Hi all.
As I have been researching the NFB-11 for a while now and it seems from many reviews here it seems like a good product for the money. I recently came across this article and it has me puzzled. I don't have much experience listening to various dac/amps so take that for what it is worth. Read the following article and let me know your thoughts.
http://www.diysoundlab.com/index.php/es9018-dac-or-nfb-11
Thank you, Brian
Ouch...I've just ordered mine, so hoping a lot of that is no longer the case!
It was written back in April 2011 so perhaps it was the 1st revision, and as Audio-DG have revised the NFB-11 over the years and the latest being February 2015 I'd hope any issues or aspects mentioned in that review have been fixed!
I'm not a sound engineer so a lot of the lingo in the review went over my head, and I don't plan to mod mine as I don't have the skills.
However I have bought it purely on the fact people here (who are audio obsessed / less bias than companies or in-store clerks) have given it decent reviews as a majority.
I was originally looking at the Modi2/Magni2 or another Schiit combo and also the O2/ODAC combo, again which are popular among users here. However I have read that people say the NFB-11 beats them hands down, and also read a lot of love for the Sabre ES9018 so out of this logic I have gone through with the purchase and will be happy to post my results here. It will be comparing it to a setup of:
Xonar DS Soundcard (Stock & Modded OPAMP (
49860)) > Cambridge Audio Azur540A (pre-amp/integrated amp) > HD600 / MS-Avant90 (speakers)
I will also try variations of the setup with the NFB-11 to see which I feel gives the best results. I.E - SPDIF vs USB. and with and without the Cambridge Audio Azur 540A connected.
I'm guessing they have a return policy if you do decide to purchase, although may be a little expensive with the shipping costs! Could always re-sell, but again majority seem to think it's pretty damn good value for its price! I'd also say that almost every product no matter how good will find someone with a poor review, could be defective or might not suit the consumers taste who knows, I've rarely seen 100% success rates on any product with a decent number of reviews.