[Denys]

Hi guys,
 
Any clue if Kingwa can replace the ACSS output to an RCA output ?
 
I'd like to have one balanced and two RCA output !!!
 
Thanks
 
Denys

 

[vrln]

Email him and ask, add "Send for Kingwa only" in the subject. He´s done many modifications like that before, but just remember that you can´t get the best out of an ACSS amplifier then. Most likely it will be no problem at all.

 

[Denys]

Quote:

Email him and ask, add "Send for Kingwa only" in the subject. He´s done many modifications like that before, but just remember that you can´t get the best out of an ACSS amplifier then. Most likely it will be no problem at all.

Thanks,,,, maybe he can build a ACSS to RCA cable and if later on I buy an Audio-GD amp, I could still use the ACSS output....
 
I'll ask him....if I ever make my choice on a DAC !!! I was almost ready to order the NFB-8 with the Sabre DAC....now, I have no clue which one... maybe the REF 5....I am confused..
 
We'll see... anyway, thanks for the answer..
 
Denys
 

 

[vrln]

Quote:

Quote:

Email him and ask, add "Send for Kingwa only" in the subject. He´s done many modifications like that before, but just remember that you can´t get the best out of an ACSS amplifier then. Most likely it will be no problem at all.

Thanks,,,, maybe he can build a ACSS to RCA cable and if later on I buy an Audio-GD amp, I could still use the ACSS output....
 
I'll ask him....if I ever make my choice on a DAC !!! I was almost ready to order the NFB-8 with the Sabre DAC....now, I have no clue which one... maybe the REF 5....I am confused..
 
We'll see... anyway, thanks for the answer..
 
Denys
 

I´d get an NFB-8 (Wolfson version). The Wolfson chip has been on the market for a while already and has a solid track record (PS Audio PerfectWave DAC, Meier Audio StageDAC etc). It´s also (according to forums and Kingwa) a little warmer / less strict in a positive way than the Sabre32. The price is also very good, over 500 dollars cheaper than the old REF7. I think it´s also safer choice than the Sabre version with the diamond differential output. The new NFB-8 is just Audio-gd´s trademark tech on a very tested and good modern Delta-Sigma chip.
 
By the way, there is no ACSS to RCA cable. If you want to use an Audio-gd DAC and AMP in pure ACSS mode, then you´ll need to use the ACSS port on both. The ACSS cables are very cheap and it has the highest signal to noise ratio. But no matter what output you use in an ACSS line product, you will be using ACSS technology (that´s what the ACSS modules in the NFB8 are for). But if you want the purest signal, then you´ll have to use ACSS cables between the dedicated ACSS ports. Personally unless you are 100% sure you will never buy an Audio-gd amplifier, I would keep the ACSS port. 

 

[macrog]

It is easy to get a balanced XLR to unbalanced cable RCA. Yes definately keep the ACSS it is one of the fundamentals of the NFB8wm design.
 
If the 2 rca outputs is only a short term thing you could plug in a single to double rca adapter.
 
Regards
 
Macrog

 

[Denys]

 
Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Email him and ask, add "Send for Kingwa only" in the subject. He´s done many modifications like that before, but just remember that you can´t get the best out of an ACSS amplifier then. Most likely it will be no problem at all.

Thanks,,,, maybe he can build a ACSS to RCA cable and if later on I buy an Audio-GD amp, I could still use the ACSS output....
 
I'll ask him....if I ever make my choice on a DAC !!! I was almost ready to order the NFB-8 with the Sabre DAC....now, I have no clue which one... maybe the REF 5....I am confused..
 
We'll see... anyway, thanks for the answer..
 
Denys
 

I´d get an NFB-8 (Wolfson version). The Wolfson chip has been on the market for a while already and has a solid track record (PS Audio PerfectWave DAC, Meier Audio StageDAC etc). It´s also (according to forums and Kingwa) a little warmer / less strict in a positive way than the Sabre32. The price is also very good, over 500 dollars cheaper than the old REF7. I think it´s also safer choice than the Sabre version with the diamond differential output. The new NFB-8 is just Audio-gd´s trademark tech on a very tested and good modern Delta-Sigma chip.
 
By the way, there is no ACSS to RCA cable. If you want to use an Audio-gd DAC and AMP in pure ACSS mode, then you´ll need to use the ACSS port on both. The ACSS cables are very cheap and it has the highest signal to noise ratio. But no matter what output you use in an ACSS line product, you will be using ACSS technology (that´s what the ACSS modules in the NFB8 are for). But if you want the purest signal, then you´ll have to use ACSS cables between the dedicated ACSS ports. Personally unless you are 100% sure you will never buy an Audio-gd amplifier, I would keep the ACSS port. 

