[InsanityOne]

Hello Head-Fier's,
 
I just recently sold my trusty Schiit Magni + Modi and am looking to purchase a size-able (be able to hear the difference) upgrade as a post-Christmas present to myself. I am currently using a pair of AKG Q701's but I will hopefully be upgrading to a pair of Mr. Speakers Alpha Dog's within the next year. I am also setting a hard limit of $600 to spend on the new Amp + DAC as I can barely justify spending that much. Based on this information please give me your input on the following options, or feel free to recommend something not on the list!
 
My Researched Options: (Prices are Approximated)
 
#1 - Audio-GD NFB-15 - $350
 
#2 - Audio-GD NFB-11 - $400 (My personal pick.)
 
As an ending note, I would like to spend as little as possible to get as much performance as possible. (Yes, I know that is asking a lot in this hobby) But if I can save money and maximize on quality I would really love that. I would also really like it if the new Amp + DAC could deal with various headphone changes as well.
 
TL;DR - I am looking for a reasonably priced, long lasting, high quality/high performing Amp + DAC combo that will power/play nice with a very wide range of headphones (excluding IEMs and Electrostats of course.)
 
Thanks for reading and posting everyone!

 

[Youth]

Have you checked out the O2+ODAC Combo?

 

[InsanityOne]

 

Have you checked out the O2+ODAC Combo?

I have not tested it but I have researched it. I thought the general consensus was that the O2+ODAC (at $250) was very similar in price/performance to the Schiit Magni/Modi? That is why I ruled it out, I could be wrong though.

 

[AnalogSavior]

An idea within the Schiit family would be upgrading to an Asgard 2 or Valhalla 2 (or even Lyr 2) with Bifrost or Modi 2 uber (which they say is essentially a smaller bifrost).
 
Best I can think of in your budget (and that I've listened to).

 

[InsanityOne]

  An idea within the Schiit family would be upgrading to an Asgard 2 or Valhalla 2 (or even Lyr 2) with Bifrost or Modi 2 uber (which they say is essentially a smaller bifrost).
 
Best I can think of in your budget (and that I've listened to).

As much as I would love to get a Bitfrost USB to go along with any of those amps it just does not fit into the budget at $450. But getting an Asgard 2 or Valhalla 2 with a Modi 2 Uber at $400-$500 would fit perfectly. Although I'm not really sure how much of a sonic/performance upgrade either of those would be versus my old Modi/Magni stack. I have updated my original post to reflect this though. Thanks for the insight!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Audio-GD NFB-15, $270+shipping ($45).
USB, optical 7 coaxial input.
Dual WM8741 DAC chips.
Amplified headphone jack and separate line-output (for speakers).
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm

 

[InsanityOne]

  Audio-GD NFB-15, $270+shipping ($45).
USB, optical 7 coaxial input.
Dual WM8741 DAC chips.
Amplified headphone jack and separate line-output (for speakers).
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1532/NFB15.32EN.htm

Seems interesting, I did not do any research on Audio-GD products. I see from your Sig that you own this exact product, any thoughts on it? Also, any thoughts on any other Audio-GD products? Say the NFB-11?
 
Note: OP Updated (Some options added/removed)

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Seems interesting, I did not do any research on Audio-GD products. I see from your Sig that you own this exact product, any thoughts on it? Also, any thoughts on any other Audio-GD products? Say the NFB-11?
 
Note: OP Updated (Some options added/removed)

 
No regrets buying my NFB-15.32 (older version of the NFB-15).
The NFB-15 is considered a little more musical, the NFB-11 a little more detailed.
I guess that advantages the NFB-15/NFB-11 is the connection options (over your Modi/Magni)
USB is a simple and easy connection to a computer, but USB bypasses the computer's sound card features.
While the S/PDIF (optical & coaxial) will work with the computer's sound card features.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/648386/audio-gd-nfb-15-32-delivery-impression-thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/624517/audio-gd-nfb-11-32-nfb-11-2014-delivery-impression-thread

 

[InsanityOne]

   
No regrets buying my NFB-15.32 (older version of the NFB-15).
The NFB-15 is considered a little more musical, the NFB-11 a little more detailed.
I guess that advantages the NFB-15/NFB-11 is the connection options (over your Modi/Magni)
USB is a simple and easy connection to a computer, but USB bypasses the computer's sound card features.
While the S/PDIF (optical & coaxial) will work with the computer's sound card features.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/648386/audio-gd-nfb-15-32-delivery-impression-thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/624517/audio-gd-nfb-11-32-nfb-11-2014-delivery-impression-thread

Awesome! Thanks for all useful the information. I am still so new to the Hi-Fi world so I thought that USB ---> DAC was the best way to go but now I am quickly finding out that S/PDIF is clearly the better option. But anyways, now I'm getting closer to narrowing down the pack! If you take a look above I have listed an older pair of Audio-GD gear, the C2 and the DAC19 that I could pick up for cheap. I think they seem really interesting but I had to do a bit of digging to find their specs. What is your opinion on buying some older (but still good) tech?
 
DAC19: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/DAC19/DAC19EN.htm
 
C2: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/C-2new/C2EN.htm
 
EDIT: OP updated, some options removed.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Awesome! Thanks for all useful the information. I am still so new to the Hi-Fi world so I thought that USB ---> DAC was the best way to go but now I am quickly finding out that S/PDIF is clearly the better option. But anyways, now I'm getting closer to narrowing down the pack! If you take a look above I have listed an older pair of Audio-GD gear, the C2 and the DAC19 that I could pick up for cheap. I think they seem really interesting but I had to do a bit of digging to find their specs. What is your opinion on buying some older (but still good) tech?
DAC19: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/DAC19/DAC19EN.htm
C2: http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/C-2new/C2EN.htm
EDIT: OP updated, some options removed.

 
Nice stuff, but a costs a bit more then what I would spend for a DAC/amp (at least for now).

 

[InsanityOne]

   
Nice stuff, but a costs a bit more then what I would spend for a DAC/amp (at least for now).

I see what you mean, spending that much for 4+ year-old gear with seriously out-dated USB technology doesn't really seem like the best option. I think I am honestly leaning towards the Audio-GD NFB-11 with the optional upgrades. Do you think this would be a noticeable difference coming from my Magni/Modi? I think that is all that really matters to me. Although the Maverick Audio gear still interests me it is at the top of my budget and the NFB-11 would be able to save me $200.
 
Edit: OP Updated! Face-off between the cheapest and the most expensive!
 
Edit 2: The USB module on the Audio-GD NFB-11 is significantly better than that of the Mavericks Audio gear. OP Updated, battle between the cheaper and the cheapest!
 
Now the question is, is the NFB-11 worth the extra $50 (upgrades included) over the NFB-15?