UPDATED 2/22 REVIEW 13 USB DAC amp - Predator, Pico, 2/3MOVE, D10 D3 D2 Viper/Boa D1, Lyrix, MicroAmp, Vivid V1, Nuforce, XM5

[Armaegis]

Whoops, you're right. It's not portable, although it does have an amped headphone out.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

^^ Nope. Its a pure DAC and not a DAC + portable amp like the others in this section.

Yeah, when I reviewed things like the DACport, Nuforce HDP, Nuforce uDAC or StyleAudio TOPAZ I did them in their own thread.

 

[roker]

I got a Nuforce Icon Mobile from a friend in a trade and I have to say it's been working out great!
 
I'm using it for my Dreamcast, Xbox 360, and television watching and it sounds better than I was expecting.  I can hear more detail and a nice tight bassline, things I was missing out on before (though my TVs paltry hp amp).  It performs these "secondary" tasks better than my LDI+ (which still sounds better for music).  I'd highly recommend it for that use, but I thought it was merely "ok" when I used it from my iPod.  My opinion on using it to listen to music is still up in the air, but I will say that if you use it as a DAC/Amp through your computer, it'll fare better.  In fact, I think it performs better with my D2000s than my uDac did.  I think this is mainly because the amp section is better on this (IMO).
 
I did all this testing with my D2000s, so your results may vary.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I got a Nuforce Icon Mobile from a friend in a trade and I have to say it's been working out great!
 
I'm using it for my Dreamcast, Xbox 360, and television watching and it sounds better than I was expecting.  I can hear more detail and a nice tight bassline, things I was missing out on before (though my TVs paltry hp amp).  It performs these "secondary" tasks better than my LDI+ (which still sounds better for music).  I'd highly recommend it for that use, but I thought it was merely "ok" when I used it from my iPod.  My opinion on using it to listen to music is still up in the air, but I will say that if you use it as a DAC/Amp through your computer, it'll fare better.  In fact, I think it performs better with my D2000s than my uDac did.  I think this is mainly because the amp section is better on this (IMO).
 
I did all this testing with my D2000s, so your results may vary.

That's what I've been saying, the Icon Mobile is better via the DAC as source than an iPod.  And I agree it mates well with the D2000 (in a similar fashion that it mates well with IE8).
 
You may not believe this, but the uDAC uses almost the exact same headphone amp section as the Icon Mobile.  But it sounds a little more forward and brighter in the Icon Mobile, maybe due to the analog input section and DAC section being different.

 

[roker]

Quote:

That's what I've been saying, the Icon Mobile is better via the DAC as source than an iPod.  And I agree it mates well with the D2000 (in a similar fashion that it mates well with IE8).
 
You may not believe this, but the uDAC uses almost the exact same headphone amp section as the Icon Mobile.  But it sounds a little more forward and brighter in the Icon Mobile, maybe due to the analog input section and DAC section being different.

 
I just felt there wasn't as much bass with the uDac and it was a bit too bright and forward for my taste.  The Mobile seems to be more bassy without the overpowering highs.  The uDac may fare well for other headphones, but I felt the D2000s are better suited for the Mobile.
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I just felt there wasn't as much bass with the uDac and it was a bit too bright and forward for my taste.  The Mobile seems to be more bassy without the overpowering highs.  The uDac may fare well for other headphones, but I felt the D2000s are better suited for the Mobile.
 

Interesting.  I did feel the Icon Mobile is a great match for the D2000, but I was thinking with an iPod it's a little brighter (not so much via USB).  I don't have a D2000 anymore for testing with the uDAC.

 

[estreeter]

Interesting times, Larry, with the slew of amps that have been released since Rob and yourself first set out on your individual threads. Interesting to see how well Jan's amps have done over time on both lists, as have several of Ray's amps.

 

[rasmushorn]

Hi HeadphoneAddict - have you heard the iQube V2? If so - where would you place it on your list?
(Sorry if this has been asked before in this thread!?)

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

No, I haven't heard it sorry.

 

[Mdraluck23]

Subscribed and reading! What do you suggest for an HD600, under or around $200? Portability is a huge plus! I know that's asking a lot.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Subscribed and reading! What do you suggest for an HD600, under or around $200? Portability is a huge plus! I know that's asking a lot.

The Vividaudiotech.com V1 works really well with the HD600 in your price range, if they haven't made any changes since I reviewed it.  The power output into 300 ohm was surprising, and yet it also had great current reserves for low impedance D2000 and Ediiton 9.  The V1 does have some colorations that make it not the best choice for Grados, but it's fine with many other headphones.
 
A 3MOVE will do a better job and work with a wider variety of headphones, but it's 2.5x more cost new.  Buying used should put a 3MOVE in your price range, and that would be my first choice for HD600 under $200.  
 
The iBasso D4 has better detail, ambience and space; but the power in 9v mode is still not as high, although more powerful than most 5v amps when used in 9v mode.  Most of it's gains are from the better DAC, while the amp is also very good up to it's power limits.  With my upgraded OPA1611 opamps it's one of my favorite sounding portable amps.  But it just doesn't have ear rattling power levels with HD600 like the other two.
 
I can't recall exactly how the Pico does with HD600 vs the D1, but my best recollection is they were similar in power levels with HD600, as was the XM5.  The XM5 (AD8065/BUF634) is my favorite with LCD-2, but like the others not with the HD600.
 

 

[Mdraluck23]

Thanks for the reply! I'm thinking about upping the budget a bit, putting the 3move into my range. Where can I buy it?! Also considering a D10....

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply! I'm thinking about upping the budget a bit, putting the 3move into my range. Where can I buy it?! Also considering a D10....

The 3Move is discontinued, supplanted by the Stepdance which is quite a diiferent animal (no DAC or crossfeed but some other nifty features and even better SQ). So you can only gei it used. Warch the Amp FS forum on here. The 3Move is a good amp.

 

[Mdraluck23]

Ah, I just read that in my thread I had started. So I'm down to the iBasso D10/6/12? I would like to add some treble or high end sparkle. I've read that the D6 is probably best for that...

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Ah, I just read that in my thread I had started. So I'm down to the iBasso D10/6/12? I would like to add some treble or high end sparkle. I've read that the D6 is probably best for that...

I haven't heard the D6/12.  I do know my D4 has more treble sparkle than my D10 (regardless if either one is stock or upgraded opamps), and with 9v battery the D4 drives the HD600 better than the D10 as well (D10 operates off 5v power, so less voltage swing for high impedance phones).  
 
However, for HD600 I might actually like the V1 driving the phones more, but I would feed it with a uDAC-2 line-out for the DAC (this combo is still in your budget). When you didn't need a lot of power you could even use the uDAC-2 headphone jack and not bother with the V1 amp, but the V1 colorations do favor the HD600 and are slightly less pronounced when skipping the built-in DAC.
 
Or, stick with the plan to find a used 3MOVE.  There is the option hinted at above, being the new Meier Stepdance and pairing it with another DAC like the uDAC-2, but it pushes your budget too far ($400 combo).  Stepdance is more powerful than 3MOVE, and a little more spacious sounding, but like cooperpwc says above, no DAC built-in.  And the Stepdance has about 8-10 hour battery life vs 40-80 with the 3MOVE.
 
And we haven't even talked the $450 or $600 RSA balanced portable amps that would require a new headphone cable plus a uDAC-2, but they have loads of power for the HD600 in balanced mode.