 Thanks for your reply...food for thought...
 
I'd like to have three output....One for my tube amp (could be XLR), one for my tube headphone amp (WA6SE i.e. RCA) and another one for my solid state headphone amp....
 
Right now, I use a MOTU 828 MKIII with modified opamp and PSU.....There are tons of output on this thing !!!
 
Denys


Quote:

It is easy to get a balanced XLR to unbalanced cable RCA. Yes definately keep the ACSS it is one of the fundamentals of the NFB8wm design.
 
If the 2 rca outputs is only a short term thing you could plug in a single to double rca adapter.
 
Regards
 
Macrog

Hi Macrog,
 
Yes, I do have a pair of XLR to RCA cable, but as metioned above, I (preferably) need three outputs...This is why it could be neat if there was such a thing as ACSS to RCA cable..
 
Denys

 

 

[Cankin]

 
Quote:

Hi Macrog,
 
Yes, I do have a pair of XLR to RCA cable, but as metioned above, I (preferably) need three outputs...This is why it could be neat if there was such a thing as ACSS to RCA cable..
 
Denys

 

 
 
The difference between ACSS and RCA is not just about cable nor connector, they are different animal. Assume that you will not be using both of your tube and SS amp at the same time, all you need is a RCA switcher. Hope that helps.

 

[Denys]

 
Quote:

 
Quote:

Hi Macrog,
 
Yes, I do have a pair of XLR to RCA cable, but as metioned above, I (preferably) need three outputs...This is why it could be neat if there was such a thing as ACSS to RCA cable..
 
Denys

 

 
 
The difference between ACSS and RCA is not just about cable nor connector, they are different animal. Assume that you will not be using both of your tube and SS amp at the same time, all you need is a RCA switcher. Hope that helps.

 
Or best, I buy a Audio-GD headphone amp in the future !! and sell my solid state amp...

 
Denys

 

 

[vrln]

ACSS is very nice as there´s no need for expensive cables. It´s the purest way (best signal path) to connect Audio-gd gear. With ACSS the entire system (DAC + AMP) acts as one unit. I used to be pretty conservative about switching gear, but the used market works pretty well. I´ve swapped everything this year

 

[Audio-Omega]

Has anyone compared this to Reference 7 ?

 

[vrln]

NFB-8(WM) is brand new. I don´t think any have been shipped yet...

 

[Currawong]

Audio-Omega: Nobody owns one yet.  Definitely an interesting question though.
 
As for the sound, Kingwa told me a couple of years ago he could tweak a gain/amplification stage in any of his products to sound any way he wanted.  If you ask him, say, about tube amps, he will probably reply with what he said to me, which was that he could make a solid state amp sound like a tube amp so there was no point.  If his previous gear is any indication, most of the design wont be essentially any different to his other gear, as he uses the same concepts he has already mastered, such as ACSS, power supply and output stage. Improvements in the digital area is what he seems to have spent most of his time on in the last couple of years.  I can't help wondering how the WM8805 compares to the DSP.
 
Something else worth considering, which is important: In this photo, everything in the red box is power supply circuitry! This is why high-end DACs tend to be so large, as it's critical to have as clean a supply of power to the circuits as possible. Basically, as you go up the range, you're getting bigger power supplies -- the rest is more or less the same. I'll bet if you used a better power supply than the wall-wart on the DacMagic it would undoubtedly sound a lot better too.

 

[vrln]

Found something interesting... The new ALO Audio iPod digital transport/headphone amplfier/DAC combo also dumped Sabre for Wolfson (just like PS Audio with PerfectWave DAC). For the exact reason speculated on this thread: Wolfson is warmer and more musical, even though Sabre defeats it on paper.
 
"Yes we also tried the Sabre chip which looked good on paper but when listened to was not nearly as musical as the warmer and richer Wolfson. Hence it didn't make it into the final design." (taken from http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/aloaudio2/3.html)
 

 

[ericdube]

For what it's worth, I decided to place an order for NFB-8. Although, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be receiving it though since I'm not buying it direct (going through their reseller in the US), but I'll report back when I have a chance to listen to it. (I'm upgrading from the Audio-GD DAC-19DF.)

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

For what it's worth, I decided to place an order for NFB-8. Although, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be receiving it though since I'm not buying it direct (going through their reseller in the US), but I'll report back when I have a chance to listen to it. (I'm upgrading from the Audio-GD DAC-19DF.)

Congratulations and keep us updated!