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

[gto88]

I am counting the days since I placed the order....
I believe this amp is worth the wait.
 
@LancerFIN
I too wonder how people can hear those details between devices.
But, I do know many have sensitive hearing, such as my wife,
she can hear desk top cable controller power supply humming while it is turned off.
It took us several months to find out where the sound comes from, so we
had to unplug it while not using it.
And I cannot hear it all the time.

 

[elwappo99]

 

   
I don't think anyone has a NFB-1AMP on hand yet. Even when these units ship, the chances of someone having a Gustard on hand to compare is slim, so it might be awhile. 

I know chances of someone having H10 and NFB-1AMP are 100% once mine arrives. But honestly I doubt I'll be able to describe the differences that well. I don't understand how some people hear those differences which they describe.
 
Email said lead time 1 week. So if I am not mistaken that is 1 week + shipping totaling 2 weeks before I get it.

 
Can't wait to hear your impressions! 

 

[SodaBoy]

Been obsessively checking the shipping list for my NFB-1AMP, and came across this today:
 

 
The Master 11, essentially a Master 7 + Master 9 combo unit for the price of one at $1850. Insane deal, if this came out a few months earlier, I would be done with signal chain for a decade or more.
 
Hope it gets its own thread, it's a crazy deal, but I'm dead broke now and the USD is too strong. Quality is becoming more affordable than ever, but it seems I always miss the train...

 

[lukeap69]

  Been obsessively checking the shipping list for my NFB-1AMP, and came across this today:
 

 
The Master 11, essentially a Master 7 + Master 9 combo unit for the price of one at $1850. Insane deal, if this came out a few months earlier, I would be done with signal chain for a decade or more.
 
Hope it gets its own thread, it's a crazy deal, but I'm dead broke now and the USD is too strong. Quality is becoming more affordable than ever, but it seems I always miss the train...

Had I know this was coming few months ago, I could have waited a little 

 

[LancerFIN]

  Been obsessively checking the shipping list for my NFB-1AMP, and came across this today:
 

 
The Master 11, essentially a Master 7 + Master 9 combo unit for the price of one at $1850. Insane deal, if this came out a few months earlier, I would be done with signal chain for a decade or more.
 
Hope it gets its own thread, it's a crazy deal, but I'm dead broke now and the USD is too strong. Quality is becoming more affordable than ever, but it seems I always miss the train...

wait what... If I sold my Gustard stack + the price of NFB-1AMP I would be quite close to the price of Master 11. Life is full of hard choices.

 

[lukeap69]

wait what... If I sold my Gustard stack + the price of NFB-1AMP I would be quite close to the price of Master 11. Life is full of hard choices.

And if I were in your situation, I will get the Master 11 in a heartbeat!

 

[LancerFIN]

And if I were in your situation, I will get the Master 11 in a heartbeat!

Already sent email about asking if upgrading my order to Master 11 would be possible but  I can pay the rest on July 15th. Eagerly waiting for response.

 

[SodaBoy]

Well I'm still happy with my Gustard stack, it was good value and I didn't overspend, neither did I overspend with the NFB-1AMP, so I'm in a very happy medium in terms of overall value. LancerFIN, you and I got similar stuff, I think we made the right buys overall given the circumstances. Like lukeap69, I probably would have thought of getting this if I knew about it a few months earlier though. The Master 11 looks pretty impressive to me overall, they have been able to achieve 20 bit performance with 2 DACs per channel. Unless you are a super TOTL guy, I would probably pick up the Master 11 over the Master 9, since you get like a 20 bit performance DAC for $300 extra. On the other hand, I wasn't too impressed by the DAC-19 at $800 but YMMV...
 
Slightly OT, but I wished USB-32 supported 768khz input rates (or even higher in the future). With DAC set to NOS, you can move all oversampling to the PC at 16fs with much more computationally expensive filters, the sky is literally the limit. I know Phasure can do this, but Phasure is crazy expensive and I don't think anyone is beating Audio-GD in analog design.
 
EDIT: @LancerFIN do upgrade to the Master 11. I haven't received a ship notification on my NFB-1AMP, so I don't think yours has shipped either. Take one for the team and I will have to live vicariously through you.

 

[lukeap69]

I've asked Kingwa if there was plan to make balanced version of DAC-19 before I purchased it. He said no. He is right. I would have appreciated if he gave me a hint that Master 11 was being cooked. That could have affected my decision. Having said that, I am very satisfied with my DAC-19. It gave my Lyr 3 a new life. To me the difference between it and NFB-1 DAC is very noticeable. YMMV of course.

 

[SodaBoy]

I've asked Kingwa if there was plan to make balanced version of DAC-19 before I purchased it. He said no. He is right. I would have appreciated if he gave me a hint that Master 11 was being cooked. That could have affected my decision. Having said that, I am very satisfied with my DAC-19. It gave my Lyr 3 a new life. To me the difference between it and NFB-1 DAC is very noticeable. YMMV of course.

Artful dodge by Kingwa lol, technically he didn't BS anybody but the devil is in the details, and in this case, the omission. As for the DAC-19, I see a ton of positive impressions about it, so just be happy and know that you won't be alone in the club. There's always newer and better in the audio world, it's best to just settle down and focus on the music.

 

[LancerFIN]

I wonder what the price will be after the promo.

 

[lukeap69]

Artful dodge by Kingwa lol, technically he didn't BS anybody but the devil is in the details, and in this case, the omission. As for the DAC-19, I see a ton of positive impressions about it, so just be happy and know that you won't be alone in the club. There's always newer and better in the audio world, it's best to just settle down and focus on the music.

True. I'm not the one to chase the best but something balanced between cost, quality and... yeah hype. LOL. I was really after a balanced DAC-19 to feed my Rok. Anyway, life is too short to contemplate of what could have been. I am enjoying DA -19 anyway. Especially acoustic songs...

PS - can we call Kingwa the Master Dodger? peace!

 

[elwappo99]

 

  Been obsessively checking the shipping list for my NFB-1AMP, and came across this today:
 
 
 
The Master 11, essentially a Master 7 + Master 9 combo unit for the price of one at $1850. Insane deal, if this came out a few months earlier, I would be done with signal chain for a decade or more.
 
Hope it gets its own thread, it's a crazy deal, but I'm dead broke now and the USD is too strong. Quality is becoming more affordable than ever, but it seems I always miss the train...

wait what... If I sold my Gustard stack + the price of NFB-1AMP I would be quite close to the price of Master 11. Life is full of hard choices.

 
 
Seems like an easy choice to me 

 
 
Kingwa was pretty quiet for a few months. Looks like he has been quite a busy gentleman behind the scenes with all these new units! 

 

[LancerFIN]

Got quote for Master 11. 2000 euros is a lot of money. I wonder if improvement in sound quality will be big dissapointment. For 1700 euros I could buy pair of Genelec 8240's.

 

[lukeap69]

Got quote for Master 11. 2000 euros is a lot of money. I wonder if improvement in sound quality will be big dissapointment. For 1700 euros I could buy pair of Genelec 8240's.

If it sounds the way I think it does, I think it is a bargain to be honest.