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

[LancerFIN]

Hmm. Days of USB32 are numbered? I was offered new USB board for my Master-11 with lead time of 1 month. "Amanero combo384" That honestly says nothing to me. Maybe someone else knows if this is going to be better than what audio-gd is currently using.

 

[borrego]

  Hmm. Days of USB32 are numbered? I was offered new USB board for my Master-11 with lead time of 1 month. "Amanero combo384" That honestly says nothing to me. Maybe someone else knows if this is going to be better than what audio-gd is currently using.

 
Amanero is definitely better than their old VIA. https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/amanero-usb-i2s-interface/

 

[LancerFIN]

   
Amanero is definitely better than their old VIA. https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/amanero-usb-i2s-interface/

Nice. So this means no longer VIA drivers. Better drivers, happier customers. I wonder if this new board is only for high end products.

 

[darren700]

  Hmm. Days of USB32 are numbered? I was offered new USB board for my Master-11 with lead time of 1 month. "Amanero combo384" That honestly says nothing to me. Maybe someone else knows if this is going to be better than what audio-gd is currently using.

Amanero combo384 is a great board, well regarded in the DIY community. It is used in my Yulong DA8 and I have yet to have a single issue with any file. 24/48/96/192, DSD, DXD all work flawlessly.
I wonder if Audio-GD will offer the board as an upgrade for previously purchased DAC's? I know I would upgrade my NFB-1DAC to the Amanero in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. The USB32 board has been pretty solid for me so far, the only issue I have had with it is it does not like the USB2.0 ports on my X58 Motherboard, USB 3.0 works perfect though.

 

[lukeap69]

I think that is the same upgrade for one headfier's DAC-19.

 

[LancerFIN]

The USB32 board has been pretty solid for me so far, the only issue I have had with it is I does not like the USB2.0 ports on my X58 Motherboard, USB 3.0 works perfect though.

I had the same problem with NFB-15. Didn't work well with USB2 ports of my X58 motherboard. Had to use PCI-e USB3 card to get the USB to work.

 

[SodaBoy]

Privately I have always wondered why Audio-GD stayed with VIA when the whole market was going XMOS/Amanero. I have been hoping for an XMOS implementation due to wider compatibility and faster development, but I guess Amanero licensing fees are more affordable.
 
If they are dumping VIA, maybe we can expect a major update to the DI-2014, the DI-2015 maybe? I'm also hoping they sort out their i2s and move to HDMI instead of staying with the RJ45, which I feel is either an anachronism or a way to lock out other USB converters. Either way, the move to Amanero is good news, I may end up with an Audio-GD DAC after all.

 

[Kingwa]

The Amanero had not SPDIF output so no way to had the decent external convertor.

 

[SodaBoy]

  The Amanero had not SPDIF output so no way to had the decent external convertor.

True, but I never mentioned using Amanero. This is more a question of, what will happen with the DI-2014? Without an update the Amanero will obsolete it.

 

[gto88]

Audio-gd starts shipping NFB-1AMP.

 

[PiNa.cz]

I think that is the same upgrade for one headfier's DAC-19.

 
Good news: According to Mr. Kingwa, the Anamero module should be available for purchase in September. It will be possible to replace an old USB32 interface with Anamero board without any soldering.

 

[lukeap69]

Good news: According to Mr. Kingwa, the Anamero module should be available for purchase in September. It will be possible to replace an old USB32 interface with Anamero board without any soldering.

Very good news!

 

[PiNa.cz]

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.

 

Well, Master 11 is kinda like "Reference 10.32 on technological steroids" with just slightly better SQ. And Reference 10.32 was available on the site for approx 3 years for the same price as Master 11.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/Reference10/RE10EN.htm

Regarding DAC-19 and NFB-1DAC - could you describe your comparison of both please? I still have DAC19MKIII in the office (liked its "full sound" and it was a main reason why I bought Reference 10.32 two and half years ago) and I currently was thinking about getting NFB-1DAC and connect it via ACSS to Reference's AMP just to get another flavor of sound.

 

[darren700]

Just received notice that my NFB-1AMP has shipped! cant wait.

 

[Beolab]

About the spec of the NFB-1 AMP

It claims 8 watt @ 40 Ohms , but ist that 8 watts per channel or total continues power for both channels ( 4 watt / channel) ?

And does the NFB-1 AMP also got the jumper switch to make it warmer or + 6 db at the lover range option?