Audio-gd NFB-2 DAC impressions

[paradiziac]

I've had this DAC for the last few days. Possible replacement for a V-DAC/V-PSU, main source is a computer fed V-Link.

I've been pretty happy with the V-DAC, but I felt I wanted a bit more body to the instruments and a smoother (less grainy/more analogue) top-end. I didn't want to spend £500 on a Rega since there are many excellent DACs at £500-£1000, (new and used) and that would be opening a whole new can of worms. In theory, the dual Wolfson chips (used in some pretty high-end gear), first class power supply and Class A output stage (no op-amps) should offer a significant improvement for minimal financial outlay. And there are many good reviews/reports on the net of this DAC from the USA and Austrailia.

First casual impressions (on my second system): as expected--a meaty sound, plenty of bass and a smoother top end. The box is very well-built and it feels like great value for money. Happy.

2 days later in the main system, there's a lack of soundstage compared to my V-DAC. Apparently it needs "running-in" for a few hundred hours before it opens up, we'll see.

I'll give it some time and then post back.

 

[CnoEvil]

It's always good to hear about different DACs. Is it on trial?

Did you consider the V-Dac 11...which is supposed to be analogue sounding:
http://www.musicalfidelity.com/products/V-Series/V-DAC/V-DACII-review.pdf

 

[Anonymous]

Hi paradiziac, i own a vac 2 and i might be adding a v-psu, in your opinion does the v-psu give a good perfromance boost of the dac? is it worth the money mate?

 

[paradiziac]

@CNO, I bought the Audio-gd, but the UK importer has a 28 day returns policy. If the V-DAC 2 is improved as they say, it must be a strong contender in the price range, but I've enough on my plate just now!

@Jimm, I just plugged in the old wall wart that came with my V-DAC, and the V-PSU is an upgrade. Subtly improved sound in every department. I got a Maplins linear power supply as well for about 15 quid, and I seem to remember that being an improvement as well.

Is it worth 150 quid? Million dollar question! If you like the V-DAC and fancy a matching box, it's a nice piece of kit!

 

[paradiziac]

2 days later in the main system, there's a lack of soundstage compared to my V-DAC. Apparently it needs "running-in" for a few hundred hours before it opens up, we'll see.

At the risk of triggering a "burning-in, real or not" war, the NFB-2's soundstage is definitely opening up...even if there is no rational explanation for it

 

[VinylRush]

Congratulations of buying a great DAC

I was going to get a NFB-2 before I pulled the trigger on a REGA dac.

I came from a Dacmagic and it was a considerable step up. The Dacmagic was good value, but compared to the Rega sounds cold and clinical.

Look forward to your impressions of the NFB-2 as it breaks in more.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

Whats the update on the dac now has the sound kept improving - sound depth etc.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[paradiziac]

Probably a good 100 hours on this now. The sound has definitely improved. Perhaps it will still improve, but I'm already more than happy.

It's tempting just to rant and rave, but I'll try to be objective.

Some background.

I was fairly happy with the V-DAC/V-PSU sound, except that it seemed slightly "strained" with complex music or higher volumes and was a tad thin and fatiguing. Having bought into the Musical Fidelity hype of "high-end gear, just a cheap box", I was tempted to blame the speakers or even cables / mains.

Then, hearing a hot-rodded Marantz in my system and comparing the V-DAC with a vintage Sony spinner in another system, I realized that there was much more to get from my current speaks.

I guessed the Audio-gd would fix this, and it has. Both DAC's are pretty neutral, so the differences are quite subtle. But the Audio-gd has a bit more of everything. Deeper, clearer bass, more (realistic) body/texture to the instruments, good soundstage. And the biggest plus for me: a very clean, clear sound without the normal digital harshness. A big improvement in terms of long term enjoyment and fatigue-free listening.

I aimed at this price level so that I could enjoy my system while considering a speaker upgrade at my leisure and without the guilt of breaking the bank. I reckon with the right transport, the NFB-2 is good enough to sound acceptable with £1000-£2000 speakers. With so many ongoing developments in computer audio/DACs, I also feel much happier not having invested heavily in the digital frontend.

If you're considering this DAC, be aware that the USB input isn't its stongest point and it doesn't do any sophisticated re-clocking so it needs a fairly low-jitter source. In my mind that's a good thing. I'd rather have the best power supply and output stage built into my DAC and use a digital interface to take care of the rest. Since I already have a V-Link, I don't need a half-assed aSync USB implementation built into my DAC.

