Home > Consumer Reviews > NuForce Icon (Integrated Desktop Audio Amplifier, Silver Color)

This little amp is a gem. 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 ended it up listening for hours and enjoying one cd after another. 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

I like it so far, as a main amp for my (highly efficient, older, big) Klipsch speakers. Amazing how tyhis tiny, efficient box, fills the room with quality music. Better 'placement' than my old, warm, 2*80W mosfet Haffler it seems, with ample power for normal, as well as loud, usage.

I have only used the RCA input and the 3.5mm plug.
I still need to figure out how to tell my Linux based music center (HP DEC100) to use an USB audio device.

The 12VDC for input input is a plus for me as at some point in time I expect have that readily available throughout the house with sol
ar power feeding (old car) batteries... no more wallwarts, but that might still be years out.

Cheers,
Hein.

I purchased the Nuforce Icon to use in my office to play music from the computer or the radio. I use a Tivoli Audio Model One as a tuner with the interconnect going to the headphone outlet. The PC is connected via a USB cable to the Nuforce USB coonection which has it's own internal DAC. The speakers are Tekton with Fostek single full range drivers.

The sound from lossless FLAC files ripped from my favorite CD's is incredible. It is truly approaching high end audiophile quality sound. People remark that it sounds like a live performance.

The little Icon integrated amplifier would also be perfect for a bedroom or main system with efficient speakers.

I've owned several different audio amplifiers from high quality solid state and tube amps to the Sonic Impact T-amp. The NuForce Icon is well worth the purchase price and for a D-class amplifier has excellent sound quality. Bonuses include the incredibly small form factor, the built-in DAC and 12w per channel which is more than one of my tube amps. I used it in my regular audio system with some stand-mount monitors and it delivered as expected. When I plugged the USB cable into my computer the OS recognized it immediately and it was up and playing in no time. The only draw-back is the far-too-short Cat5 speaker cables. I have no problem making my own longer cables but it would be nice if NuForce had an option available. On a side-note, the amp produces a small "pop" when first powered on which, while not a "problem", is a bit disconcerting. If the choice is between eliminating the "pop" and reducing the sound quality, I'll take the "pop".

I've owned three of the little 'tripath' amps, two from Sonic Impact and one Kingrex. This is dramatically better than any of them. Aside from having a wonderful fit and finish and WAY more features (3 inputs, dac, output for sub or bi-amping) this things sounds incredible. I could live with one of these as my main stereo amp. This is an instant classic. I'm buying a second one to try bi-amping. By all means get the optional 2-meter speaker cable.