[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

We are finally coming out with the linear PSU (either $199 or $249) around end of March.  I think it will offer better performance than power cable upgrade.  Since this is a 12V output PSU, it can be used for many of our Icon series products, including future ultra high performance DACs and headphone amps.
 

That's a great idea!

 

[Nachkebia]

Any store that is willing to ship  NuForce Icon HDP outside US?

 

[Hinomotocho]

The Nuforce estore will ship internationally. You can email them with any questions regarding shipping costs etc. I think it is better to buy from them as they provide good support should you have any problems with the unit.

 

[Sid-Fi]

More Impressions on Improvements to HDP from Sigma 11 and Pangea Power Cables
 
 
Wow, the Sigma 11 power supply and Pangea power cable seem to have benefited from extended burn-in. I haven't bothered to keep track of the hours on them, but have left them on a few times at night and during a couple of work days over the last week or two so they probably have at least a couple hundred hours on them if not more. Overall, these power upgrades have clearly exceeded my expectations and have proven to me that the HDP is a far superior component than can be observed with the stock power arrangement only. This is awesome and it makes me more confident to keep my main rig revolving around HDP going forward.
 
One main area of improvement that has really stood out for me and has made a huge difference is in improvement in the treble region on my HD 650s. I had swapped my HD 650s with a local member for his Denon D5000 for a full week prior to picking up the power upgrades. At the time, I felt that the Denons had much more accurate sounding treble. Piano sounded significantly more realistic and had more impact and dynamics. Cymbals and snares had snap and sounded clear and pretty realistic. Although I appreciated this about the Denon's, I really missed the fuller and warmer sound of my 650s and felt that the Denons sounded a tad to thin and less involving with my favorite types of music, such as ECM style jazz. However, the improved treble region was just a little too emphasized in the sound spectrum at the expense of the mids and by the end of the week were causing me with serious fatigue issues (probably synergy issue with HDP more than fault of Denons). After adjusting to the Denons, it was clear that 650 emphasized the mids much more in comparison while deemphasizing the treble region. After getting my 650s back, the treble shocked me. Piano sounded thick and exaggerated with slow transient response. Drums and cymbals seemed pushed back and rolled off and just didn't sound realistic. They had a dull sound that was nothing like the sharp clear sparkle the Denons had. While I really enjoyed the trade and critical listening lessons it gave me, it left me feeling like my 650s had a glaring weakness I was previously less aware of and I had a hard time enjoying them as much.
 
Enter the power upgrades...my 650s have remarkably improved treble. Piano sounds clearer, more realistic, and has clearer impact and quicker transients much closer to the Denons than before. Cymbals and other treble region instruments, although still a tad recessed compared to mids, had that clear and sharp, realistic sound with slight sparkle. These improvements are not subtle at all and I have no need to A-B to observe them anymore. After extended burn-in they are blatantly obvious and go a long way in improving my immersion and making my 650s feel like a much better overall performer. This leads me to believe that my issues with the treble before were a combination of hard to observe noise distortion combined with an overall perceived characteristic of HD 650, that off full emphasized bass and mid regions and somewhat recessed highs.I don't think the improvements were specific to the treble region only, I just think that was the area the 650 needed the most help for me and where the improvements were most noticable and appreciated at first. I think the improvements with the treble stem from overall less noise distortion and a darker background.
 
Another benefit that is becoming much more obvious is that separation and soundstage are remarkably improved compared to my initial observations. Because everything is so much cleaner and clearer, it is much easier to pick out layers of sound and small details as they are much clearer and have more precise separation. For example, I was listening to Oceanlab's album Siren of the Sea - one of the only upbeat techno type albums I have. The sound was much cleaner with better transients and dynamics, which gave the music more energy and life. What really stood out though was that I was able to notice that there were actually many more layers of background vocals than I could pick out previously. Whereas before, I thought there two or three layers of the female vocalist in the background for harmony, now I clearly hear several more very quite and subtle vocal layers and can easily separate them in various parts of the soundstage and even recognize different volumes for each. These observations hold true throughout all genres. I put in my old Pat Metheny Group white album and was shocked at how much more separation there was. Although a favorite album, it definitely didn't strike me as one I would play to impress a friend as far as soundstage goes. The difference was so noticeable, I wasn't even sure how I felt about that much stage and separation on an old familiar album that I haven't associated with those qualities.
 
