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This is an amazing vendor for this NuForce Icon. I sent feedback to the vendor, they called the end user, assured them all was included in the box and how to set it up. I sent it as a gift, the end user was not clear how to set any of the equipment up (just not experienced). He thought he was missing cables. This to me was terrific follow through. Amazing.
It fit easily on my desk, and the included speaker cables were just long enough to connect my bookshelf speakers. I'm not sure it could provide enough power for a large listening room, but for a bedroom or an office, it provides more than enough.The ability of it to function as a headphone amp was just a bonus for me, but it's proven to be a nice bonus. People have become attracted to USB for a DAC due to it's ease of installation and low jitter, and I was hopeful this would work well in that case.The Icon is a very tiny package. Before I got the NuForce Icon, my headphone and speakers at my desk were being driven by an older Harman Kardon receiver, which did a fine job, but also was overkill for the job and took up a large amount of valuable desk space. Also, if I had speakers that were further away at all then I would need to purchase the longer speaker cables, but those are very reasonably priced from NuForce, as well as the power supply upgrade that I would like to try out (probably not needed if used only as a headphone amp, but it may help for speakers). I haven't been able to notice the speakers suffering in anyway compared to being driven by a much larger 70 WPC amp as they were before.
I don't need to go beyond half volume for typical listening, and if I push the audio up to 3/4ths of the max volume then it's more than loud enough for any type of music I want to listen to.
Once I connected the Icon to my PC it was recognized by Windows XP instantly and the software installed for it with no issues.
I wouldn't say that I hear things in the music that I didn't hear before, but there is far more clarity than there was before and it makes listening a more enjoyable experience.
The NuForce Icon was attractive to me as a replacement due to it's small size, multiple audio inputs, and most importantly the built in USB DAC.
Combined with the DAC, using my Grado headphones the music I listen to (all files stored as lossless FLAC on my PC) has more clarity to it than it did before.
I was also able to install the ASIO4ALL driver to bypass the Windows Audio Kernel (for better performance and higher quality audio) and that has worked without any conflicts so far.
The lingering question I had is how well would a little 12 WPC amp be able to drive my bookshelf speakers.The answer, I found, was very easily.
Switching to an analog input works just fine with my radio tuner, though most of my time is spent using the USB DAC input.The downside to me is that there is a loud pop though my speakers when I turn on the amp, so I often just leave it powered on all the time (being a Class D amp, it consumes very little power while running).
Overall, highly recommended.
Not recommended to use the DAC of Icon itself. Connected with Desktop PC through USB-DAC. Speaker is Tangent EVO. Still on the way of aging. But.Amazing quality sound for money.Sometimes totally forgot it as the music from PC.Recommended for the person who would like to up-grade the desktop PC music listening.
This little amp is a gem. i ended it up listening for hours and enjoying one cd after another. i connected my computer to the usbdac and it sounds great. I found myself connecting this amp to my audiopro black diamond tower speakers 4 ohm and 90db sens.I was chocked by how well this 12w amp drove my speakers. I bought mine for $199 and imo it is worth 3 times this price.Do yourself a favor and go buy one now. You will never regret it
Don't be afraid to save the $50 if you can find it from NuForce. I use this everyday and I love it. I have a sitting room off my master bedroom and have my computer and LCD TV performing double duty and I needed an amp that would fit on my desktop. I use it as my primary audio from my computer and it is flawless. Note: I use the line out to connect to a cheap Phillips subwoofer and that completes the system. I have it hooked up to Yamaha bookshelf speakers. Third, I use the last set of inputs to connect the TV audio out to the Yahamas.
It runs cool, makes no noise and has plenty of power for my application. After reading the reviews I bought the $199 one. Like another reviewer, I leave it on constantly. The ICON accepts 3 inputs, including the USB connection. Second, I connected a Sony HD Radio tuner, which is also extremely compact and I am in audio heaven. It is smooth sounding and precise. I'm sure I'll eventually buy another one.
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