Quality of $200 NuForce Icon Amp/DAC?
Jul 22, 2009 at 10:02 PM Post #16 of 55
Quote:

Originally Posted by DeusEx /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Why is it bad? Describe sound?


First, sorry for the late reply.

I agree with sochee, the Icon headphone output lacks soundstage and detail. I can hear clipping in some music. Overall, the sound is very "flat", also it just can't produce the warmth of a tube amp.
 
Jul 22, 2009 at 11:18 PM Post #17 of 55
Deus,

You could always get something like this:

Aune MKII dac/amp
AUNE Mini USB DAC + Headphone Amplifier MK2 - eBay (item 260435237330 end time Jul-24-09 18:26:26 PDT)

Then for you RC-10's something like this hooked up to the preout of the Aune.
Class T Amp Integrated Amplifier (Tripath TA2024) - eBay (item 260402367880 end time Jul-28-09 23:45:36 PDT)

That way you have good power for your cans and also good power for you RC-10. The price pretty much comes out the same as the Nuforce. I ordered the Aune earlier today so I should have within a week. You can also change out OPAMP's in the Aune without soldering so you could tailor the sound how you want.
 
Jul 23, 2009 at 2:35 AM Post #18 of 55
The Icon definitely doesn't have a great soundstage when used with headphones. I gave up using it with headphones almost immediately after buying it - not a big deal since I bought it mostly to drive speakers, but somewhat disappointing anyway. It sounds as good as anything I've ever plugged my (admittedly cheap) speakers into. There's also a little bit of crossover noise if you have signals coming from multiple circuits (USB and line-in in my case), but I've only noticed it with the volume very high and in a very quiet point in the signal from the selected source.

I love the build quality - it's very solid for as small as it is, and I've been very happy with it driving speakers, but if you're going to be trying to use it primarily as a headphone amp, you're probably better off looking elsewhere.
 
Jul 23, 2009 at 3:09 AM Post #19 of 55
It's a little off topic, but I wonder how the Icon mobile (the original Icon's little brother) compare to the Icon. Does anyone has a thought?
 
Jul 23, 2009 at 4:11 AM Post #20 of 55
Quote:

Originally Posted by charlesyu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
First, sorry for the late reply.

I agree with sochee, the Icon headphone output lacks soundstage and detail. I can hear clipping in some music. Overall, the sound is very "flat", also it just can't produce the warmth of a tube amp.


Well, to hear the clipping in some music, shouldnt be blamed on the amp, rather the mastering tech
normal_smile .gif


I disagree, I find it rather Ok, but as I said, I havent run it trough blind testing myself.
 
Jul 23, 2009 at 9:44 PM Post #21 of 55
smily_headphones1.gif
sounds like it really lacks soundstage and warmth.....I don't want tube-warmth, just slight musical warmth sound...

So the speaker amp is good (after reading Stereophile/other reviews confirming that), but the headphone amp is iffy? Would it have enough clean power to drive K702? How about the DAC? That's important to me as I would be using the DAC for both speakers and headphones....

The Aune/t-amp combo looks interesting....havent heard much about Aune though..

Also, a comparison with iBasso D2 Boa was mentioned by moonboy403....I don't know anything about the iBasso...does that mean the NuForce amp is good? Also, to moonboy: Do you own the NuForce? Where do you live in LA?
 
Jul 24, 2009 at 12:20 AM Post #23 of 55
I just thought of the 42W power supply upgrade. I haven't try it myself but it might solve the headphone problem.
 
Jul 24, 2009 at 2:52 AM Post #24 of 55
Quote:

Originally Posted by charlesyu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I just thought of the 42W power supply upgrade. I haven't try it myself but it might solve the headphone problem.



ksc75smile.gif

Anyone have news about that???
 
Jul 25, 2009 at 6:56 PM Post #25 of 55
I have the upgraded power supply, and hadn't ever tried doing a comparison with headphones until just now. The basic power supply seems to sound a little more thin than the beefier one with my HD600s, but it's not a drastic change at all - I'm actually not sure whether it's my imagination or if the upgraded power really does sound better.

The upgraded power supply definitely helps fill out the sound when driving speakers, though. It's noticeably better at any volume louder than "quiet."
biggrin.gif
 
Jul 26, 2009 at 5:22 AM Post #26 of 55
So does it solve headphone problem? How about the quality of the DAC? That's important to me as I would be using the DAC for both speakers and headphones....
 
Jul 26, 2009 at 4:47 PM Post #28 of 55
It doesn't solve the problems described in this thread. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison between the two, but I'd put it about on par with my Total Bithead in terms of (lack of) soundstage and coolness of sound. I think the upgraded power supply fills in the sound a bit with the headphones I have at home now (just the HD600s), but it isn't a big change like it is with speakers.

Basically, as a headphone amp the Nuforce Icon sounds quite good until you've listened to something better. I listen to the Bithead all the time at work, so to be fair, the Icon should be perfectly usable as a headphone amp, and will sound pretty darn good as long as you aren't expecting the world from it.

As for the DAC, it's good, but I can't give a fair description without doing any direct comparisons to other DACs. The only time I've used it as a DAC with the line-out to another amp was quite a while ago (6+ months) when I was borrowing a DIY tube amp from jopagi (not one he'd built), and I can't recall what that amp was. I was unimpressed overall with the combo, but it may have been the amp or the DAC, and I didn't have any other equipment to compare against at the time.

Right now I don't have any other good DACs to do a side-by-side comparison to: my Paradisea 3 is very sadly being sent back to fix a clipping problem (http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/par...ipping-435092/), and the Pico DAC+Amp I ordered on Friday won't be here until sometime later this week (fingers crossed!). I'll do a comparison between the Icon the Pico once it arrives, but from my experience with the Icon and everything I've read about the Pico, it won't be a contest...

beerchug.gif
 
Jul 26, 2009 at 5:19 PM Post #29 of 55
I think that last post of mine came across too negatively: compared to much more expensive options, the Icon is not a great headphone amp. But for the price and versatility, they're great. I really do love mine - I just don't use mine with headphones. In any case, you can upgrade both the amp and/or DAC later since it has analog inputs and line out, so it could serve as a decent starting point for building up other components, while also being able to drive your speakers.
 
Jul 26, 2009 at 5:50 PM Post #30 of 55
Quote:

Originally Posted by turophile /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I think that last post of mine came across too negatively: compared to much more expensive options, the Icon is not a great headphone amp. But for the price and versatility, they're great. I really do love mine - I just don't use mine with headphones. In any case, you can upgrade both the amp and/or DAC later since it has analog inputs and line out, so it could serve as a decent starting point for building up other components, while also being able to drive your speakers.


I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Icon is an amazing product, good sound (as long as you stay with speakers), low price and 3 inputs. Most products in the price range only have one input.

That being said, the headphone output is just not good enough.
 
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