Hi there, thank you for the very informative reply. It has cleared up many lose ends with the whole situation. I have a feeling the DAC i have may be faulty. Iv tried it on 2 other computers and the max settings i can do is 16 /48khz, it is only recognized as USB Audio DAC aswell.  Do you...

So recently i Have a Nuforce DAC Icon 2, Running on windows 8 computer. I was going through the nuforce setup forums and it told me to go into Playbacks Devices ->   And then Properties -> Advanced -> Select 24bit 96khz.  So i went to do exactly that, But i do not have that option...

Im sorry, i dont understand the Lemon, DOA part. and i wont be able to exchange it as i got it second hand. 

I dont know if this will have anything to do with the fixing of the humming, but any help would be great aswell. http://www.head-fi.org/t/745406/very-hot-nuforce-icon-2-help

I there, i just bought a Nuforce icon 2, and when i plugged it in, after no music being playing or anything, the DAC got very hot, like almost to hot to touch. So i got worried and unplugged it.  I have the original AC to DC power block, and i dont see what else could cause it.  So i decided...

Hi there, ill have to head into the electrical store tomorrow, but to give you an update. I snipped the grounding part of the USB, and it cut the low HUM out that persisted at high volumes, but the 30seconds high pitch hum is still there after i play audio. I tried, un soldering the Grounding...

So whats causing this is defiantly ground noise? i was wondering if i could take the ground section off my 1.4" cables, would that fix my problem? i looked at the other fixes you have posted, and also did some reading but not sure i want to unsolderer my new cables to test it

Very bad humming/hissing, 

I dont have any decent headphones to test this out with, and i dont have a multimeter, Iv just settled to turn my speaker volumes to 50% because i can barely hear the high pitch hum, and ill just adjust the volume from the DAC, which doesn't affect the volume of the High pitched hum

Hi there, thanks for the help, but it has not solved the problem. I just did as you said, cut out the grounding section of the USB. The signal comes through perfect, but when i pause the song the hum/whine is still there. then after 30 seconds or so, itll disappear and the speakers will be...

Here's to summaries my situation Observation 1.  The high pitch noise is only temporary, when playing any type of audio (even if my volume is turned off). Then the high pitch humming will turn off after a few seconds. Observation 2. I only seem to get this temporary humming when i use...

So my 3pin power plug from my speakers i want to convert to a two pin plug?

I just received my M-Audio BX5s, and have them plugged into my Nuforce icon 2 DAC which is connected to my computer via USB ( Speakers <- Dac <- Computer ). The problem i am noticing is, if i turn the volume on the back of the speakers up more than half way, i can hear this high pitch hum after...

Thoes do look very satisfying, I just won an auction for the NuForce Icon-2 usb Dac/amp for a very reasonable price of $90nzd, Would it be better worth to sell that for more than i bought it for and buy one of thoes DACs you mentioned? will i notice a difference, eg will one have a cleaner sound? 

Ohh these are very nice, I just won an auction for a NuForce Icon-2 USB DAC/AMP for a very reasonable price of $90, would it be better to sell that and buy one of your suggested DAC? 

Hi there, getting the Fiio 10k shipped to New Zealand is abit out of my price range ($100nzd and under) but i was looking at the FiiO D3, Behringer UCA2002, Muse Usb PCM2704. These are more in my range. All i need is a Good simple DAC, no need for any other addons like amps. Which of the 3 would...

I there, So for the cable i was looking at http://www.ebay.com/itm/2m-3-5mm-STEREO-Jack-to-2-x-1-4-inch-MONO-Plugs-Cable-/380445813310?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5894566a3e. Correct?

Hi there thanks for your reply. Whats the difference between a balanced DAC and an unbalanced DAC? and the FiiO doesnt have Left/Right speaker outputs would this effect quality if i used the dual 1/4" mono jacks? and i wont be using any headphones, it is purely for my speakers from my computer...

Hi there thanks for your reply. Whats the difference between a balanced DAC and an unbalanced DAC? and the FiiO doesnt have Left/Right speaker outputs so how does one connect two speakers to just the Line out?   The converter pin im talking about is a Gender adapter : 1/4"Male to 1/8"female...

Question 1: I recently bought the M-Audio DX5 D2s, and while waiting for them to post here, i am researching about a reasonable DAC for my Studio monitors. I currently have my eyes on a second hand NuForce Icon-2, but am wondering if its better to spend my money on a Fiio, or Behringer UCA202...