[k4rstar]

  I'm leaning towards going for an NFB-1 and pairing it with a Modi 2 Multibit...I'm kinda stuck between that and just going for the NFB-28.

 
If you don't plan on upgrading to the Gungnir Multibit in the foreseeable future, I would recommend just going for the NFB-28. The only thing the Modi MB has going for it over the DAC in the 28 is the multi-bit tonality.

 

[k4rstar]

  Does anyone have this with the Amanero combo384 USB upgrade? What exactly does it improve over the Xmos U8?

 
I don't have the upgrade because I don't use USB, but I recommend it if you plan on using a direct USB connection. The Amanero drivers should be a bit more stable than Xmos.

 

[PinkyPowers]

I have the Amanero, but I can't tell you how they benefit over anything else, since it's all I use. All I can say is it sounds good.

 

[Triggaaar]

  I'm leaning towards going for an NFB-1 and pairing it with a Modi 2 Multibit...I'm kinda stuck between that and just going for the NFB-28.

I feel your pain

 

[Triggaaar]

   
If you don't plan on upgrading to the Gungnir Multibit in the foreseeable future, I would recommend just going for the NFB-28. The only thing the Modi MB has going for it over the DAC in the 28 is the multi-bit tonality.

Have you compared the balanced out against the single out of the NFB-28? It's probably not a fair comparison as the 28 is designed to be used balanced, but I'd be interested to know if there's really much difference in use (I'm aware that there's the NFB-29 for those that know they'll never want balanced).

 

[k4rstar]

 
Have you compared the balanced out against the single out of the NFB-28? It's probably not a fair comparison as the 28 is designed to be used balanced, but I'd be interested to know if there's really much difference in use (I'm aware that there's the NFB-29 for those that know they'll never want balanced).

 
No, I have been using it balanced with the HD650s since I got it. I can't find my stock cable to do a comparison unfortunately. I've only used the SE output with a $15 pair of Koss on-ears for fun, and it sounded quite good but that isn't exactly a stress test lol

 

[djchup]

  Does anyone have this with the Amanero combo384 USB upgrade? What exactly does it improve over the Xmos U8?
 

 
From earlier in this thread:
 
Quote:

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

So first, congrats on choosing the nfb28. My wife has this AIO amp/Dac and loves it. She has the amanero combo 384.
Tone is slightly better on amanero than xmos. Xmos is slightly brighter and you don't need that with an already somewhat bright sounding sabre Dac. Albeit the nfb28 is one of the best sounding sabre dacs IMHO. The amanero has one glitch and its initialization time is .5sec so sound will stutter when it boots up for the first time. Or initialized. Once warmed up it is fine. Until you stop music and it goes back to sleep after a min or something. Jriver has an option to allow 1sec delay for startup initialization of the USB module. This fixes it.
Xmos does not have this issue, also xmos has great driver support.
Overall amanero is still better IMHO.
The clocks on the amanero are better too. The clocks on the xmos are crappy 50cent clocks. They are not as accurate and likely why it sounds less of quality that amanero. To be honest, xmos can sound really damn good if it has good power implementation and excellent high performance clocks like NDK or crystek.
Anyhow. Get the amanero is my opinion:
And for HDMI.... It is for i2s... Nothing to do with the HDMI you are familiar with. It simply uses HDMI or rj45 cables as a way to transport the i2s signal. You could potentially damage something if you plug it into an HDMI device. Maybe even the Dac.
But... If you plan to get the diu8 then you can get better power implementation to the xmos inside of the diu8, it sounds better. But still prefer amanero IMHO. I missed my diu8 with crystek and then NDK. It sounds notably better than the amanero now. But it's not an easy task...
Again. Get HDMI i2s only if you plan to upgrade to a high end DDC like diu8 and plan to mod it. Otherwise not too many choices. The off ramp 5 is excellent. But costs way more than the nfb28.
Basically, my gut feeling is you won't use i2s, so don't get HDMI i2s interface. It's not to hook up to your tv or whatever you might be thinking.
Hope this helps.

Other options is to consider r2r Dac. The dac19 is quite a step up from the nfb28 IMHO. But also need a good amp to pair. Like nfb1amp

 

 


If you go off of what is said on the Audio-GD main page, the xmos U8 has been upgraded to the xmos U208 in Audio-GD's entire product line as of November 1st.  I'm not sure how much better the U208 is compared to the U8 though....

 

[jodgey4]

The balanced operation gave a clearer low end, sharpened up the image, gave the treble more space, and opened up the mids. It's a more neutral and open presentation, which is awesome with my LCD-2s.

 

[SodaBoy]

 
Thanks. Have you had the chance to compare their DACs against the Jot?
 
PS - What is the pre-out like on the NFB1-Amp and NFB-28?

Haven't listened to the Jot, if I'm not mistaken it's pretty new too.
 
The pre is good, there are home theater and stereo guys using the Audio-GD stuff as pre's first, with HP out as an afterthought. Take one look at the price of dedicated preamps with a high quality passive attenuator, and you'd understand why they swear by the Audio-GD stuff.
 
Whether you go NFB-1 or NFB-28 route, keep it balanced throughout the chain. The single ended is just there for convenience, like when you need to quickly test a headphone with a 1/4" jack. It's still good, but then you are wasting the amp's potential.

