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Got me a new NuForce Icon HDP
Aug 9, 2010 at 4:01 PM Post #16 of 37
There's no way 9:00 when standing upright is loud enough for 650's.  I have 650's and 3PM is about right, maybe a little further.  Even on my Shure 530's noon is about right.
 
Quote:
jespiir said:
Sorry for being confussing...
 
Kite7 is right, I mean the physical position when the unit is standing upright in the stand.
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Aug 10, 2010 at 10:16 AM Post #17 of 37
FWIW, I drive the usually hard to drive AKG 702s with the HDP.  Volume set at noon or 2 (with amp horizontal in stand).  This is with an optical input.
 
Aug 10, 2010 at 12:18 PM Post #18 of 37
Does the HDP sound different in vertical vs. horizontal positions?  If so, I find that hard to believe.
 
Aug 10, 2010 at 12:47 PM Post #20 of 37


Quote:
bscott said:
no, of course not.  But the "clock" positions would be described differently.
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Ah, silly me.  I should have known that's what you guys meant.  I just didn't imagine the HDP in horizontal position given the stand it comes with.
 
Aug 11, 2010 at 2:42 AM Post #21 of 37
hdp is fantastic imo,  the only caveat is you cant have both coaxial and toslink plugged at same time. oh and its overpriced. and dosent have a fixed signal or gain but thats nit pickin.  its head out is above avg but not very powerful or loud as you have reported,   i dont use it but its much better than some other  dac/amp combo's i have tried,,, in fact i had rather low expectations for its head out. it performed better than i had anticipated.   and its usb dac is much better than others i have heard
 
   definitely implement another head amp with the hdp and unlock its full potential.  always keep your source (computer) volume at max or you will reduce the bit rate and quality.
 
Aug 11, 2010 at 3:02 AM Post #23 of 37
I don't think it's overpriced either. Where is your point of reference? Compared to what makes the HDP seem overpriced to you? Tell me what you can find for the same price that has the same functions. If you can't find something with the same functions then what combination ,in your opinion, sounds better than the HDP? What source/ DAC and headphone amplifier combo will surpass the HDP without a doubt for $449?
 
Aug 25, 2010 at 4:32 PM Post #24 of 37


Quote:
kite7 said:
I don't think it's overpriced either. Where is your point of reference? Compared to what makes the HDP seem overpriced to you? Tell me what you can find for the same price that has the same functions. If you can't find something with the same functions then what combination ,in your opinion, sounds better than the HDP? What source/ DAC and headphone amplifier combo will surpass the HDP without a doubt for $449?
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I haven't heard both, but I think Audio-gd FUN (A version) would be a similar solution at $345 (after shipping it would be about $400) and you can choose to switch the stock opa to earth, moon or sun if you want to. And the FUN has both preamp out and dac out whereas the HDP only has preamp out. Just my 2cent and I'd like to hear some comparison between them two as well cuz I am now trying to decide between thest two.
 
Aug 26, 2010 at 3:35 AM Post #25 of 37


Quote:
k_19 said:
The HDP IMO is a great combo piece, and is almost worth it alone for their DAC section IMO... it is excellent.  The headphone out I wasn't overly impressed with (I find the soundstage somewhat lackluster compared to others in its price range, and overly analytical to my taste with neutral headphones), but it gets the job done with most headphones and has no issues with gain or anything. 
 
For what its worth it still sounded great with my warmer headphones, and sounded the best with all of my Senns (the HD650's especially).  So I think you'll end up impressed regardless.
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i couldnt agree more
.
 
 
Aug 30, 2010 at 4:06 PM Post #26 of 37
I'm confused..... how is the RCA out not a DAC out.  It's digital, converted to analog, and output.  Right?
 
Quote:
miyinan said:
I haven't heard both, but I think Audio-gd FUN (A version) would be a similar solution at $345 (after shipping it would be about $400) and you can choose to switch the stock opa to earth, moon or sun if you want to. And the FUN has both preamp out and dac out whereas the HDP only has preamp out. Just my 2cent and I'd like to hear some comparison between them two as well cuz I am now trying to decide between thest two.
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Aug 30, 2010 at 5:58 PM Post #27 of 37


Quote:
bscott said:
I'm confused..... how is the RCA out not a DAC out.  It's digital, converted to analog, and output.  Right?
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The RCA out on the HDP is a "line out" which is analog.  The FUN has that *and* a set of RCA DAC out plugs.  The latter would be a digital signal which necessitates an external preamp if one desires a different one from what's built-in.
 

 
 
Aug 31, 2010 at 11:36 AM Post #29 of 37


Quote:
bscott said:
why would you even use the Audio-GD then?  Doesn't that seem like an extra step for no reason?  Sorry, I'm new at this.
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IMO, there is very little or no reason to use the FUN as a dedicated DAC.  There are much better units out there for that purpose.  The FUN and the HDP are primarily headphone amps with added features and they should be considered for what they are.  I use my HDP as a headphone amp and to run my powered Audioengine 5 speakers at my computer.
 
Sep 24, 2010 at 2:23 AM Post #30 of 37
X2 for sure regarding the HDP and HD 650 combo, which I am totally loving. I'm going to a local meet with weekend and look forward to testing out my HDP with more analytical phones like K702 and W5000. I'll report back impressions next week, but have a feeling my combo has great synergy that will be lost to some degree with those cans.
 
Also, I've been able to audition audio-gd c2c amp, which is a step up from FUN. I think the C2C is a solid amp and a nice value for the money. I wouldn't shy away from ordering audio-gd gear as it seems well built and well respected, but my impression from all that I have read and from owning HDP is that its DAC is likely significantly better than FUN. The audio-gd dac-19 however seems to get rave reviews and looks like a solid option for a dedicated DAC. 
 
Quote:
k_19 said:
The HDP IMO is a great combo piece, and is almost worth it alone for their DAC section IMO... it is excellent.  The headphone out I wasn't overly impressed with (I find the soundstage somewhat lackluster compared to others in its price range, and overly analytical to my taste with neutral headphones), but it gets the job done with most headphones and has no issues with gain or anything. 
 
For what its worth it still sounded great with my warmer headphones, and sounded the best with all of my Senns (the HD650's especially).  So I think you'll end up impressed regardless.
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