,

enjoy.
Also the abyss, but I'm not thrilled about the abyss.
I own the hd800 and editionX, my wife had the pm3

 
It's always good to hear from the other side.  The HD800S comes with both balanced and single-ended cables so I guess either isn't really a problem.  While it would be nice to have the option of going balanced, I am a bit hesitant to transition my whole setup to balanced since there are many other amplifiers out there that only do single-ended as well that I might want to try in the future.  Also it seems that both balanced and single-ended outputs on the 28/29 put out the same amount of power into 300 ohms so the extra boost in power on the balanced setup would only be for lower impedance headphones.  Though honestly, I haven't heard a nice balanced setup before so it could make all the difference.
 

  I'd just invest into the headphones you know you like and the feature set on the DAC you want. Amps come and go.

 
Very sensible advice and I plan to put most of my funds into the HD800S.  Does this mean you would avoid purchasing combo units?

 

[TheChillburger]

 
Very sensible advice and I plan to put most of my funds into the HD800S.  Does this mean you would avoid purchasing combo units?

I would usually prefer discrete components, but I got a good deal on the NFB28 on the used market. It turned out pretty well for me, all things considered, I even preferred the 28's DAC to the 1704 based Master 7.

 

[jodgey4]

Honestly I'd just try the LISST first. People seem to love it. Go for the 28 if you have enough money to make diminishing returns not a factor.

 

[TheChillburger]

Honestly I'd just try the LISST first. People seem to love it. Go for the 28 if you have enough money to make diminishing returns not a factor.

Yep, way cheaper to experiment with.

 

[SashimiWu]

Thanks for the solid advice guys.  I have decided to go with a Multibit upgrade for the Bifrost and to add LISST tubes.  It's pretty awesome how objective you guys can be even though you own the product yourself.  Maybe I will upgrade to one of Audio GD's flagship units later down the line.  The Master 11 looks amazing.