 

[Triggaaar]

  The pre is good, there are home theater and stereo guys using the Audio-GD stuff as pre's first, with HP out as an afterthought. Take one look at the price of dedicated preamps with a high quality passive attenuator, and you'd understand why they swear by the Audio-GD stuff.
 
Whether you go NFB-1 or NFB-28 route, keep it balanced throughout the chain. The single ended is just there for convenience, like when you need to quickly test a headphone with a 1/4" jack. It's still good, but then you are wasting the amp's potential.

Thanks - I'll be using the pre for active monitors (Mackie HR624). I currently use them with an Exposure pre-amp, which I could sell if my HP amp has a good pre-out.
 
My 'phones don't have balanced connectors, I don't fancy making any, and they're not available cheaply in the UK. A simple 4pin to 1/4" converter would solve the problem, as I could just use the balanced out until I later get balanced cables. Otherwise I'd be better with the C2 & DAC or HFB-29.

 

[bassaddicted]

Thanks - I'll be using the pre for active monitors (Mackie HR624). I currently use them with an Exposure pre-amp, which I could sell if my HP amp has a good pre-out.

My 'phones don't have balanced connectors, I don't fancy making any, and they're not available cheaply in the UK. A simple 4pin to 1/4" converter would solve the problem, as I could just use the balanced out until I later get balanced cables. Otherwise I'd be better with the C2 & DAC or HFB-29.

I had an NFB10.33., which was the Wolfson 8740 version of the NFB 28. I purchased it for the sole purpose of being a preamp/DAC in my stereo. It replaced a $2,000 preamp and $500 DAC. The Audio GD sounded better than that $2,500 combo.nothing to worry about there

 

[Triggaaar]

I had an NFB10.33., which was the Wolfson 8740 version of the NFB 28. I purchased it for the sole purpose of being a preamp/DAC in my stereo. It replaced a $2,000 preamp and $500 DAC. The Audio GD sounded better than that $2,500 combo.nothing to worry about there

 

[Andrew Rieger]

  I'm leaning towards going for an NFB-1 and pairing it with a Modi 2 Multibit...I'm kinda stuck between that and just going for the NFB-28.

Wouldn't the better match for the Mimby be the Audio GD C-2 11th Anniversary? Its basically the NFB-1 but single ended (I think I read its just 1/2 of the Master 9, same topology.) Kingwa said the C-2 performs better than the NFB-1 if you are only planning on using a single ended source like the the Mimby. 
 
I'm currently dealing with my own dilemma. 
 
I have a Mimby currently and I want to upgrade my amp. My options are:
 
Modi Multibit + C-2 (Around $850 with tax+shipping)
NFB-1 + NFB-1 DAC (Around $1200 with tax+shipping)
 
With the second setup I gain balanced but I add roughly $350 and I lose the multibit sound. Decisions, decisions. I want to keep me units separate which is why I'm taking the 28 out of contention. 

 

[k4rstar]

 
Wouldn't the better match for the Mimby be the Audio GD C-2 11th Anniversary? Its basically the NFB-1 but single ended (I think I read its just 1/2 of the Master 9, same topology.) Kingwa said the C-2 performs better than the NFB-1 if you are only planning on using a single ended source like the the Mimby. 
 
I'm currently dealing with my own dilemma. 
 
I have a Mimby currently and I want to upgrade my amp. My options are:
 
Modi Multibit + C-2 (Around $850 with tax+shipping)
NFB-1 + NFB-1 DAC (Around $1200 with tax+shipping)
 
With the second setup I gain balanced but I add roughly $350 and I lose the multibit sound. Decisions, decisions. I want to keep me units separate which is why I'm taking the 28 out of contention. 

 
You are thinking way too much into balanced inputs from sources with balanced outputs. The entire chain doesn't need to be "fully balanced" to reap the benefits of a balanced topology on a headamp. Thus there's absolutely nothing wrong with running a Modi Multibit into a 1AMP, and it will still outperform a C-2.

 

[Andrew Rieger]

Quote:

   
You are thinking way too much into balanced inputs from sources with balanced outputs. The entire chain doesn't need to be "fully balanced" to reap the benefits of a balanced topology on a headamp. Thus there's absolutely nothing wrong with running a Modi Multibit into a 1AMP, and it will still outperform a C-2.

Now I'm super confused. So if the source isn't balanced but the amp is, it is still outputting a balanced signal? I'm admittedly ignorant on this subject. I thought that a balanced amp that was fed a single ended signal had no sonic benefits over a fully single ended set-up. 
 
This is what Kingwa says on his site:
 
If customer like to keep your headphone with single ended connector (6.3MM), choice the C-2 get better performance than the NFB-1AMP.
If customer had the balance connector headphone or can modify the headphone with balance connector, choice the NFB-1AMP.
 
So if I'm understanding you correctly, sound quality rankings would be:
 
1. Balanced DAC -> XLR -> NFB-1 -> Balanced Headphone
2. Single Ended DAC -> RCA -> NFB-1 -> Balanced Headphone
3. Single Ended DAC -> RCA -> C-2 -> Single Ended Headphone
4. Single Ended DAC -> RCA -> NFB-1 -> Single Ended Headphone
 
So confusing.