Thanks for the review, great content as usual! A question: have you thought about doing a top 5 or top 10 best dac/amps you have ever heard? I think that would help a lot of people.
Nice history lesson in the beginning. Very fluid and coherent review, I enjoyed it. About the the noise...no one will use this for IEM's so no problem.
I have an Audeze LCD-4 driven by either a Topping A90 or Audiovalve Solaris and Denafrips Venus DAC (that I bought after its review here.) It's been a long journey. That journey started with an Audio-gd NFB-10SE that I bought used 8-10 years ago. This is the much older brother of the current D28. This evening I'm listening to it again. To my dismay, I like the amp section almost as much as the Solaris. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might even like the audio gd DAC section better than the Venus. A better audiophile would be quick to point out that the Venus is more refined, but the Audio gd is more vocal forward and dynamic. I can't say one is higher resolution than the other, because they have different signatures and emphasise different details respectively. If a wide sound stage with an intimate, vocal forward signature, reasonable separation, powerful dynamics, bass and transients, all while maintaining a very natural feel and never getting out of hand, appeals to you, BUY THIS UNIT AND NEVER LOOK BACK.
Im late to this party, but im interested in the d28. Is there something else i should consider over the d28 considering its age? All sonic properties taken up in the review ticked my boxes. Using an aune stack w lcdx but im getting signal loss which i suspect is the aune amp, perhaps its overheating.
Hi Sandu, big fan of your reviews. Just bought an Audio GD D 28.38 and I have a question for you. Have you ever tried it with low impedance & very high sensitivity like the Magni or the Gjallahorn? I have those 2 amongs other headphones and was a bit worried that this could cause some noise because of the +10db on low gain mode. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Can a headphone amp safely be used to drive an 8 ohm load? 4 ohms? I know it's low power but for very sensitive speakers a headphone amp could actually be enough and have superior audio quality at such low power levels vs a more powerful amp turned down, but can it handle it?
As a pure DAC only, D90 will win. As as combo of D90+SP200 vs D28 that is a very different question. First of all, class-A amps are sounding way different than all THX designs. D-28 is much wider spread, sounds deeper too, has a warm tonality and a great slam especially in the bass. THX - all of them, don't have a tonality, they are super linear, super extended in the FR, but are not that wide sounding and are not infusing soul into music. Depends a lot on your preferences. As a reviewer, a THX amp will reveal me more, it is like a tool for me when I do DAC reviews. For pure musical enjoyment, D-28 is different sounding, it is musical, it is rising my mood level every single time. You should ask that question to yourself, do you want ultimate transparency and detail or pure musical enjoyment?
@@Soundnews thank you for the reply, that is very interesting. I already have thx amp in my office, maybe I should get a class a amp for my home. Could you recommend a class a amp in the price range of the smsl sp200?
Hey guys could you please tell the difference between shanling q1 and the fiio btr5 in terms of sound difference ? Which one sounds good comparatively ? Is btr5 better sounding than q1 or is it the other way round ?
Is this the D28.38 ? You tested the Topping D70S recently (I bought it), which DAC do you prefer if connected to a speaker setup in preamp out mode, the D28 or the D70S ?
This is the FULL upgrade version. If you need more warmth and boldness in the bass, D28 will give you that and if you need a slightly higher resolution while still retaining some naturalness, get the D70S
@@Soundnews Thanks for the feedback. I already have the D70S and sounds great. Just have the opertunity to get the D28.34 upgraded version used for a good price.
@@melomailperm I know, everybody is telling me that. I'm already immune to that. All Eastern-European countries have a Slavic accent in their English, nothing I can do about it...It is in the blood :)
Time Stamps:
0:27 - Small history lesson about balanced amps
2:01 - Package Contents
2:29 - Design & Build Quality
3:51 - Controls
4:43 - Tech Specs
6:15 - Sound Performance
8:01 - Testing it with sensitive IEMs
10:31 - Testing it with full-sized headphones
13:08 - Transient Response
14:39 - Frequency Response
15:52 - Conclusion
Thanks for the review, great content as usual! A question: have you thought about doing a top 5 or top 10 best dac/amps you have ever heard? I think that would help a lot of people.
Nice history lesson in the beginning. Very fluid and coherent review, I enjoyed it. About the the noise...no one will use this for IEM's so no problem.
Looks beautiful. However, HPA-4/Element X & HPA-4 & D90 vs AGD D28 ? Which one sounds better ?
Great overview of this unit. It could be the higher working voltage inside that causes some hum. I think usually I would prefer higher voltage.
Thanks for the great review!!
Do you think D28 is a considerable upgrade from SMSL M500?
I have an Audeze LCD-4 driven by either a Topping A90 or Audiovalve Solaris and Denafrips Venus DAC (that I bought after its review here.)
It's been a long journey. That journey started with an Audio-gd NFB-10SE that I bought used 8-10 years ago. This is the much older brother of the current D28.
