[Dsnuts]

Don't know if you believe in hardware burn in but I would definitely play music through them for a while to get the best sound out of them..

 

[grizzlybeast]

 

so far the impressions are pretty good. The yamaha by itself is a beast of a headphone and the Nuforce lets you see it. It blows away my odac and vali in clarity/transparency and bass. The vali however is not a bad match with the Nuforce. They make a good team. The nuforce is a bit bright but with full mids and solid bass and good instrument seperation. It basically brightens things up a bit. I like it. I can tell it is the sound of the DAC that is giving it its signature because even through the vali it has the same characteristics. 
 
impressions are that I am impressed. 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

ICON DAC IMPRESSIONS:
 
I've got the Icon DAC, and I must say that as a fan of the HDP I have switched loyalties over to the Icon DAC for driving headphones.  I still love the versatility and sound of the HDP's DAC section, although it's been replaced by the DAC-100.
 
In my HDP review I noted that the HDP amp section is still slightly aggressive sounding, and that it has better synergy with my HE-500 and LCD-2 than my HD800 which can become a little fatiguing with the HDP.  However, the Icon DAC is great with all of them.  It sounds warmer with punchier bass, and has noticeably more power output.  The Icon DAC gives the HD800 a more solid bass foundation that I usually have to go to my EF-6 amp to enjoy.  I have dozens and dozens of amps around here, and few of them are suitable for the HD800 which can become fatiguing with the wrong amp (or bright, or bass-lite).
 
As a matter of fact, I enjoy the Icon DAC with my HD800 more than I do my CEntrance DACmini or HiFi-M8.  While it's not as refined sounding as the Nuforce DAC-100 with my HD800, the synergy and enjoyment is pretty close with the DAC-100.  The ambience and air and micro-detail is not at the level of the DAC-100, but it's on par with other $200-400 DACs around the house.
 
With my HE-500 and LCD-2 the Icon DAC is just as punchy and powerful as my DACmini, but the Icon DAC is slightly darker sounding and slightly less airy sounding.  Not enough to disrupt the enjoyment of the music with those phones one bit. And this isn't a negative when using a brighter headphone like the HD800.
 
The DAC section is quite nice too, and while I don't have any DSD audio files to try out with it I have played my usual 24/96 HD downloads and it does a good job.  I don't have an android device to test the USB input with either.
 
Right now I highly recommend the Icon DAC as a budget DAC/amp that can drive HD800 as well as the typical orthodynamic headphones without running out of juice.

 

[Armaegis]

I do wish they didn't change the power requirements though, so I could use my LPS power supply with it.

 

[BF3 Player]

It has been  more than a month now, I am still waiting for Nuforce to exchange my faulty AC adapter as they promised, do their customer service usually take this long? 

 

[Armaegis]

I usually get a reply in a day or two at most. When is the last time you messaged them?

 

[BF3 Player]

 
I usually get a reply in a day or two at most. When is the last time you messaged them?

 


Well it began at the start of Jan when I received the Icon DAC and the AC adapter was dead on arrival. I asked Nuforce if they can just send a replacement adapter to me instead of shipping the entire package back to them and have them replace the entire thing. Shipping from Australia to the US alone is around $70 USD which probably cost more than the adapter itself. 


 


At first, they were quite helpful and replied my emails with in 2 days, and after 3.5 weeks of emailing, we have come to the agreement that they will ship the replacement part from their Taiwan factory to their Australian distributor and I will exchange my faulty part with them. That was on the 22nd Jan, when Nuforce said they will contact their Australian distributor shortly after they emailed me.


 


So 2 weeks have passed, the Australian distributor is still waiting for instructions from Nuforce, and I have sent another 2 emails which has not been replied. 


 


I have no idea why this has become so complicated, and unnecessarily expensive. 


 


My Icon DAC is still in the box....and I have to say it is getting frustrating. 

