E-MU 0202 or 0404 vs. NuForce Icon Mobile

[Lancaster]

I'm happy to say this is my first post here, and I've placed a toe into the hi-fi world with my recent purchases of UE Super.Fi 3 studios and Grado SR80s (remember I said a toe

). I figure my next step should be an upgrade of my Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-Bit External unit I'm currently using with my laptop. It has served me well and outputs to 5.1 for my Logitech system (my last priority in upgrading), but as I move up in the headphone world I'm looking for a step up in computer audio.

Because a have a laptop, an internal sound card isn't an option, so I'm looking for a USB DAC/headphone amp. I should mention that this laptop is not the "carry around" kind; its a hulking HP Pavilion zv5000, and for many reasons, namely heat output and its massive weight, this thing sits on my desk and never leaves my room or gets close to my lap.

I will, however, be upgrading within the next six months, hopefully to something portable for college, so I'm trying to keep that in mind while I look for a DAC. I've experienced the horrors of onboard laptop sound and I can safely say I will never ever go back.

That brings me to my search. My budget is ~$150, with perhaps $30 of wiggle room. After looking through desktop DACs/amps in my budget range, I found that the E-MU 0202 or possibly the 0404 (bit more than I want to pay) will meet my needs well. The only other DAC/Amp combo I found in that range would be something from HotAudio, though I'd like the DAC to have recording capability.

And then I saw the NuForce Icon Mobile, a beautifully thin DAC/Amp combo smack in the middle of my price range. Even better, I could use it with my iPod+UE Super.Fi 3s. It would undoubtedly be an excellent portable DAC to match my future portable laptop, so there's another plus.

This leaves me with several questions:

1. How will the sound of these DACs compare to the sound of my Sound Blaster when used with SR80s?
2. How does the sound of the 0202 compare to the sound of the 0404?
3. How does the NuForce compare to the 0202 or 0404 when used as a DAC?
4. Will I notice any improvement in the sound of my iPod+Super.Fi 3s when using them with the NuForce amp?

The answers to these questions will determine my purchasing decisions over the next six months; I have a few options:

1. Buy the 0202 or 0404 now, use it as a DAC until I get the NuForce to use with my new laptop and iPod. (Total > $250)
2. Buy the NuForce now, use it as the sole DAC for my home laptop and mobile amp for my iPod, use it for my new laptop as well in six months. Do not purchase anything from E-MU (Total ~$150)
3. Buy the 0202 or 0404; the NuForce won't significantly improve the sound of my iPod because the Super.Fi 3s are so low end. (Total ~$100 or ~$200)
4. Forget E-MU and NuForce; look at some different products.

I really appreciate any help here, I can't wait to upgrade.

 

[ph0rk]

I'm not a big fan of lugging around portable amps, especially for IEMs (which are usually quite sensitive).

For standalone, it will likely come down to which of the three you will prefer, sound-wise - this will be a personal decision.

 

[Lancaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph0rk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not a big fan of lugging around portable amps, especially for IEMs (which are usually quite sensitive). For standalone, it will likely come down to which of the three you will prefer, sound-wise - this will be a personal decision.

The NuForce is tiny, so I'm not so concerned about its size. What I am concerned about is if it is even worth it to use it with IEMs like the SF3s.

I think I'd rather have a musical amp than an analytical one.

 

[jaykay]

I don't have any experience with the E-MU sound cards, but do have experience with the NuForce Icon Mobile and Headstage Lyrix Total Pro portable amp/dacs. I pretty much use them exclusively as my external dac/amp with my laptop. I rarely use them with my mp3 player (sansa fuze). I'll focus on the NuForce since that is what you're interested in.

I'm not sure how the NuForce sounds with the super.fi 3's but I felt it did help improve the sound of my super.fi 5 pro when I had them and my westone 3.

I prefer to use my NuForce over lyrix because the NuForce really is a small and thin unit. This is especially useful to me because I use the NuForce primarily as my external dac because my laptop's onboard sound is terribly noisey. I have no problem taking the NuForce with me anywhere that I bring my laptop because it's so small. I feel that for $99, the NuForce Icon Mobile is a great value amp/dac for laptop users and portable gear users.

 

[Lancaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykay /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure how the NuForce sounds with the super.fi 3's but I felt it did help improve the sound of my super.fi 5 pro when I had them and my westone 3.

Ok, that is a big help. Thanks!

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lancaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif The NuForce is tiny, so I'm not so concerned about its size. What I am concerned about is if it is even worth it to use it with IEMs like the SF3s. I think I'd rather have a musical amp than an analytical one.

If it has batteries it won't be weightless or card-thin.

I've listened to both SE530's and SE420's out of desktop amps and didn't think the improvement was worth it for mobile, much less something portable like a mini3. Any DAP in the universe has enough power to run IEMs just fine.

If you're actually mobile then environmental noise will ruin the sound anyway, even with IEM isolation.

