Three New Amps on Preorder from Audio-GD (C-2 11th Anniversary Edition, NFB-1AMP, NFB-3AMP)

[gto88]

I figured it out after a good night sleep.
My iFi iDSD dac is out of power!
I used its battery all day yesterday in office, and when I connected it last night
it is almost dried out.
I am sorry about the false alarm, and thanks a lot for the suggestion.
Everything is working fine.
 
And I confirm that a good HP (LCD-X) need a good AMP, even the X is easy to drive.
But with this AMP it sounds better, much better.
 
All music I use to listen have come to live with this AMP.
 
BTW, I use RCA from iDSD to NFB-1AMP, and connect the balanced cable to LCD-X.
No problem at all.

 

[SodaBoy]

  I figured it out after a good night sleep.
My iFi iDSD dac is out of power!
I used its battery all day yesterday in office, and when I connected it last night
it is almost dried out.
I am sorry about the false alarm, and thanks a lot for the suggestion.
Everything is working fine.
 
And I confirm that a good HP (LCD-X) need a good AMP, even the X is easy to drive.
But with this AMP it sounds better, much better.
 
All music I use to listen have come to live with this AMP.
 
BTW, I use RCA from iDSD to NFB-1AMP, and connect the balanced cable to LCD-X.
No problem at all.

Good to hear that it's nothing serious.

 

[Pirakaphile]

I'm liking the short reviews so far. I might get the NFB-1 amp soon due to unexpected gift stuff. I'll just wait for a few more detailed impressions. Maybe I'll do a comparison between this guy and the Liquid Carbon.

 

[lukeap69]

I'm liking the short reviews so far. I might get the NFB-1 amp soon due to unexpected gift stuff. I'll just wait for a few more detailed impressions. Maybe I'll do a comparison between this guy and the Liquid Carbon.

That would be great. Cheers.

 

[Beolab]

I checked the NFB-1 AMP specs with Audio-GD and the answer was that it produces
8 watt @ 40 Ohm per channel because it is a Balanced amp and build like a DUAL MONO with two separate amps into one casing.

 

[Pirakaphile]

I checked the NFB-1 AMP specs with Audio-GD and the answer was that it produces
8 watt @ 40 Ohm per channel because it is a Balanced amp and build like a DUAL MONO with two separate amps into one casing.

So you could pretty much use the HE-6 as a pair of speakers with this amp. The Master-9 even has three balanced transformers, and their Master-3 amp is really just two mono amps in one case. 

 

[SodaBoy]

I checked the NFB-1 AMP specs with Audio-GD and the answer was that it produces
8 watt @ 40 Ohm per channel because it is a Balanced amp and build like a DUAL MONO with two separate amps into one casing.

Keep in mind that the max rated power does not reflect maximum rated power within class A operation. Moreover, the NFB-1AMP in my opinion does not constitute a dual mono design as both channels share a common power supply. On the other hand, the Master-9 IS a dual mono design, and is rated to 9 watts within class A operation @ 40 ohms.
 
All that being said, the C-2 and NFB-1AMP are top tier amps that can compete with amps twice or even thrice their price range.

 

[Kingwa]

Our products  mark the power output specs is for per channel .
Keep the amp burn in, try the better power cables, least had a good printer power cable may help in sound quality.

 

[Beolab]

Thanks Kingwa!

SodaBoy you can delete your last posting.

Its 8 watt / channel

 

[SodaBoy]

Quote:

Thanks Kingwa!

SodaBoy you can delete your last posting.

Its 8 watt / channel

Oops. Can't delete it. Can edit though.
 

I checked the NFB-1 AMP specs with Audio-GD and the answer was that it produces
8 watt @ 40 Ohm per channel because it is a Balanced amp and build like a DUAL MONO with two separate amps into one casing.

