[budgetboy]

Fiio E7
 

Nuforce Icon Mobile
 
 
 
I want to buy a cheap portable amp/usb dac and settled on these two, which both cost $100. I will use the amp for ATH-M50, ATH-AD700, and ATH-ES7 headphones. The DAC will replace my headphone-out listening on my macbook and home computer. Which of these do you recommend, and why?
 
1st priority is SQ
2nd is build quality
3rd is output power (just in case)
 

 

[mustardhamsters]

FiiO E7, in my opinion.

 

[mythless]

From what I've read on the Nuforce, while it is a decent product, it's not all that spectacular.  There are some mix review on it.  The E7 is a newer product but it also has some mix reviews.  If I were you I would wait and read more on the E7.

 

[7swell]

Err that "Nuforce Icon Mobile" looks suspiciously a lot like my T3.

 

[mythless]

Quote:

Err that "Nuforce Icon Mobile" looks suspiciously a lot like my T3.

Haha, that's because it is.  The Nuforce looks completely different.

 

[roker]

for my money, the Nuforce Icon Mobile exceeded expectations.  It's like a match made in heaven for the D2000.  I compared it to my LDI+ and Keces 151 setup and while it didn't beat them, it still stood up high in terms of SQ.  I will say this though, will the headphones you've listed really benefit from an amp?  I'm not sure if you really need it.

 

[budgetboy]

Quote:

for my money, the Nuforce Icon Mobile exceeded expectations.  It's like a match made in heaven for the D2000.  I compared it to my LDI+ and Keces 151 setup and while it didn't beat them, it still stood up high in terms of SQ.  I will say this though, will the headphones you've listed really benefit from an amp?  I'm not sure if you really need it.

 
I'm not sure I need an amp either, but I'd like to see the sound difference that it makes when paired with my Cowon S9 and functioning as a dac. That's why I'm only looking at $100 dollar dac/amps. Also, if I buy any higher-impedance headphones, it could really come in handy. Has anyone tried both? I like the positive things I've heard about the nuforce, but its also been said that it breaks easily if you aren't careful
 

 

[budgetboy]

Quote:

FiiO E7, in my opinion.

Have you tried both?
 
Or if not, why the Fiio?

 

[fcpchop88]

I would also be very interested in hearing from someone who has tried both

 

[roker]

Quote:

but its also been said that it breaks easily if you aren't careful
 

Mine is actually 2nd hand
 
it's almost 2 years old now.

 

[mark2410]

if you give me a couple of weeks ill do a comparison

 

[budgetboy]

Quote:

if you give me a couple of weeks ill do a comparison

Nice, I think I won't be the only one that would like to see that!

 

[budgetboy]

Quote:

Mine is actually 2nd hand
 
it's almost 2 years old now.

That's awesome, all the reviews I read on the nuforce said that the build quality was bad. Are you a careful person?
 
Because I'm not.

 

[roker]

Quote:

That's awesome, all the reviews I read on the nuforce said that the build quality was bad. Are you a careful person?
 
Because I'm not.

The previous owner just had it lying around his apartment stuffed in a drawer.  I'm not sure he took great care of it.  I baby all my stuff.  The only thing I can truly say is annoying about the Icon Mobile is the lack of a power button.  You turn it off by unplugging your headphones.  Kind of a weird decision, but I guess the less buttons the better.

 

[mark2410]

btw ive never had any trouble with the icons build quality