To add some balance, I'm not convinced Audio-gd necessarily make the most musical gear in the world. My intuition is that the established "name" hifi brands are better at creating their own sound and tuning their gear. I might be totally wrong, it's just a feeling. But I've no complaints about this DAC, and after all, what I want is essentially a neutral front end.

On the positive side, Audio-gd encourages you, to a certain extent, tune their gear yourself. The product page on their website has pictures of jumper settings for 9 selectable filters, and the possibility of 2 different SDPIF receiver chips--order both and swap to your taste! They don't give you a lot of cr*p about invalidating your warranty or their DACs having a "secret" chip. I admire the honesty.

If you're thinking of spending up to £500 on a DAC, I'd recommend you have a listen to the NFB-2 (or NFB-3.1). You can get it from the UK importer and return it for up to 28 days if it doesn't suit, what's to lose?

For me, time to forget the gear for a while and get back to the music :rockout:

 

[dannycanham]

That is a very impressive review.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

Great update. How do you think it would go on a marantz cd-63se? Does it have 9 selectable filters too?

It sounds like a very musical dac - would you say its very smooth warm analogue type sound or more on the detail brighter sound. Does it have a nice open airy treble and deep soundstage? How much better than the vdac, I wonder how it would compare with the rega dac, arcam dac or cambridge dacmagic. Sorry for all the questions - we don't have a shop that sells them in Australia so I can't listen to it personally.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

Great update. How do you think it would go on a marantz cd-63se? Does it have 9 selectable filters too?

It sounds like a very musical dac - would you say its very smooth warm analogue type sound or more on the detail brighter sound. Does it have a nice open airy treble and deep soundstage? How much better than the vdac, I wonder how it would compare with the rega dac, arcam dac or cambridge dacmagic. Sorry for all the questions - we don't have a shop that sells them in Australia so I can't listen to it personally.

Cheers

Steve

 

[paradiziac]

Hi,

Great update. How do you think it would go on a marantz cd-63se? Does it have 9 selectable filters too?

It sounds like a very musical dac - would you say its very smooth warm analogue type sound or more on the detail brighter sound. Does it have a nice open airy treble and deep soundstage? How much better than the vdac, I wonder how it would compare with the rega dac, arcam dac or cambridge dacmagic. Sorry for all the questions - we don't have a shop that sells them in Australia so I can't listen to it personally.

Cheers

Steve

1. Marantz, hard to say. I would guess it's pretty good, maybe not quite as good as USB through a device like the V-link or CD through a dedicated transport. I have an older NAD 521i CDP--really I should compare it through that against the V-Link, but I'm already satisfied.

2. The filters are selectable by jumpers inside the case in the NFB-2, the NFB-3.1 has a button on the outside of the case. They don't make a big difference from what I've read.

3. I wouldn't say it's either warm/analogue or detailed/digital/bright. It's just deep, full-bodied and clear/clean. Typical Class A / "no feedback" sound. I think that's a mark of its quality, good analogue and good digital sound is very similar. Poor analogue is warm and wooly, poor digital is harsh/bright.

4. Can't speak for the V-DAC 2, but compared to the V-DAC/PSU, I hear more detail and texture, a wider/deeper soundstage with more space around the instruments. Trumpets and harmonicas are suddenly quite OK to listen to. It's great with electronica and rock. Good with poor recordings, too. The only thing that the V-DAC seems to do slightly better (?) is that the vocals seem more prominent on the V-DAC and more at the front of the soundstage. But that might change or be system dependent, in any case, the actual tone/timbre of the vocals are much better on the NFB-2. Realistic and smooth. I would put it in the next class of DACs compared to my original V-DAC. But that said, on a budget system and depending how you connect to it, the actual difference you might hear might not jump out and grab you.

5. I didn't hear the other DACs. I can't imagine any of the above mentioned DACs would outclass the NFB-2 in terms of pure sound quality (it's probably the best one on paper except for the inferior USB and jitter reducing circuitry), but there is scope for variation according to system setup and personal preference. I would personally put the Rega and NFB-2 on a similar level since both have a quality power supply implementation and neither have op-amps in the output stage. IMHO, you'd have to look at DACs with the Sabre chip in them to get to the next level, but even then it might not be a sound that you prefer, or would be worth paying a premium for considering the context of the rest of your system.

One thing I forgot to mention, the NFB-2 takes a while to warm up before sounding its best.

 

[paradiziac]

The only thing that the V-DAC seems to do slightly better (?) is that the vocals seem more prominent on the V-DAC and more at the front of the soundstage.

