I own/owned both the micro BL and NFB11, they both sound great with the 6XX. The NFB11 sounds cleaner and faster while the micro BL is a bit more dynamic with the option to boost a bit of the bass and increase the soundstage.
Mind you the BL is quite a bit more expensive compared to the NFB11. If you are planning for only desktop purpose, the NFB11 is a good option.

So the two is on par with each other in terms of sound quality?
I'm travel a lot but I'm definitely not going to use it on the go. Just looking for the ease to carry. Example when flying on the plane.. With NFB11 it might need a special bag to carry it on the plane while the micro definitely so much portable..
Is it worth the extra money on the Micro BL?

This post has been edited by coklatua: Dec 21 2017, 11:13 PM

They both give different flavours, so it is not easy to say. But if you are planning on bringing it around i'd definitely go with the BL, while I might stick with the NFB11 if it is strictly stationary at home.
I'd say they are worth it if you get them on sale, not at their full retail price though. You are paying much more mainly for the portability and features on the BL.

Thanks for your thought. Really appreciate it.
I missed two used sale on the BL.
And BTW, does your NFB11 have the pop sound when changing songs like the R2r 11? And is it true the BL skip 1seconds at the start of a song?

go for the AudioGD. i am currently using the Master 11 for my HD600 and the sound is amazing. the best combo so far that i have tried but even their entry level amp is very heavy. i dont think you would want to carry it around.

to get the best of the HD6XX, try to go Balance mode. it really makes a very big difference. I was using the Moon Audio Silver Dragon and converted it to 4 pin Balance. it really sound amazing. i am no longer using the cable now so if you are interested, i will be letter it go for a very good price.

Didn’t notice any pop on the NFB11 or the skip on the BL either.

If I want to go balance I need a balance cable and balance amp right?

Nice, I think they manage to solve it for the later model..

yup. you would need to have an amp with balance out as well. there are 3 types of balance:

1. balance use with DAP
2. 4 pin XLR balance
3. 3 pin XLR for each individual channel.

i am currently using the 3rd option. my old Moon Silver Dragon cable is 4 pin XLR with a XLR to 6.35mm adapter.

Hi bro, any thoughts of XLR vs Audio GD's own ACSS? Is there any significant difference between the two, in terms of sound?
Currently I'm using NFB-1AMP, plan to get R2R 1 DAC in coming weeks.

i borrow a Master 10 from my brother to test a month ago with AudioGD's ACSS cable. i do not have the same AudioGD cable with XLR therefore i cant conclude which is better.

however with my own XLR and RCA, i find it both the RCA and XLR to be better than the ACSS. With this, i cant really say that the ACSS is inferior because i am using different cable for this test.

the AudioGD Master 10 is a very powerful and musical amp.

Older model had that problem, the 2017 version for the NFB 11 they removed the switch so no pops. Not sure about the R2R version though.

Btw, a well designed SE amp will always be better than an average/poorly designed Balanced amp. So don't think all Balanced amps > Single ended types. Most if not all of the well regarded tube amps are SE designed but may have a XLR output for convenience sake.

thanks for the feedback bud

Tq for the info.
I've made up my mind.
Going to pull the trigger on the R2R11.

Can't wait for on Aune X1s 6th gen..appreciate initial impression if anyone here get hands-on on this one..

Recommendation please cheap n affordable

Source: Mostly on desktop
Equipment: Venture Electronics VE MONK Plus
Requirement: 80% movies & music 20% gaming
Budget: RM200+/- tier ----------- / RM300++ tier --------------

Thank you

only desktop ... FiiO E10K

Hi guys, looking to buy a DAC for my current setup.

Source : Amazon Fire TV(mainly) / iPhone 6S+ (rarely) / Xonar Essence STX (rarely)

TV : Hisense HE65K5510UWTS

Speakers : Audioengine a5+ (Active speakers)

So want to use Toslink from TV to DAC and 3.5mm/RCA from DAC to the speakers. Currently undecided between the Arcam irDac 2 and the Chord Mojo.

Really like the reviews on the Mojo but not sure about using it permanently on a main system... also prefer RCA connectors on the irDac 2.

Edit : Haven't got any replies yet but I'm leaning towards the Mojo after my research - anyone here uses it as a standalone dac in a main system?