 
So the NFB-1AMP pushes 8 watts max @ 40 ohm per channel, because it is balanced and built like a dual mono according to you. The C-2 is single ended, and it pushes 8 watts max @ 40 ohm per channel as well. Nothing to do with balanced or single ended.
 

  Our products  mark the power output specs is for per channel .
Keep the amp burn in, try the better power cables, least had a good printer power cable may help in sound quality.

What is the "Headphone amp Output Power" under "Pure Class A" for the NFB-1AMP? It is not stated on the Audio-GD site. I and a few others have asked before and received no response. No headphone I use will ever pull it out of Class A, but since the measurements were taken within Class A conditions, shouldn't the "Pure Class A" rating be published?

 

[uncola]

I'm pretty sure you can assume it's the same as the c2

 

[SodaBoy]

  I'm pretty sure you can assume it's the same as the c2

Can't say for sure. I just know that I have been asking about it since 4 weeks ago, and some other guy as well. If it was the same, I don't see why they wouldn't put it on the spec sheet other than to remain purposefully ambiguous. It's kinda like they want to imply that C-2 has more Class A power, without saying it outright. Either way, I'm not running a HE-6/Abyss/K1000 so I'm easily within the margin, but info is info.

 

[LancerFIN]

Is Master 11 true dual mono?

 

[SodaBoy]

Is Master 11 true dual mono?

I guess so, each channel has its own power supply, its own trafo. Digital side is separated with its own power supply as well. It doesn't really matter though, so long as it achieves its stated performance, the topology is no big deal for the consumer.

 

[darren700]

So I finally received my amp today!
Got it all setup very quickly, feeding it balanced via Yulong DA8 and using the NFB1-Amp as a Balanced Pre-Amp for my B22.
Build quality of the amp is the quality build I have come to expect from Audio-GD. very solid case with excellent fit and finish, smooth rads, great machining. smooth rotating volume control, nice blue display. Neutrik connectors, More inputs and outputs than I will ever use, What more could I ask for?
 
Right away I was scared ****less because the remote didnt work, but I opened it up and it had no batteries. Popped batteries in and it worked perfect. Note that is the smaller SA-31 remote on the right in the pictures. As you can see they have changed the design of the remote. The new design is nice, a little bit heavier due to its increase in size. I am going to be using this as my preamp in my 2-Channel Speaker setup in the near future so the remote is an extremely important feature to me. The remote feels very solid in the hands, and the build quality is top notch, it is machined of one solid piece of aluminum! I am a machinist by trade and I can tell it was made with a lot of care and attention to detail. It is not gonna break now matter how many times its dropped.
Note that each volume level change on the remote requires a click of the button. Holding the button down only ups the volume one level. (Ie. You have to press a ton of times to go up the whole volume range) A slight downfall but I can deal with it.
 
I had issues with my SA-31 Remote interfering with my Marantz receiver in the past, changing the volume on the Marantz in addition to the SA-31. Therefore I requested a different remote frequency to be programmed into my NFB-1AMP, but it looks like King-wa was kind enough to send me a whole extra remote board with my amp! I would assume that it has a second frequency to try if I have the interference issue again. Now that is customer service!
 
I love the return of the big silver volume knob! I have to say its my favorite part of the amp. I hate the buttons on my SA-31, takes way to long to adjust the volume through the whole range. With the rotary knob it only takes 3 seconds to adjust the whole range thanks to the exponential volume. The rotary knob is so nice and smooth, and you can feel each volume graduation step but not hear it from the knob. But you do hear the relays changing inside the amp, which I like personally.
One other thing I noticed, on my SA-31 when I turn it on, it flashes and gives me the option to restore the last volume level by hitting volume up. Unfortunately on the NFB-1AMP the volume is reset to 00 each time you turn it on. This means that in a speaker setup you have to hit the volume up button 30 times to get to a previous volume level of 30.
 
Listening on my LCD2v2’s right now and I love it so far! Very preliminary impressions but Sounds extremely detailed and balanced. Enjoy the pics.