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I'm using the NuForce Icon as a DAC pre-amp going into power AudioEngine A-2 speakers. Until the NuForce S-1 speakers arrive ( 2-3 weeks from now ) I can't comment on the "sound" of the Icon, other than saying that the quality of sound is much better, and the noise level is much lower than the on-board Asus motherboard-RealTek ( and Monsoon planar speakers ) that I had been using previously.An interesting development is that I've had to discard quite a few compressed ( mp3) files, since their poor quality is dramatically in evidence when output through this superior sound system
I find the sound quite natural, and smooth. The built-in DAC is a great convenience feature, although its sound quality doesn't compare to a good external DAC like a 0404 USB, it's far better than any HD on-board chipset sound that is prevalent on many motherboards. It would compete well to previous $100-150 headphone amps I had (like a Headroom Bithead)The only two issues is the short proprietary speaker cable, but Nuforce sells longer ones if you want to buy it, and the pinouts are published on their website in case you want to make your own much longer ones. It doesn't have the detail of a good high end DAC, but makes for a great alternative to buying a separate soundcard.Then I tried my $350 AKG K701 and Denon D2000 headphones. Both analog inputs are switchable using the lower front knob- And it has a USB input so you can plug your computer into it and it acts as a soundcard with up to 16bit/48Khz sampling rate. They recommend a speaker with a sensitivity rating of above 86dB@1m. The unit comes with a hard silicon-like stand to stand it vertically, decent quality (but very short) banana plug speaker cables with an odd RJ-45 connection, a USB cable, a wall-wart adapter with universal voltage, everything you need to get started.This unit can serve several purposes:- It has two line inputs to connect iPods or your computer to it.
It has banana plugs on the other end. Next I tried the preamp plugged into my $1300 Dynaudio powered speakers. The reason they used this cable is because cable activates the amp's built in equalizer when paired with matching Nuforce S-1 speakers. The preamp output is very high grade, there is no appreciable hissing on the output even when the volume know is at full (with no music). When Nuforce announced they would be coming out with a $249 desktop amp, I had to buy one just because I knew it would be good.First, look at the thing, it is beautiful in its simplicity, housed in a nifty attractive aluminum enclosure with simple knobs, and even the packaging is top rate.
Again, very good considering its price. I plugged in my $900/pr NHT Classic 3 speakers and the sound quality was solid, tuneful, with very good bass impact. The headphone amp is quite good. Not as refined as my $300 dedicated Headroom Micro amp, but way better than any laptop or computer headphone output jack I've heard. The Digital amp is only rated at 12W per channel, but it's enough to power medium efficiency bookshelf speakers to fill a small 12x8 room with sound. I bought this Nuforce amp (Silver color) just because of the reputation of Nuforce for offering audiophile quality amps that have tremendous value.
I tried every one of its functions and it's superb for what it costs. You can select this using the lower knob at position number 3- It has a low level line out so you can use this as a preamp to your powered speakers or subwoofer. The output is controlled by the volume (top) knob.- It has RJ-45 jacks which you use with the included cables to plug into any normal bookshelf or floorspeaker. And the other one is that amp makes a pop sound through the speakers when you first turn it on with the front knob, so I always turn it on, wait two seconds and then continue increasing the volume so the pop happens while the volume control is still low.So for those who are looking to upgrade their computer audio, getting one of these, adding some $250 PSB B15 bookshelf speakers will get you a great desktop listening station.
Lower register of the speaker is well controlled as expected from Nuforce reputation.Second, I like musicality of the Icon. I knew their product on several auditions, I had a high expectation on this so I jumped at this chance to get it. It's so rich and deep, I can not believe it from the tiny size of Icon-1. This is not a cheap trick, Icon employs a discrete circuit for the headphone amp. Finally I set it up with my best speaker Dynaudio twenty five special via LINN IKEMI.I was amazed by the quality of bass reproduction. Again, the sound quality is very good, this is no mean feat for the headphone out of audio amps. Icon is not sterile nor dry without loosing any virtue of the Class D amp.
In fact, Icon sports a high resolution and low distortion.I think the overall performance is far beyond the price.As a bonus, Icon has a decent headphone amp. NuForce is a high-end digital amp manufacture and they are known for the high performance proprietary Class D amp technology. I thought the ability is beyond the desktop speakers. It is well rewarded.First, I connected Icon with my PC via USB DAC and YAMAHA desktop speakers. The sound quality of Icon was very nice from just out of the box. I highly recommend this to every audio fans from the beginner who use PC mainly as a source to the audiophile who want a second system.
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