| | |  | | Home » NuForce Icon HD Silver (High Performance Headphone Amp and USB DAC) | | | | | | | Description: | | "World-class performance from your digital source" High Performance Headphone Amp and USB DAC
The Nuforce Icon HD incorporates a full-speed USB DAC and a headphone-amplifier circuit. The Icon HD is designed for users who want the Icon HDP's world-class USB DAC and headphone-amp performance without having a need for the Icon HDP's flexibilities. As the heart of the music enthusiast's desktop system, the NuForce HD operates in harmony with the NuForce Icon Amp/30 as a small yet impactful audio system.
Note: The Icon HDP employs the same DAC as our high-end CDP-8 (MSRP $1450.00). The following design features contributed to the stellar performance of the Icon HD:
* Components along the signal path are minimized.
* The 24/96 USB interface outputs a I2S signal to a high-quality DAC.
* The digital circuit occupies a separate daughter board.
* The DAC chip consists of four internal 24/192kHz DACs that provide a fully differential and balanced output. The differential signal's DC offset operates without a need for decoupling caps.
* Digital and analog voltages each have separately isolated internal power regulations. | | | Features: | |
• USB 2.0 Full Speed compliant and 1.1 supported, 8-96kHz/16-24-bit, Audiophile-grade DA converter, Low-distortion, high-current headphone amplifier, High-quality analog volume control
• USB DAC: USB 1.0 and 1.1 up to 44.1kHz/16-bit, USB 2.0 Full-Speed up to 96kHz/24-bit, RCA Output: 2.6Vrms (cuts off when headphone is inserted)
• Headphone Output: 6.3mm headphone output jack drives headphones up to 600-Ohm (96 mW@600-Ohm)
• THD+N: 0.001% @ 1kHz, Dynamic Range, SNR > 100dB
• Power Requirement: 15V, 1.6A, 100-240VAC (Worldwide AC), Dimension: 6" x 4 1/2" x 1", Weight: 1 lb
| | | Product Details: | | | Package Length:
| 9.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 9.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 3.1 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 7 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 7 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
It's 5-star for a reasonDec 20, 2011
By someone
A few instant facts:
1. It use USB as the only input and it comes with an USB cable.
2. It has only got the 6.3mm headphone jack, but it comes with a 3.5mm adapter.
3. The only output apart from headphone jack is the RCA output -- and it's volume CAN be controlled by the nob!
4. The power cord comes with a universal converter so that it can be used WORLDWIDE.
5. It comes with a well made stand so that you can put the unit straignt up.
I love its simplisity. For those like me -- who don't actually need variant input options and just want a USB DAC & a headphone amp at home, this small thing (well, it may be larger than you thought, but still compact) satisfies all the needs while providing the same quality as the HDP. What makes me love it more is the fact that I can connect my speakers to it with the RCA output and control the volume simply with its nob! -- You'd be glad that you can control everything in ONE place. And the RCA output goes silent when you plug in your headphone. Beautiful.
Build quality -- Great. At least I feel like I'm paying $350 for something.
The sound -- I know this is the most concerned part, but it's a pretty personal thing. I've owned HRT Music Stream II before this, and I'm gonna say they are different. But which one is better depends on one's taste. For me, Icon HD sounds more transparent and clear, while Music Stream II sounds warmer with maybe emphasized and richer bass. I don't think Icon HD lacks bass though. Still -- all depends on your taste. But anyway they're both much better than my on-board sound chip. It's worth get one.
Value -- Well, $350 for a DAC and amp, it's ... fair. I mean I once had the HRT Music Stream II and a Fiio E9 amp as my setup and it was pretty good, and cost $100 less. But this one is much more compact and good looking, -- and I like it's sound feature. Considering what you will get for this price, I'm not gonna say it's a steal, but at least it's not overpriced. I'm glad that they have HD as an alternative of HDP so that guys like me could save $100. Besides, beleive it or not, Nuforce claims that it has a world class DAC chip inside.