This evening I'm listening to it again. To my dismay, I like the amp section almost as much as the Solaris. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might even like the audio gd DAC section better than the Venus. A better audiophile would be quick to point out that the Venus is more refined, but the Audio gd is more vocal forward and dynamic. I can't say one is higher resolution than the other, because they have different signatures and emphasise different details respectively.
If a wide sound stage with an intimate, vocal forward signature, reasonable separation, powerful dynamics, bass and transients, all while maintaining a very natural feel and never getting out of hand, appeals to you, BUY THIS UNIT AND NEVER LOOK BACK.
I own the nfb-28.38 and I love it.
Nolan Hughes what headphones are you using with it? Is it the best headphone DAC you’ve heard?
@@gnewt75 best no. Best sounding, yes. Haven't heard my hd800s sound better. Obviously my opinion of course.
Nolan Hughes so it brings the best out of any headphone. Thank you.
@@gnewt75 it definitely makes it more life like, more full bodied.
Im late to this party, but im interested in the d28. Is there something else i should consider over the d28 considering its age? All sonic properties taken up in the review ticked my boxes. Using an aune stack w lcdx but im getting signal loss which i suspect is the aune amp, perhaps its overheating.
Do you’ve tried a usb cable without power supply with only signal?
Hi there, a fellow UA-camr here 😊Could you tell me how the d28 compares to the K9 Pro ESS from Fiio? Thanks in advance!
could u compare it against their R28 pls, thks
Hi Sandu, big fan of your reviews. Just bought an Audio GD D 28.38 and I have a question for you. Have you ever tried it with low impedance & very high sensitivity like the Magni or the Gjallahorn? I have those 2 amongs other headphones and was a bit worried that this could cause some noise because of the +10db on low gain mode.
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Great review! Do u think it would fit well with RME ADI 2 Dac?
Sure, why not
I have HiFiMan Arya with SPL phoenix se + DAC768sx. Do you have recommend R28 instead SPL SE?
Can a headphone amp safely be used to drive an 8 ohm load? 4 ohms? I know it's low power but for very sensitive speakers a headphone amp could actually be enough and have superior audio quality at such low power levels vs a more powerful amp turned down, but can it handle it?
This or d90 + smsl sp200?
As a pure DAC only, D90 will win. As as combo of D90+SP200 vs D28 that is a very different question. First of all, class-A amps are sounding way different than all THX designs. D-28 is much wider spread, sounds deeper too, has a warm tonality and a great slam especially in the bass. THX - all of them, don't have a tonality, they are super linear, super extended in the FR, but are not that wide sounding and are not infusing soul into music. Depends a lot on your preferences. As a reviewer, a THX amp will reveal me more, it is like a tool for me when I do DAC reviews. For pure musical enjoyment, D-28 is different sounding, it is musical, it is rising my mood level every single time. You should ask that question to yourself, do you want ultimate transparency and detail or pure musical enjoyment?
@@Soundnews thank you for the reply, that is very interesting. I already have thx amp in my office, maybe I should get a class a amp for my home. Could you recommend a class a amp in the price range of the smsl sp200?
@@mbiswara120478 The cheapest class-A amp I know is the NFB-1AMP by Audio-GD, but at $485, it is over your budget
@@Soundnews does it have the same quality amp as the d28?
@@mbiswara120478 The amp section seems to be almost identical (8 transitors, an R-Core, tens of caps, including Nover ones) It should be great
Do you think this is good amp for Focal Clear?
Hey guys could you please tell the difference between shanling q1 and the fiio btr5 in terms of sound difference ? Which one sounds good comparatively ? Is btr5 better sounding than q1 or is it the other way round ?
Great review as always! Can these also power speakers?
It will work as a dedicated DAC+ preamp for some active (powered) speakers, for passive speakers you will need an integrated or a power amp
I hear this company Audiogd has to produce your individual order for each amp. If so, anyone know the turn around time before they ship it out?
Is this the D28.38 ?
You tested the Topping D70S recently (I bought it), which DAC do you prefer if connected to a speaker setup in preamp out mode, the D28 or the D70S ?
This is the FULL upgrade version. If you need more warmth and boldness in the bass, D28 will give you that and if you need a slightly higher resolution while still retaining some naturalness, get the D70S
@@Soundnews Thanks for the feedback. I already have the D70S and sounds great. Just have the opertunity to get the D28.34 upgraded version used for a good price.
Is this amp still relevant now a90 is out?
Все очень хорошо, но с таким славянским акцентом, что без улыбки невозможно смотреть). сделали бы на русском обзор, ребята.
Ты бы хотя бы субтитры на русском делал. Аппараты очень интересные!
Есть ссылка на текстовый вариант ревью, легко можно перевести через google translate.
I don't speak Russian, sorry. (but I can read it)
@@Soundnews sorry. I thought your accent is like a Russian accent
@@melomailperm I know, everybody is telling me that. I'm already immune to that. All Eastern-European countries have a Slavic accent in their English, nothing I can do about it...It is in the blood :)
@@Soundnews Your English command is very impressive. Keep it up, mate.