[cheers810]

Hi Fellows
 
I am planning to get a new headphone amp either Nuforce Icon HDP or Burson HA 160. would anyone here can give me some advises for those 2 amps? any pros and cons? most of the time i use it for gaming, movies and live concert.
 
Cheers

 

[RockinCannoisseur]

wow those are 2 very different amps,,  i can highly recommend the hdp, not so much for iem useage as it is  surprsingly very loud and powerful for its tiny size and it dosen't have gain.   damn i wish it had gain,, besides that my only other fault with the hdp is that you cannot connect coaxial and toslink at same time,
 
ive read the burson is a good, warm? sounding amp, some like and donot like its pot, i also donot think it has gain?  but maybe double check that.
id be willing to safely bet that the burson has the better amp, but you get so much more with the hdp imo, i really dont use the hdp  head amp that much, but i tend to switch from my matrix to the hdp when i listen to vinyl, the hdp sounds   awesome with vinyl, its crisp articualte and sparkles and is just great.
the hdp does better with higher impedance phones( probably not to high)  i have noticed that even with the low impediance denon 7000 the hdp can be a bit too lout for lower volume listening, like i said it really does need a gain switch and  it is one powerful little device. hope that kinda helps

 

[JamesChappell]

It depends on what phones you have. The build quality of the Burson is much more solid and it is a much more powerful amp too.  If you are into intense listening then Burson is it.  The hdp is smaller and more functionally equipped and cheaper too.

 

[bfwiat]

Both are great Amps, but kinda different.
 
The NuForce has an extremely wide out of the head soundstage, good bass and mids . . but can sound a little thin.
The Burson has a soundstage that is more pin point (instruments occupy a distinct space, not necessarily a huge space)and 3D (front, back, left, right, up, down - not just left and right), but never quite as wide and outside the head as the Nuforce.
 
The Burson has a lot more meaty sound, more flesh on it's bones.  
ie with percussion, the nuforce gives plenty of detail and width of sound, the Burson makes you almost FEEL the percussion through your body.
 
I also find the Burson less fatiguing if you listen over longer sessions.
 
If you like exceptionally good width and height of sound, but don't mind a slight lack of weight to instruments across the lower mids and down, the Nuforce is great value . . .If you like the sound to be fleshed out and almost have a sense of body to instruments, and never ever sounding harsh perhaps the Burson is worth the extra.
 
 
Hope this helps get across how I perceive the sound characters of these head amps as heard with my Sennheiser HD650. 

 

[dyl1dyl]

Do you need a DAC? The nuforce has a pretty decent one built in while the burson does not.

 

[bfwiat]

"Do you need a DAC? The nuforce has a pretty decent one built in while the burson does not."
 
I have the Burson HA160D with inbuilt DAC.