Just to be complete, there's a button on the front of the DAC that allows you to choose ACSS/RCA output. Connecting via RCA in both cases, selecting ACSS sounds (even) wider but seems to put the vocals a bit towards the back. That's how I was listening when making the above comment. But choosing RCA results in the vocals being about where they should be. If anything, I suspect the V-DAC probably puts vocals a tad forward.

But all this is splitting hairs really...it's very hard to fault this DAC in it's price range.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

Thanks for answering my questions. I suppose what I meant with the query about been analogue sounding - that it sounds natural. I have had cd players that are super detailed but can be cold and clinical to listen too and others that can be warm and wooly but lack detail. I bought a cambridge cd player and I could hear all the detail but on my system it I could only listen to some music for half an hour and I was fatigued, I had a nad cd player it was relaxing to lsten to it had a warm signature but detail was missing and it became boring to listen to.

I love the valve sound that sounds so natural and real that you get lost in the emotion of the music instead of diseecting the music intellectually (hear that detail yes it got tight bass etc), at the same time enjoying the detail of hearing the minute detail hearing the space and noises of the venue, breathing of the singer etc.

It sounds like this dacs quite balanced tonally, havng a natural sound yet detail so you enjoy the music event as if you are there - is that correct

Is it dynamic, has it a deep soundstage with a sparkly airy top end? That would help my system.

I currently have a consonance cd-120 lnear player too on my main system, with rotel and nad power amps, valve pre and B&W DM 330i speakers. I have chord, Kimber and nordost cables too.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[paradiziac]

It sounds like this dacs quite balanced tonally, havng a natural sound yet detail so you enjoy the music event as if you are there - is that correct

Correct, except the last part about "being there", which requires a multi million pound system!

Natural/musical/fluid AND detailed/deep soundstage/tight, well timed bass is probably what most people would like, and it costs a LOT of money to achieve this! The DAC is just one small part, considering the rest of your system and synergy with the room. No DAC is going to work wonders. In fact, some people struggle to hear any differences in DACs at all unless comparing DAC in totally different price ranges or with different designs!

I think this DAC is a very good compromize at the price, probably better or at least equal to any of the "mainstream" similarly specced upsampling delta-sigma DACs and smoother/less harsh than those with op-amps in the output stage.

There are alternative designs though...personally, I would be interested in hearing a tube DAC like the Maverick Tube Magic, or a TDA based NOS DAC like the Terradak Chameleon which might be more balanced towards fluidity and less of the detail. Or in the next step up, our own (!) Audiolab M-DAC, something like the Eastern Electric Minimax Plus which has the ESS Sabre chip with solid state or tube output. Or the Lite DAC 83 with 4 1704 chips. Or the many, many hi-end DACs...but you'd probably have to upgrade your whole system to get the best out of them. There's also some very interesting new designs on the way, Schitt Bifrost and (maybe?) Metrum Quad/Octave to name a couple. Most of these have to be ordered direct, but that seems to be the cutting edge of DACs these days with the big hifi brands playing catch-up.

Anyone actually heard/bought any of these?

That's really about all I can say, read around as much as possible about the different designs and how this affects sonic characteristics. Try to hear them and if you can't, either forget it and be happy with what you have or take the plunge and order one! It's not worth obsessing over DAC a v DAC b -- I strongly suspect that similarly specced DACs at a similar price sound very...similar.

 

[stephennic]

Hi

Thanks for the feedback it has been very helpful.

I attended a hifi show in Melbourne recently, they had speakers up to nearly $200,000. Some of the most musical hifi gear was the cheaper end of the spectrum. Sometimes having gear so expensive and accurate sounding when listening wasn't as enjoyable. I suppose at times having such good gear shows all the weaknesses in the recording too.

I have a cheap chinese valve integrad for the bedroom that sounds as musical as my bigger system on certain musical styles, its not as detailed or as open sounding but I can just get lost in the music. It would be nice to try that dac on the bigger system.

Happy listening

Steve.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback, it has been very helpful.

I went to the Melbourne hifi show recently and they had speakers up to nearly $200,000. Actually some of the cheaper hifi gear seemed more musical. I suppose some people go for pure accurate sound however if it dosent have any warmth to the sound it can sound a bit cold. I have a very cheap valve integrad in the bedroom and that can sound just as musical on some styles of music as my bigger system.

I would like to try that dac out sometime on the bigger system maybe I should just take a risk and buy one without listening to it.

Happy listening.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I bought a Audio gd 15.32 and I am impressed with the sound quality, it beat the rega apollo-r and upgraded the sound of my consonance cd-120 linear - smooth, open, detailed and musical. Hows your dac going paradizic?

I recommend this dac if you are on a tight budget.

Cheers

Steve.