| | |  | DAC & Headphone Amp | Home » » NuForce Icon uDAC-2 (Silver) Headphone Amp and USB DAC (24bit/96kHz) | | | | | | | Description: | | "A must-have laptop companion! Discover digital music's true headphone potential". NuForce uDAC-2 is a high-performance USB Digital Audio Converter (DAC) that connects your personal computer's audio with your home stereo, desktop sound system, or headphones. The quality and versatility of the uDAC-2's performance belies its diminutive size. With its extensive power supply, filtering capabilities and charge-pump circuit as a foundation, the uDAC-2 processes incoming data via a USB audio receiver. A D/A converter chip then translates the data to a two-volt analog signal.The NuForce uDAC-2's performance equals or exceeds that of a great many audiophile CD players. The unit's exemplary flexibility -- analog RCA, digital coaxial, and high-performance headphone outputs -- is bound to satisfy the needs of the most critical music lover.
***** The highly successful uDAC has been upgraded with improved headphone amp, 24bit resolution and higher quality volume control ***** | | | Features: | |
• Discrete USB audio receiver and D/A converter (24bit/96kHz)
• Coaxial S/PDIF output
• Double jitter-reduction mechanism at data level and at oversampling filter stage
• High voltage 2V analog output
• A highly linear TOCOS volume control for improved channel tracking at low listening levels.
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 2.36 inches | | Product Width:
| 1.65 inches | | Product Height:
| 2.72 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.18 pounds | | Package Length:
| 6.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.45 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 19 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 19 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 A fantastic DAC, and a great headphone amp thrown inAug 09, 2010
By nmurthy
I originally bought the uDAC-2 to use for both my portable setup and my "real" home setup. For reference, here are my setups:
Portable: Laptop --> uDAC-2 --> Sennheiser HD650 or Shure SE-115K
Home: Desktop Computer --> uDAC-2 --> Matrix M-Stage Amplifier --> HD650
As a DAC, the uDAC is simply outstanding in its class, especially considering both its price and form factor. As a moderately active headphone listener (and [...] addict), I have tried numerous portable DAC and DAC/Amp solutions, such as the iBasso D10, the iBasso D4, the HeadAmp Pico DAC/Amp, the HeadAmp Pico DAC only, and the Zero DAC that was making waves all over the internet a couple of years ago. I believe the uDAC easily matches these DACs in prowess, with maybe only the HeadAmp Pico DAC only sounding slightly more detailed in its lower frequencies (although this is a highly subjective opinion, as I did not compare both the DACs with the same headset or same amplifier, and am only doing the comparison from memory as I had sampled a friend's Pico a while back).
The DAC is outstanding: it uses high quality components, has fantastic fit and finish, and requires only a USB port with no external power.
The headphone amplifier, however, was the most surprising part of the product for me. I did not really expect much of a headphone amplifier to be integrated into a $100 budget DAC, but the amplifier was outstanding for its price. It even managed to almost power my HD650s, which have an extremely high impedance of 300ohms, and are usually terrible sounding from budget amplifiers. The HD650s still sound a bit muddy (it's to be expected in a budget portable DAC/Amp combo), but my Shures sound phenomenal -- miles ahead of my laptop or desktop's built in headphone output. Since it's such a small accessory, it's perfect for making long study sessions in the library much more bearable with great audio coming out of my laptop.
I would highly recommend the product: it easily competes with products double its price (the iBasso D10), and is a fantastic way to get into high fidelity audio for a bargain price.
A note of caution: all of these products simply output your source material much more accurately and clearly than your internal sound cards (for the most part). Thus, any flaws in the source will also be more easily heard. I wouldn't really recommend listening to 128kbps MP3s with this. At least 196kbps (preferably V0 or 320kbps) MP3s/AACs if you must use compressed audio, but lossless audio formats such as FLAC and ALAC are generally much preferred.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 A great entry-level upgrade to computer audioAug 07, 2010
By SlideBye
I have been studying and playing music for nine years and I'm attending university for classical music performance so sound is vital to me and I know when it's good or bad. Live concerts are the best way to listen to music but the convenience of purchasing recordings to listen to whenever is very tempting. For some bands and singers in "popular" music they may only come to you area once every couple of years and the concert experience is about much more than just music. It's a fact that people will listen to recordings more often than they will see live music, so quality in listening is very important.
My setup- FLAC > Laptop USB > NuForce uDAC-2 > Hifiman RE0
Package- Plastic box containing uDAC-2, ~4ft USB A to B cable, and instruction manual. 1 year limited warranty from NuForce.
Design- Small metal casing with a plastic volume knob. Sturdy build. USB cable probably contributes to more desk clutter than the actual unit. It's small enough that I can travel with it if I'm away for a weekend but still want to listen to music.
Idea- the point of the uDAC-2 is to bypass the (probably low quality) sound card in your computer by getting the audio signal from USB. From here it either converts your signal from digital to analog for use with an external headphone amplifier or uses its own headphone amp to output a signal directly to your headphones. The uDAC-2 contains higher quality components than your computer's internal sound card which contributes to better sound reproduction. Pardon me if this is not right and please comment to correct me.
