NuForce Icon HDP + HiFace VS. Pico DAC + SR-71A

Hi guys,

I've been looking for some options to replace my recently sold Cantate.2( which I regret doing ). Initially, I was looking to get the Symphony.2, but it's way out of my wallet's league.

I started thinking about cheaper options to use at home, listening to CDs and lossless files in my laptop and with the D7000s, and since I already own a SR-71A, I thought about getting a Pico DAC and a ALO silver mini-to-mini. Total price of this setup would be around $450.

Another option would be getting the NuForce Icon HDP and a M2TECH HiFace, to use the optical input of the HDP. Total price of this setup would be somethign around $615.

Well, I understand that the Pico DAC runs only via USB port, and the SR-71A runs only with 9V batteries, while the HDP would run with an AC adapter. This alone would make a real difference, but I'm wondering if the price difference is worthy. Would there be a big difference between these 2 setups?

The last option would be getting a Cantate.2 again, which would cost me about the same as the Pico DAC + Alo mini to mini. But if the HDP + HiFace sounds even better than the Cantate.2, I'd pull the trigger for the most expensive option.

Thanks in advance!

Larry, thanks for your opinion and your PM:)

Considering the fact that the Cantate.2 can only use the USB port of my laptop, while the HDP has optical and coaxial inputs( which I'd be able to use with the M2TECH HiFace ), would it be more interesting to get the HDP + HiFace?

Thanks for the link for your review, I had read it after I sent you the PM, and it really helped a lot! I'll read it again anyways!:)