This post has been edited by cheesycake: Jan 7 2018, 03:07 AM

Hi all Sifu and senpai(s),

Newcomer/Noob in the audio corner here, i am here for a DAC (or DAC/amp combo) recommendation.

past 3 months i have been looking into audio stuffs, as I am moving to a larger house and i want to plan my renovation.

I have already overblown my budget already by way more than few hundred percent.

It is not really worth mentioning and i am abit embarrassed about the ocipalaness of my items but here are my audio equipments.

I started out from gaming and evolved to the point that i am quite lost:

1. Razer Leviathan
2. Razer Kraken Pro V2
3. Razer hammerhead pro V2
4. Audiotechnica Air AD900X (open back)
5. Kanto YU6 + Sub8


I might buy some high ohm headphones down the road but currently i am thinking about dacs and amps and whether i need them or not.

My PC is an ASUS Maximus IX Extreme (Z270 board with i7-7700K)
(OR)
I might use the Kanto YU6 for my living room.

Here is the thing, i have TONS of wifi devices throughout the new house:
1. WiFi CCTVS (6 units)
2. Wifi Robot Vacuum
3. Wifi boosters here and there
4. family of 6 with each person at least 2 wifi device.
5. 4 smart tv and raspberry pi to run kodi on each tv. (8 device)
6. Mi water purifier, Mi Baby milk mixer, Mi toothbrush, Mi smarthome etc.

easily up to 30+ device or more at any 1 time.

Optical cables eliminates those annoying buzz and hums from audio device which is why i have the leviathan replace my old 2.1 logitech speakers. Also another reason why i choose the YU6s.

I understand that having an external DAC will improve the whole listening experience. BUT if i go back to RCA cables will it be hostile ?


So the most important question now is:


Which of the following dacs suits me ? (both PC and Living Room)

1. Audioengine D1
2. Fiio E10K
3. Schiit Modi 2 & Magni
4. JDSLabs The Element

or are there any other recommendations.

Thank you all sifus in advance.

your newest speaker is connect by spdif digital signal. so there must be a dac inside speaker. put external dac wont change as much as u thought, becos final output is same speaker.
do u feel any dissatisfaction from current setup?

(afterthought: i didn't realize my reply would be this long when i started, lol)

No, not really, from my leviathan and YU6 (Through my cousin's YU5, i was impressed by it and ordered mine but it is still on the way)

The old Altec Lansing 2.1 & Cheap Logitech 5.1 speakers can suck it and i am sick of listening to that annoying humming static whenever calls or messages came in through them when my phone is on the table, just that i have never used a dac/amp and being reading all over that people are claiming the difference is night and day.

All that humming disappear when i switch to the razer leviathan (first time using toslink optical input) which made me so glad. I am unsure whether this is due to the optical cable or the low quality speakers which i can only afford during my student and fresh grad days.

Another reason for the leviathan because i have a Triple monitor setup and it sits perfectly below the middle monitor facing me.

My cousin had the YU5 and sit them on speaker stands on their sides, the stands goes high above his iMac and tilts down facing the middle. Was thinking of copying him (which is why i buy the YU6) but unlike him, i have 2 kids so i might end up spending more of my non-gaming leisure time in the living room rather than in the PC room.

Yes you are right the YU6 are power speaker that have DAC (only if you connect it via optical in)

But in actual reality i am unimpressed by the performance of all 3 headphones i have. But using them is a must for any serious PUBG/Overwatch sessions.

So my dilemma is that since i am going to spend money anyways i was looking for an easier way to switch between Headphone and PC Speakers, and while doing so give the headphones a bump up in performance or whatever everyone in the audio community is going on about.

Right now my routine to switch between Speaker & Headphones is to:
1. Right click volume icon in bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Select playback device
3. on the popup window drag down to Either A. Digital output or B. Headphones
4. Select "set as default device"
5. Right click and select test to ensure its the correct one.
6. Click "OK".

(Or use the asus motherboard software which would reduce 2 steps, but sometimes crashes, asus makes great hardware but their software just plain suck)

Now repeat the above step every time. whenever i play non fps game or browse the internet.

THERE MUST BE A SIMPLER WAY ! (a BIG RED BUTTON or a left/right switch ???)

As for why the headphones suck, i like the intensity coming from the speakers and clarity feel from it. By comparison the sounds through the headphones i dont know how to say it, feels dull.

Speakers are connected through toslink optical to the motherboard while headphones are just normal 3.5mm jack to the green hole jack, both on the back of the motherboard IO.

Thank you again for hearing me out.