Impressions- This little box definitely improves the quality of sound your computer outputs. The first thing I noticed about it was that it seemed to deliver the high frequencies more clearly on bad recordings where my sound card wasn't cutting it. After a few days of listening and while doing direct comparisons with and without the uDAC-2 I have noticed an improvement in the overall clarity of the music and separation of instruments in an orchestra. I listened to Mahler 1 with the Pittsburgh Symphony led by Manfred Honeck and it made me appreciate the beautiful recording even more. Listening to the Four of a Kind trombone quartet (my main instrument) I have never heard a better reproduction of the instrument from my audio equipment before. Everything seemed so detailed and you could much more clearly hear the breathing and mechanical noises of the players. With both of these recordings I felt like I was almost there attending the recording session live. However, it will also amplify imperfections in recordings. Some youtube videos have a lot of excess noise and low quality recording which you will be able to notice more with the uDAC-2.
Value- This device costs $129 but is the improvement in sound quality worth that much? To me, yes, but perhaps not to others. I will defintely listen to music through this device for at least 129 hours over the next couple of months and I think $1 per hour for this improvement is a worthy price. Audio equipment is expensive as you look for higher and higher quality but the differences between the internal sound card in my laptop and the uDAC-2 are quite noticeable to me.
Service- I have not dealt much with NuForce but I did send an email to them and received a response within three hours at which was 9 pm where NuForce is. My order was also shipped out the same day I ordered (the day of the product's release).
Conclusion- This product is a great entry-level digital to audio converter and headphone amplifier. It's absolutely simple to use and doesn't take up much space but it delivers sound that is definitely one step closer to true live sound. If you're beginning to look at upgrading your audio setup and you already have decent headphones this is a very good product for your next purchase. Happy Listening!
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Forget about your on-board sound card.Jan 04, 2011
By Richard Brookes
I am using this as purely a D.A.C. and haven't used the headphone amp portion of this product. Firstly, It does require not just good MP3 or flac recordings to start with, good playback software is important too. I am using "Foobar" which sounds VERY GOOD with minimal tweaking. Winamp with the "inMAD" input plug-in sounds almost as good, but this requires playing around quite a bit with Winamp, where Foobar just sounds good.
That being said, let me get to the topic at hand; the uDAC2, great sounding device. REALLY opened up the sound of my digital audio files. The bass is tighter, and the whole frequency spectrum sounds natural and full, much better than my internal sound card. I have heard a M-AUDIO "Audiophile 24/96" card that I believe doesn't sound as good as the uDAC. Mind you I did not have this sound card hooked to the same audio equipment as I am now using, might not seem fair, but the audio equipment I have the uDAC hooked to is far from the same caliber as what I had the M-audio card connected to. Seems to say very good things for the uDAC, makes me want to upgrade my audio system.
It is a very nice sounding piece of equipment, and is almost a necessity if you want good sound out of a laptop or a desktop with integrated audio. I wouldn't waste money on a high end sound card, an external D.A.C is a great way to get high quality sound from your PC. Word of warning however; If you don't have high quality digital music to start with, this device will bring out ALL of the flaws in the file. On the flip-side, real good recordings sound simply AMAZING!
To sum it up, great device for upgrading your computer's audio, or maybe even an audio server, and a really good price point. If you get one you will not be disappointed.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Good Sound, Tiny PackageDec 23, 2010
By The Big Burrito
This little amp sounds great. I'm using it on my Mac G5 tower. I got it up and running in 2 minutes. All you have to do is plug it in a USB port, go into System Preferences / Sound / Output, and select the NuForce uDac 2 device. That's it!! The sound improvement is noticeable. Everything sounds richer and more detailed. I've got some Beyerdynamic 770s plugged into it, and I'm very pleased with the sound.
I have had one issue with the unit. If I leave it on for more than 12 hours, I lose sound out of the left channel. After this happens, if I turn the unit off and then on again, it functions fine. NuForce offered to replace the unit, but I've been too lazy to send it back.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Portable, powerful, and beautiful audio reproductionDec 14, 2011
By Matt Layher
I purchased the NuForce Icon uDAC-2 after reading numerous reviews about how the device packs a huge punch in such a small package, and I must say that I completely agree! The uDAC-2 immensely improved sound quality and clarity over my laptop's onboard audio. I never realized how much of a difference that a quality USB DAC can make, but it has certainly been a worthwhile investment. I utilize this DAC to pipe audio from my PC to a receiver via RCA cable, and then to both speakers and headphones. It does its job beautifully, and doesn't break the bank account. Also, the incredible portability is great! I was a little bit shocked at how small it was when I first opened the package, but my fears have been cast away after using it for nearly 9 months now.
If you're looking for an affordable USB DAC that can easily compete with DACs priced much higher, I cannot recommend this product enough.
Equipment used with this DAC:
Onkyo TX-8255 Stereo Receiver
Sennheiser HD 558 Headphones
Polk Audio Monitor40 Series II Two-Way Bookshelf Loudspeaker (Cherry) Pair
See all 19 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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