However: if the icon mobile works better for the future portable laptop, go for it, although again there if I were in a library or coffee shop I'd just listen to my DAP - will help conserve laptop battery life too (As well as let you sleep it when switching to reading, etc).

 

[Lancaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph0rk /img/forum/go_quote.gif If it has batteries it won't be weightless or card-thin.

The NuForce Icon runs on an internal Li-Ion battery and weighs less than an iPod.

Quote:

However: if the icon mobile works better for the future portable laptop, go for it, although again there if I were in a library or coffee shop I'd just listen to my DAP - will help conserve laptop battery life too (As well as let you sleep it when switching to reading, etc).

Ok, I see your point.

This gives me more to consider, specifically if I even need a DAC for mobile laptop use....

 

[jaykay]

ph0rk has a very good point about the laptop battery life. It would be more practical in most cases to use a portable dap instead of a laptop for music in those situations.

I'm not sure how you will be using your laptop, but I use my Icon Mobile as a dac for my laptop because my dell vostro's headphone output is atrocious. On top of that, I do not own a desktop or a home rig. So my laptop is my primary audio source while at home.

 

[Lancaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykay /img/forum/go_quote.gif ph0rk has a very good point about the laptop battery life. It would be more practical in most cases to use a portable dap instead of a laptop for music in those situations. I'm not sure how you will be using your laptop, but I use my Icon Mobile as a dac for my laptop because my dell vostro's headphone output is atrocious. On top of that, I do not own a desktop or a home rig. So my laptop is my primary audio source while at home.

I'm in the same boat as you, my laptop is my sole source apart from my iPod.

Here's looking at things from a different angle: what if I were to keep my Sound Blaster and buy a desktop headphone amp within my budget range to use with it? Would that offer a greater advantage?

 

[jaykay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lancaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm in the same boat as you, my laptop is my sole source apart from my iPod. Here's looking at things from a different angle: what if I were to keep my Sound Blaster and buy a desktop headphone amp within my budget range to use with it? Would that offer a greater advantage?

Hmm that I cannot help you with. I have no experience with that external sound card or any other than the tbaam for that matter lol. I do have a creative x-fi xtrememusic laying around but don't have a desktop to put it in atm. It's been so long since I've heard it that I can't offer any valuable insight. The only thing I can comment on about the Icon Mobile is that its dac is significantly better than my laptop's internal soundcard and is noticeably more forward sounding than my lyrix's dac.

 

[ph0rk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lancaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm in the same boat as you, my laptop is my sole source apart from my iPod. Here's looking at things from a different angle: what if I were to keep my Sound Blaster and buy a desktop headphone amp within my budget range to use with it? Would that offer a greater advantage?

Check out: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/wha...er-amp-389591/


I think I mostly agree with upgrading Amp+Phones before dropping serious money on a source - assuming your source doesn't have glaring faults like bad hiss or hum, etc.

So, depending on budget, I'd correct a horrid source first (which your soundblaster seems to do), then headphones, followed by amp, and then re-investigate your source last-ish.

 

[slwiser]

I you want to use your laptops/notebooks/netooks you need a USB outboard DAC to maximize your sound. Those cards in those computers just aren't going to be very good. You can of course use them but you certainty will not get the best sound out of any particular headphone that you end up with. Here is a few options that I have going with three different USB DAC/Amps.

Fuse + Nuforce Icon Mobile + { ATH-ESW9 | ATH-ESW10JPN }

or

Dell Mini 9 + { Icon Mobile | iBasso Boa | Headroom Total Bithead} + { ATH-ESW9 | ATH-ESW10JPN }

With the Dell Mini 9 I use an outboard USB hard drive of 320 gig size for FLAC files. I use Extreme VBR MP3s in my 24 gig Sansa Fuse.

Bluetooth track/mouse is shown to demonstrate how small the Fuse and Icon Mobile are together.

 

[the_dong146]

Seriously considering the Icon Mobile myself right now - any thoughts on how it would compare to the Total Bithead?

 

[jaykay]

Here's a review comparing the Icon Mobile to the Airhead. Hopefully it helps you a bit. Icon Mobile vs airhead

 

[Lancaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph0rk I think I mostly agree with upgrading Amp+Phones before dropping serious money on a source - assuming your source doesn't have glaring faults like bad hiss or hum, etc.

Ok, that is a great help. The NuForce does have a headphone amp, so that places it on my list of available headphone amps in my price range. I suppose I'll get a better value with a desktop amp like the icute?


Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif I you want to use your laptops/notebooks/netooks you need a USB outboard DAC to maximize your sound.

I do have the Sound Blaster Live! 24-Bit, so I'm not using the onboard sound. I couldn't stomach it anyway.

Quote:

Dell Mini 9 + { Icon Mobile | iBasso Boa | Headroom Total Bithead} + { ATH-ESW9 | ATH-ESW10JPN }

Judging from reviews and price being such a major factor in my decision, I'd pick the NuForce from the above.