Another benefit that is much more obvious now is a greater sense of power and authority. With the Sigma 11 being designed at the full 15 volt output that the HDP can accept and with the upgraded power cable, I notice frequently that I have the dial turned lower than before. Whereas I listened most often from noon to 1 pm, now I am listening more often between 11 am and noon with the HDP in vertical position. This feeling of increased power seems to give more authority to the music, especially up-beat and energetic genres. I am assuming this is influenced by the Panasonic caps in the Sigma 11. While this isn't the most necessary upgrade since HDP already has power to spare for most headphones, I can't help but feel it adds a nice sense of command to the music. Speaking of power, I had extensive auditions with a local member this last weekend and spent quite a bit of time evaluating HDP with HE-5LE and comparing HDP's performance with them to several larger and more expensive amps and even compared it to speaker amp outputs from a Ming-da tube amp, which I believe put out 5V per channel. Long story short, both me and the other local member felt that HDP had plenty of power to drive the orthodynamics well enough to warrant purchasing them without significant concerns about HDP (although they will continue to scale with higher end amps). 
 
I have quite a few more observations from other auditions and careful comparing, but will let this wall of text end for now. A few more impressions later...
 
Dave

 
Quote:

I got my Sigma 11 and Pangea power cables in and have burned them in for a few days. I have been doing some critical A-B comparisons tonight switching back and forth between the stock wal-wart and power cable and the sigma 11 and Pangea power cable. I mostly used 24/96 HDTracks like Chesky Record's Ultimate Demonstration Disc 2 and listened to short minute clips of various tracks over and over between both setups.
 
While I don't want to really elaborate a whole lot at the moment and post a long review of impressions, I will say that the benefit from the Sigma 11 and Pangea power cable over the stock power supply are significant and not subtle under critical listening comparisons. The main improvement is definitely that the soundstage widens and there is a lot more air between instruments. There is also a darker black background and better detail so you hear much more refinement in the same passages. It really just feels like I upgraded the HDP to a higher version that costs a couple hundred more bucks.
 
Overall, I'm really glad that I sprung for the Sigma 11 and power cables. Between them and my jena labs cable for HD 650, this is impressive performance for the price. Since I plan to have my main rig center around HDP for at least a year, upgrading the power components were well worth it to me. If I were closer to springing for a much more expensive setup in the near future I might not have bothered though. I'm sure I'll post more impressions later if there is interest.

 

 

[bscott]

listening to my 650's with the HDP currently.........  Radiohead is always a good match
 
have Dismemberment Plan's "Emergency & I" on right now.

 

[veracocha]

Hi, Which power plug used on hdp ?
 
1
 

 
2

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Hi, Which power plug used on hdp ?
 
1
 

 
2

The plug/cable on the power supply can be changed out, so if you order in the US you will get the plug on the bottom.  I haven't looked to see if the PSU (power brick) can be used in other countries, but if it can, a simple cable swap will let it work.

 

[veracocha]

Ok , I ask another question  how is the adaptor socket , Is it suitable for this plug ? ;
 
 
 

 

[veracocha]

Quote:

Ok , I ask another question  how is the adaptor socket , Is it suitable for this plug ? ;
 
 
 

Any comment ?

 

[slowpoke]

Quote:

Any comment ?

In the US, that is the adapter end that goes into the transformer.
 

 

[veracocha]

Hi,
 
Anyone tried hdp with hd 800 , how is it sound ?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Hi,
 
Anyone tried hdp with hd 800 , how is it sound ?

 
It sounds slightly aggressive or bright at times with the HD800, but it's improved after switching to an all copper headphone cable.  Overall, I might prefer to feed the HDP DAC into my Woo WA6 when using the HD800.  However, the Sylvania VT-231 tubes that I currently have in the WA6 are best with the LCD-2 and are also bright with HD800, so I have to swap out my tubes to a set better suited for HD800, like RCA 6DE7.  
 
Note - although my HiFiMan HE-6 are a little forward in the treble like the HD800, I don't have the same issues using them with the HDP.  I can actually enjoy the HE-6 more than HD800 with the HDP because they are a smoother sounding headphone.  So, I'm not sure I could blame this on the amp.  I can't say that you have to avoid the HDP with HD800 completely, but I'm saying it's not the best pairing because the HD800 are fairly picky headphones.  However, feeding the HDP DAC into a $170 EF-2 amp works a little better with HD800, if you've upgraded the stock tubes as well.  The HDP DAC blows away the DAC built into the EF-2, and takes the EF-2 amp up a few notches.  But if I switch to my HE-5 LE, HE-6 or LCD-2 headphones the HDP amp is better.

 

[veracocha]

Thanks for explanation 

 

[jandd]

Hey,
 
Just a quick question, how well does this amp/dac pair with the HD650? And will this be a noticable upgrade from my current Asus Xonar Essence STX?

 

[veracocha]

Perfect combination for hd600 and 650