Excellent option, but an expensive one for me 2000$ !!
So I'm still at a loss between the NFB-29H or use the NFB-11 (DAC) and brought him to lyr 2 (AMP)
I have ZMF Omni's, a Lyr2, a Liquid Carbon, a microZOTL 2. The microZOTL is $1100.00 with the standard power supply. It is a complete steal at that price. The microZOTL is Much Better sounding than my Liquid Carbon. The Lyr2 is a nice sounding amp. I feel to get the 'tube amp' sound though, you need power tubes in the amp. Not just preamp tubes. I agree, The solid state substitute-tubes are a fun option. I need to get a set. The ZMF Omni's I have are in Wenge and were specifically voiced for the microZOTL. Sold by urbanhifi.com. But the Omni's sound great with all three amps. In fact they pair well with all my amps. Even the Audioquest Dragonfly Red drives them well.
I'd recommend a tube amp, but I'm not recommending the Lyr 2. I haven't spent much time with it so I can't say whether I recommend it for the Omni or not. I'm sure others will be able to help with which amp to get if you decide to go tube.
having a better DAC would enable him to try a tube amp later
comparing a better amp(tube or not) to the solid state of a piece of gear that is of lesser quality can be a bit misleading if he is checking back and forth. IMO its best to try a tube amp later of the same quality as the amp section of the 29. In fact adding the Lyr2 on later would be more sensible because that 'edit: AMP' should be comparable in quality to the amp section of the 29H
To each their own. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'll offer a counterpoint: I think that the DAC's in the two units aren't going to be significantly different. At that level, upgrading the amp should provide a more noticeable improvement. After that, the DAC upgrade should be a bigger jump than just a slightly better implementation of the same chip. Moving up to something like a DAC-19 or BMB after that should give a much more appreciable sonic bang for the buck.
At the end of the day, I think he/she will be fine with either.
I just say that because I found the nfb 11 quite horrible. Iz couldn't wait to get rid of it. I even preferred the Beresford DAC to it's DAC section. The nfb28 was a huge improvement. I think the 29h is similar to the 28. Having actually owned similar gear its the no brainer.
Edit: i think i had the 11.32 or something... Nvmnd me
so your carbon was $600 and your microZOTL was $1100. I would hope the MicroZOTL sounded better! Would you say it is all around better or is there anything that stands out to you that really makes the difference? please feel free to pm me if this is too off topic?
I would recommend the Lyr 2 unequivocally over the others. The OMNI is power hungry. The Lyr brings a fullness and life to it that the other amps mentioned here (I've heard the Omni on all the amps in question here) can't IMO match. The sound of a driver with enough power is excellent in my opinion, and makes more difference to me than some of the (let's be real, small) tweaks in sound different amps will bring. That said, if tonality is more important to you, you'll just have to try out these different amps.
Take all that with with a grain of salt of course, IMO, YMMV.
Thank you all .. Sorry to many of my questions
And also my English is weak did not help me to understand you so much
Do I buy or do I lyr 2 OR upgrade for NFB-29H?
I would recommend the Lyr 2 unequivocally over the others. The OMNI is power hungry. The Lyr brings a fullness and life to it that the other amps mentioned here (I've heard the Omni on all the amps in question here) can't IMO match. The sound of a driver with enough power is excellent in my opinion, and makes more difference to me than some of the (let's be real, small) tweaks in sound different amps will bring. That said, if tonality is more important to you, you'll just have to try out these different amps.
Take all that with with a grain of salt of course, IMO, YMMV.
LYR 2
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 6.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 4.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 660mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 330mW RMS per channel
Thank you all .. Sorry to many of my questions
And also my English is weak did not help me to understand you so much
Do I buy or do I lyr 2 OR upgrade for NFB-29H?
This is just my two cents, but out of the similar stacks I've heard with my Mad Dog (same driver as the Omni), my current personal preference is the NFB-10 over the Bifrost Multibit/Lyr2 and Bifrost Uber/Asgard2. I haven't heard the NFB-29H or NFB-28, but judging from reviews it sounds like the NFB-28 is an improvement over the NFB-10.
If my Omni arrives before the Red Hook meetup on July 30th, I'll make sure to bring it with me and post impressions in case anyone at the meet has one of the units being discussed.
This is just my two cents, but out of the similar stacks I've heard with my Mad Dog (same driver as the Omni), my current personal preference is the NFB-10 over the Bifrost Multibit/Lyr2 and Bifrost Uber/Asgard2. I haven't heard the NFB-29H or NFB-28, but judging from reviews it sounds like the NFB-28 is an improvement over the NFB-10.
If my Omni arrives before the Red Hook meetup on July 30th, I'll make sure to bring it with me and post impressions in case anyone at the meet has one of the units being discussed.
Yes I can .. but the problem is that the NFB-28 need Balanced Cable, which cost me more money
Another point .. afraid that I do not find a significant difference between the NFB-29 or NFB-28 between which me NFB-11 !
So I thought that I use NFB-11 DAC that and bought a lyr2 as AMP
Yes I can .. but the problem is that the NFB-28 need Balanced Cable, which cost me more money
Another point .. afraid that I do not find a significant difference between the NFB-29 or NFB-28 between which me NFB-11 !
So I thought that I use NFB-11 DAC that and bought a lyr2 as AMP
you can still use the NFB 28 with a non balanced cable. Also they say its the best midrange dac amp they ever made.
some balanced cables can be had for 40 bucks even
That means the DAC is a lot better than the NFB 11 and the amp also.
I just think people underestimate the significance of improving your DAC.
you can still use the NFB 28 with a non balanced cable. Also they say its the best midrange dac amp they ever made.
some balanced cables can be had for 40 bucks even
That means the DAC is a lot better than the NFB 11 and the amp also.
I just think people underestimate the significance of improving your DAC.
If you're implying that I'm not a significant believer in the changes a DAC can make, I encourage you to read back over my posting history over the last year+. I'm a huge proponent of R2R DAC's and I personally make it a point to try many DAC's and comment on the differences to help people out.
Just because I don't think the upgrade will be worth it in this case doesn't mean I underestimate DAC's. I owned the NFB-28 and liked it very much during the time I had it. But at the end of the day, even a TOTL Sabre DAC like the Auralic Vega still has all the Sabre's inherent weaknesses in the highs. To me, doing an upgrade within the Sabre line isn't going to be nearly as noticeable as an upgrade to the amp. While I certainly agree that upgrading both the DAC and Amp by moving up to the NFB-29 will be a nice upgrade all around, I think upgrading the amp first and then making a bigger jump on the DAC later (say a DAC-19 or GMB or something) is far more cost efficient.
We can disagree all we want on the order than things should go, but I'd rather you not imply that I'm somehow undervaluing the difference a DAC can make. All Sabre DAC's sound offensive to my ears. While the NFB-28 has a particularly good implementation, it's still not something I want to listen to. So upgrading from offensive to less offensive is still offensive.
EDIT - Also the NFB-28 out of the SE port has 1/4 the power and sounds notably worse. If you're not going to use the balanced port, get the NFB-29 for sure.
All Sabre DAC's sound offensive to my ears. While the NFB-28 has a particularly good implementation, it's still not something I want to listen to. So upgrading from offensive to less offensive is still offensive.
That's good to know. My NFB-10 has the dual-Wolfson chips. My long-term plan was to upgrade to the NFB-28, but maybe I should hold off until I've had a chance to hear the Sabre chip.
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