Oficial? NFB-11.38 Special Limited Edition
Sep 2, 2018 at 12:20 PM Post #20 of 44
I am going to cross post from another thread regarding an issue I am having with my 11.38 and another person is having with their 11.28...

When I listen with my HifiMan Sundara, even a slight movement of my head can cause the NFB to momentarily cut off sound, then sound resumes. At first I thought it was mechanical stress at the headphone jack, but I have lots of play at the jack, so the cord at the jack is not moving.

I also connected my headphones into a 4 way switch so I could chose different headphones to listen to easily, with the switch the only thing directly connected to the NFB, and I can still have this problem.

In case there was a problem with the cord I changed it to a different one, but still the problem persists.

I should say that I don’t remember this problem with anything except the Sundara. But the other person posting about the same problem (on an 11.28) is having that with their HD650... so it is not just the Sundara.

My theory is some form of noise pulse is being generated (no idea how, though) and that pulse is making it into the NFB past what must be some form of protection circuits (again don’t know how), with the response being momentary sound cut off.

I do need to experiment with my other cans to determine if any others cause this problem, but an independent user having a similar problem with different cans says it isn’t just one system and/or one set of cans...

Anyone else experiencing something similar?
 
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Sep 2, 2018 at 12:35 PM Post #21 of 44
Ah então você também é um HUE BR :).... Você é o segundo brasileiro que eu encontro aqui , mas me tira uma dúvida, em qual site você o comprou e quanto custou em reais ?

E ae :D ! Sim, comprei direto com o KingWa, mandei vir por EMS, Receita mandou devolver, mandei de novo e Receita mandou devolver novamente. Ai o Kingwa me deu o refund. Desisto :frowning2:

Did you receive it yet?

Unfortunately no, the custom sent it back AGAIN, so Kingwa refund me. Sorry guys, but looks like i will not participate anymore :frowning2:
 
Sep 2, 2018 at 2:18 PM Post #22 of 44
E ae :D ! Sim, comprei direto com o KingWa, mandei vir por EMS, Receita mandou devolver, mandei de novo e Receita mandou devolver novamente. Ai o Kingwa me deu o refund. Desisto :frowning2:



Unfortunately no, the custom sent it back AGAIN, so Kingwa refund me. Sorry guys, but looks like i will not participate anymore :frowning2:
So sorry to hear that - I cannot imagine the frustration you feel!
 
Sep 2, 2018 at 8:58 PM Post #23 of 44
E ae :D ! Sim, comprei direto com o KingWa, mandei vir por EMS, Receita mandou devolver, mandei de novo e Receita mandou devolver novamente. Ai o Kingwa me deu o refund. Desisto :frowning2:



Unfortunately no, the custom sent it back AGAIN, so Kingwa refund me. Sorry guys, but looks like i will not participate anymore :frowning2:
Brasil, o país que faz de tudo pra nos ferrar, mas e se você comprasse pelo https://www.magnahifi.com/en/, será que o resultado seria o mesmo ?
 
Sep 29, 2018 at 1:39 PM Post #24 of 44
I am going to cross post from another thread regarding an issue I am having with my 11.38 and another person is having with their 11.28...

When I listen with my HifiMan Sundara, even a slight movement of my head can cause the NFB to momentarily cut off sound, then sound resumes. At first I thought it was mechanical stress at the headphone jack, but I have lots of play at the jack, so the cord at the jack is not moving.

I also connected my headphones into a 4 way switch so I could chose different headphones to listen to easily, with the switch the only thing directly connected to the NFB, and I can still have this problem.

In case there was a problem with the cord I changed it to a different one, but still the problem persists.

I should say that I don’t remember this problem with anything except the Sundara. But the other person posting about the same problem (on an 11.28) is having that with their HD650... so it is not just the Sundara.

My theory is some form of noise pulse is being generated (no idea how, though) and that pulse is making it into the NFB past what must be some form of protection circuits (again don’t know how), with the response being momentary sound cut off.

I do need to experiment with my other cans to determine if any others cause this problem, but an independent user having a similar problem with different cans says it isn’t just one system and/or one set of cans...

Anyone else experiencing something similar?
I have determined that the issue I have had was with the connector at the headphone. So far still loving my NFB 11.38. Only issue is I have too many other DACs and amps to play with for it to get all the head time it deserves :)
 
Jan 13, 2020 at 4:42 PM Post #25 of 44
It seems like the NFB 11.38 doesn't get much love these days, but I bought one a few months ago and I'm seriously impressed. The sound is the main selling point, as it should be.

