Head amp/DAC for spotify quality music?

[parasemic]

Ok, first I'll explain what I'm looking for.

I listen to music all the time on my computer, mostly with my headphones. I play a lot of shooters (competitively), so I need as good and precise sound as possible. I'm lazy and not into pirating music, so I listen to music mostly from Spotify. I recently purchased my first hifi quality headphones, Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros, and I'm enjoying them a lot. I run them through external usb soundcard, which is not that bad, but not anything fancy. However, I'd like to get as good sound as possible while listening to Spotify etc. lower grade audio. I've been thinking about purchasing a DAC or maybe DAC/Headphone Amp combo, and I've had my eye on Nuforce Icon HDP. Sadly, I don't have an coaxial line-out from my motherboard, so I have to use USB.

I'm also thinking about upgrading to better ampifier and speaker setup in the future, but I will stick to computer audio most likely. I'm under impression that HDP has overall decent DAC and preamp even to use with high grade amplifiers and speakers?

Any ideas about what should I do to upgrade my setup, and would the Nuforce Icon HDP give me better all-around sound quality?

 

[parasemic]

Anybody?

 

[Koolpep]

Hi!

I have the icon HDP and can recommend it. It's one of the most versatile DAC/Amps I have come across. Great sounding, lots of power and very flexible connections. I mostly connect it to my Mac via spdif optical (every Mac has that built in) or USB.

The DAC is really nice and transparent. Sometimes I use the icon HDP as a preamp for the schiit Valhalla or Asgard, but in its own right the HDP is a safe buy. You can't go wrong with it.

You can use it as a DAC/Amp, Amp only and DAC only, it has all connections you can think of and a very decent sound.

I use it for music and gaming and it drives all my headphones satisfactory.

Which USB/DAC soundcard do you have currently? Way are you looking for in your setup? What is missing?

Cheers,
K

 

[parasemic]

I'm using a cheap behringer external soundcard and have plugged the headphones to monitor output. I use this to play guitar at night or while recording. Behringer soundcard is good for what I use it for, but the overall SQ is pretty bad for music listening purposes.
 
At the moment, I'm going to buy HDP if nobody convinces me not to. I'm wondering if it's maybe waste of money as I don't listen to FLACs or other loseless audio that much? But then again, I might invest to high quality vinyl player, and I would use HDP as a head amp with it.

 

[b3wannabe]

Agree with Koolpep. HDP will enhance the sound a lot, connected via USB or otherwise, playing FLAC or not.

 

[parasemic]

I finally got my HDP after a long wait, and the sound quality is good enough to convince myself to buy a pair of cheap Genelecs

Really excellent product for the price!