[muad]

Cable plug? For optical it will look the same as the optical input on the back of the NFB12. Coaxial looks like a normal RCA connector (a single one).
 
You may be better off sticking with USB over onboard optical...
 

 

[ac500]

That's interesting... I'd like to know if anyone here knows how to brighten up the NFB-12 with jumpers. It hasn't arrived yet so I don't know if I'll even want to do this since I like warm sound, but it would be good to know.
 
Quote:

That's an optical cable, the rubber caps keep dust out of the ends. The black things are jumpers, they complete circuits on the NFB12 and probably fell out during transport. Your NFB12 is probably broken... I'm just messing with you   The black things are jumpers, they are for switching on the digital filters of the WM8471 chips if you want to adjust the sound. I think the filters roll of the highs if I am not mistaken. Maybe someone else can elaborate...

 

 

[muad]

oops sorry... I assumed it had filter options like the fun
 
 
Quote:

[size=large]How to set the NFB-12 DAC output as variable line level only?

    [/size][size=x-small]The NFB-12 has one group Line out for dedicated DAC output, [/size][size=x-small]In default its output level setting is at variable only (if yours amp or active speakers without volume control, we advice setting to variable output only).[/size][size=x-small] But owners can set it to [/size][size=x-small]can select between variable and fixed or[/size][size=x-small] output variable line level only . See the photos, change the jumper to "variable" side to set the DAC output to variable only[/size][size=x-small].
[/size]

 

 

[Chris_Himself]

Optical is much better than USB. You'll hear the difference usually. USB sends a power signal too which adds a bit of crosstalk to the data. Optical is just data, it's just shooting data via light pulses.
 
The problem with optical is that you have to set up some stuff on the Windows/OSX side, but other than that, smooth sailing

 

[Yyong]

Quote:

Optical is much better than USB. You'll hear the difference usually. USB sends a power signal too which adds a bit of crosstalk to the data. Optical is just data, it's just shooting data via light pulses.
 
The problem with optical is that you have to set up some stuff on the Windows/OSX side, but other than that, smooth sailing

What sound cards are there that support optical connections? I just took a look at mine and there is no support unfortunately. Could you possibly give an example, as in a brand or specific model that caters to high-end audio?

 

[Chris_Himself]

Are you sure? It's usually the black 3.5mm jack and it's a 3.5mm to TOSLINK cable

 

[olor1n]

I used optical with my Audio-GD Fun for a long time, as I was initially unimpressed with the usb input (using the cables provided by Audio-GD, as well other generic cables). Not only did I perceive artifacts, but I was also experiencing skipping during playback. Switching to optical seemed to present a more transparent signature and certainly alleviated the skipping issue. I've since obtain a Furutech Formula 2 usb cable to test the input again. I've been using it for a few weeks now and have yet to hear a skip. It also seems a tad warmer, but slightly more detailed than optical. It's very subtle, but at the very least the usb implementation on the Fun (with a good cable) is just as good as optical. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume comparable quality on the NFB-12.

 

[Chris_Himself]

I mean for the most part I always thought audiophile USB cables might have been going a bit too far, but maybe you might be onto something. 

 

[muad]

Just because the USB cable has a power wire does not mean that there will be cross talk... also the Fun doesn't use the power wire to power itself so there should be no addition noise from our shoddy pc power supples. All it uses is the digital information that it receives, as in the 1's and 0's. There should be no changes to the digital information as long as the USB is well implemented and the cable is of decent quality. Yeah the 1 dollar bulk usb might artifact from bad connections etc. A good quality $10 cable should be no different than a $3000 cable! (yes there was one on amazon awhile back)

 

[ac500]

> I've since obtain a Furutech Formula 2 usb cable to test the input again. I've been using it for a few weeks now and have yet to hear a skip. It also seems a tad warmer, but slightly more detailed than optical.
 
Oh. Wow. I think you've just convinced me that all cables are a placebo effect, because...
 
This is the very definition of placebo effect. As a computer engineer, I don't know how to stress enough that there is literally no difference from one USB cable to another, unless one is broken entirely (loose wire). Again, it is impossible for the data from USB cable to differ from another, other than one being flat out broken.
 
Your sound is sent from the computer across USB as digital information - 1's and 0's basically. All working USB cables achieve this with 100% accurate reproduction. This 100% is not an exaggeration. This is not analog, there is no possibility for voltage/conductivity effects, etc. to make a difference. Repeat after me: 100% accurate reproduction.
 
The conversion from 100% accurate digital to the analog that eventually makes it to the drivers is done by the DAC (which is inside the box and has nothing to do with the cable), which an important part and certainly can effect the sound.

 

[olor1n]

Quote:

> I've since obtain a Furutech Formula 2 usb cable to test the input again. I've been using it for a few weeks now and have yet to hear a skip. It also seems a tad warmer, but slightly more detailed than optical.
 
Oh. Wow. I think you've just convinced me that all cables are a placebo effect, because...
 
This is the very definition of placebo effect. As a computer engineer, I don't know how to stress enough that there is literally no difference from one USB cable to another, unless one is broken entirely (loose wire). Again, it is impossible for the data from USB cable to differ from another, other than one being flat out broken.
 
Your sound is sent from the computer across USB as digital information - 1's and 0's basically. All working USB cables achieve this with 100% accurate reproduction. This 100% is not an exaggeration. This is not analog, there is no possibility for voltage/conductivity effects, etc. to make a difference. Repeat after me: 100% accurate reproduction.
 
The conversion from 100% accurate digital to the analog that eventually makes it to the drivers is done by the DAC (which is inside the box and has nothing to do with the cable), which an important part and certainly can effect the sound.

You've convinced me to ignore everything you post from now on. Thanks for the selective quoting and taking that statement out of context.
 

 

[muad]

Wow ac500, you're 100% right but no one is gonna listen to you if you come across a little blunt

 

[ac500]

I'm sorry, but I just shudder to think of some non-technically oriented person coming to Head-Fi to get authoritative information about headphones, only to start believing that you can upgrade your USB cable to get better sound quality. My post was not aimed at anyone in particular. The analog cable issue is still open to debate, because it is technically not impossible, but this is simply not the case for digital and frankly it's sad that this idea would even be around in 2011.
 
And if I offend someone who has already purchased a $100 USB cable, I would much rather them hate me, and learn not to waste their money further on even more expensive USB cables, than to like me and continue wasting their hard earned money.
 
P.S. I really don't want to make anyone feel bad for spending $100+ on a USB cable, I'm just concerned for others who might make the same purchase for reasons other than appearance.
 
> You've convinced me to ignore everything you post from now on. 
 
Why?
 
Anyway, it's good to hear the NFB-12 has good quality USB support.

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

I'd like to get these =)