Pros:
  • Very clear & transparent sound. Sound wise it stacks up very well to high end headphone DAC amps. I used Utopias to compare it to ifi iDSD Pro, Chord Hugo2, Chord TT2 + M scaler, Questyle twelve, RME ADI-2 dac. To my untrained ears, there were only tiny improvements if any.
    • I couldn't hear any difference between it and the RME ADI-2 dac
    • ifi iDSD Pro sounded just as clear, but slightly warmer
    • Chord Hugo2 might've have sounded slightly clearer, but I might've just imaged it. In a blind A/B test I question whether I could guess correctly > 2/3s of the time
    • Chord TT2 + M scaler sounded a bit clearer, but not by much and only on 'audiophile' tracks
    • It sounded as clear as the Questyle twelve, but the Questyle twelve added a silkyness to the sound which was very pleasing
  • High gain mode sounds nice, adds just the right amount of bass
  • A lot of power

Cons:
  • I'm always in the lowest portion of the volume control since I prefer the sound of high gain mode. It's not really suitable for sensitive headphones. It's fine with Utopias but I wouldn't want to use anything more sensitive
  • Can't use the DAC as line out
  • Can't use just the headphone stage
  • Bit ugly (on the outside, the sound is beautiful)
 
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Apr 29, 2020 at 1:57 PM Post #27 of 44
It seems like the NFB 11.38 doesn't get much love these days, but I bought one a few months ago and I'm seriously impressed. The sound is the main selling point, as it should be.

Pros:
  • Very clear & transparent sound. Sound wise it stacks up very well to high end headphone DAC amps. I used Utopias to compare it to ifi iDSD Pro, Chord Hugo2, Chord TT2 + M scaler, Questyle twelve, RME ADI-2 dac. To my untrained ears, there were only tiny improvements if any.
    • I couldn't hear any difference between it and the RME ADI-2 dac
    • ifi iDSD Pro sounded just as clear, but slightly warmer
    • Chord Hugo2 might've have sounded slightly clearer, but I might've just imaged it. In a blind A/B test I question whether I could guess correctly > 2/3s of the time
    • Chord TT2 + M scaler sounded a bit clearer, but not by much and only on 'audiophile' tracks
    • It sounded as clear as the Questyle twelve, but the Questyle twelve added a silkyness to the sound which was very pleasing
  • High gain mode sounds nice, adds just the right amount of bass
  • A lot of power

Cons:
  • I'm always in the lowest portion of the volume control since I prefer the sound of high gain mode. It's not really suitable for sensitive headphones. It's fine with Utopias but I wouldn't want to use anything more sensitive
  • Can't use the DAC as line out
  • Can't use just the headphone stage
  • Bit ugly (on the outside, the sound is beautiful)

Definitely not for sensitive headphones. It makes crappy phones sound nice, but I've found them to sound a bit muddy unless I'm somehow missing some magical piece of my configuration.
 
Aug 1, 2020 at 5:44 PM Post #28 of 44
I have determined that the issue I have had was with the connector at the headphone. So far still loving my NFB 11.38. Only issue is I have too many other DACs and amps to play with for it to get all the head time it deserves :)

Been looking at the 11.38 for a while to use with my DT1990 Pro. At the moment I'm also considering the Yulong DAART Aquilla II. I would rather not go with something from SMSL or Topping. The impression they give me is that it's just a mash up of chips. I imagine the sound of the 11.38 and maybe the Aquilla would sound more organic.

I was wondering is the the USB driver installation something to be concerned about? Seems a bit of a random thing since I don't see it being a thing on other amps that I've researched.
 
Feb 9, 2021 at 11:12 AM Post #29 of 44
Today I pulled the trigger and ordered the Audio-GD NFB 11.38 from Magna Hifi 😁
I will post some impressions and comparisons with my SMSL M200/SP200 stack when it arrived in a couple weeks.

So according to Amrim I'm now an audio retard that shouldn't spend more then 20 dollars on audio gear as I won't hear if it's good or bad anyway, good to be part of that club 😉
 
Feb 10, 2021 at 3:19 AM Post #30 of 44
Haha.
Yes, you are. :smile:

Wish to have an insight what the asr fellow would say without any measurements being done. ^^

That's another kind of bias, i'd say. :)

Have fun with the AGD anyway.
 

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