The amp -- Well, it's not a tube amp, what can I say. But it serves the basic need. Don't worry, it's definitely loud enough. Remember that it has independant power supply. According to product spec, it can provide 90mW on 600ohm headphones, which is higher than the loud enough Fiio E9.
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. It has absolutely NO noise when turning the nob. Which is important, because you won't get scared by the sudden unexpected noise when you're changing the volume -- and that did happen with my E9.
Putting it together, it's a great great DAC & amp with beautiful look and good quality. For those who need no more features, It could be a good choice: A compact, good looking, and functional two-in-one unit, why not?
Great headphone amp w/ the HD650Feb 07, 2012
By Al G
I am using these along with my HD650 Sennheiser headphones. It should be noted that the HD650s are known for requiring a lot of power to be driven to their full potential. And since the NuFore Icon is doing a fantastic job with this, I can safely recommend this amp/dac to anyone for any use.
Also, the difference between using the NuForce Icon versus the FiiO 9+7 (another amp/dac system) is extremely clear.
Pros:
- Powerful; can drive HD650s very well
- Neutral sound; which is perfect for an amp/dac
- Great for every use; music/movies/games
- $100 cheaper than the HDP icon, which is not really needed when using the amp/dac with a computer
- Very good build quality/design
Cons:
- Still quite expensive, but you do get what you pay for.
I was surprised by what I heardJun 29, 2011
By coolbeans
"Spunky"
I got this for someone else, but had to take a listen first. The package lends itself to me getting into it and trying it without any visible signs of doing such, so let's get going with the review.
I need to explain that I really only ever listen to music on my laptop with some good earphones (Shure) or headphones (AKG). I also use SRS HD Audio Lab on my laptop's output and it works very well. SRS HDAL doesn't work through the NuForce DAC, so I thought I'd miss some of the spacious feeling to the music. Wrong! I couldn't get SRS HDAL to sound as clear or as defined as the NuForce Icon HD could, especially when there's a good reverb to the music; the Icon HD is so much nicer. I heard subtle sounds more clearly and the channel seperation and boldness of all the sounds was amazing. When listening through the AKG K171 headphones, suddenly there was clear bass, which these phones sorely lack, and better upper register sound (fortunately still without any weird brightness). I didn't think it'd be that good. I did expect to hear some subtle sound more clearly, but I didn't expect such welcome boldness and strength to the music.
Oh yeah, the 1/4" jack is awesome. There's something so satisfying to plugging in one of those. I did expect to enjoy that, 'cause I always do.
I listened to some weird stuff on the Icon HD: Florida, Lady Gaga, Lightning Seeds, Daft Punk, Choir at Trinity College, Handel, Priscilla Ahn, LDS D&C Soundtrack, etc. All sounded better on the NuForce and the volume is a tad lower than I listen straight from my laptop.
This thing just ruined my sonic life... because, like I said, it's going to someone else and I had no plans on having one for myself. $$$. I'll also want to re-encode some of my music because anything below 256kbps is noticably riddled with artifacts.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
NuForce Icon HD - simple device, great soundMar 09, 2011
By mp
NuForce Icon HD greatly improves the sound of my computer and AKG 701 headphones combination.
If you are listening to a music service like Spotify Premium you do not need to by CDs anymore, since it is very difficult to notice that CD sound is only a little bit better than the Spotify Ogg Vorbis 320 kbps sound. If your favorite music is available only in your own CD, it takes only two minutes to copy it to your computer.
The only negative issue with this DAC/Headphone amplifier is that in some PC configurations it may not work because the Windows USB driver may not support NuForce. However, most likely this may not be a problem at all.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
really good dac! highly recommande!Nov 10, 2011
By dantinl
really good dac! highly recommande!perfect with macbook! same color,great style! but if want more feature, go for the pro version.
See all 7 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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