 

[Armaegis]

That's unfortunate. Maybe try sending Wolfgang or Jason a pm here on headfi?
 
edit: Also... there's Chinese new year to consider. Everything gets shut down during that time.

 

[wolfgang0119]

Well it began at the start of Jan when I received the Icon DAC and the AC adapter was dead on arrival. I asked Nuforce if they can just send a replacement adapter to me instead of shipping the entire package back to them and have them replace the entire thing. Shipping from Australia to the US alone is around $70 USD which probably cost more than the adapter itself. 

 

At first, they were quite helpful and replied my emails with in 2 days, and after 3.5 weeks of emailing, we have come to the agreement that they will ship the replacement part from their Taiwan factory to their Australian distributor and I will exchange my faulty part with them. That was on the 22nd Jan, when Nuforce said they will contact their Australian distributor shortly after they emailed me.

 

So 2 weeks have passed, the Australian distributor is still waiting for instructions from Nuforce, and I have sent another 2 emails which has not been replied. 

 

I have no idea why this has become so complicated, and unnecessarily expensive. 

 

My Icon DAC is still in the box....and I have to say it is getting frustrating. 

 

Hi, 
 
I'm sorry to let you wait so long. The CNY holiday is just over on Tuesday and it's back to normal now. Let me PM you and see what I can do to help you.

 

[Benjos]

Hello !

My turn to do some dig up... I'm interested in this Icon DAC for the compatibility with Android, and if I'm not mistaking, no one mentioned a test with an Android phone. I'd like to know if it works well, and of course if the sound quality is as good as using a PC.
And then to those who are using the DAC, are you still happy with it?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Hello !

My turn to do some dig up... I'm interested in this Icon DAC for the compatibility with Android, and if I'm not mistaking, no one mentioned a test with an Android phone. I'd like to know if it works well, and of course if the sound quality is as good as using a PC.
And then to those who are using the DAC, are you still happy with it?

 
I'm still very happy with the Icon DAC - right now it's probably still the best bang for the buck in budget DAC amps that I have heard.  It hands down beats my son's Schiit Audio Modi/Magni DAC and amp combo, and I prefer it over my more expensive Nuforce HDP DAC/amp.  
 
Also, while I don't have an android phone, if you own one that works with USB DACs I don't see any reason why this would not work as well.  Also, whenever I use an iPod compatible Digital Doc, the iPod always sounds as good as using a PC via USB.

 

[Benjos]

That's good to hear!
My phone is a Sony Z1 Compact, and according to the list of compatible phones provided by Nuforce it should work, but I've never plugged it on any kind of DAC, that's why I'm looking for a "live" confirmation that this works.

 

[grizzlybeast]

I'm still very happy with the Icon DAC - right now it's probably still the best bang for the buck in budget DAC amps that I have heard.  It hands down beats my son's Schiit Audio Modi/Magni DAC and amp combo, and I prefer it over my more expensive Nuforce HDP DAC/amp.  

Also, while I don't have an android phone, if you own one that works with USB DACs I don't see any reason why this would not work as well.  Also, whenever I use an iPod compatible Digital Doc, the iPod always sounds as good as using a PC via USB.

P+1 I thought so to. how does it fair in powering that 560?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

P+1 I thought so to. how does it fair in powering that 560?

 
It powers the HE-500 and LCD-2 rev2 and HD800 very well.  I have not tried it with the HE-560, which went back for catalog photos 2 weeks ago, but I have a production set coming soon to replace it.

 

[grizzlybeast]

   
It powers the HE-500 and LCD-2 rev2 and HD800 very well.  I have not tried it with the HE-560, which went back for catalog photos 2 weeks ago, but I have a production set coming soon to replace it.

I dont know if nuforce made for itself a bad rep in the past but peep are sleeping on their recent stuff now for sure. I immediately went and bought a nuforce ha200 after this and enjoy it very much. Im only selling it because I wont need it with the hps coming in and I am using a vintage receiver.