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88% would recommend to a friend 
TL;DR very versatile and capable all-in-one unit, let down by some weirdness on the USB input and a prematurely dead power supply. Good value for money on Drop, not good value for money at full retail, in my opinion. I've had this for six months after buying it from Massdrop in October last year. My setup uses the USB input (from either a 2012 MacBook Pro or a 2018 MacBook Pro the Optical from a Chromecast Audio and the analog in from an old Tascam CD-A500 CD/cassette deck. I'm also driving a small SMSL amp and JVC speakers from the preamp output....so the first thing I can say is that I am very happy with the level of versatility in this little package. The vertical orientation is perfect for my tiny desk and the headphone output has been able to gamely drive my IEMs, from the 10-ohm Massdrop Plus (with an iFi IEMatch attached) up to the power-hungry Toneking BL-1 and RHA CL-750, and my much more demanding Yamaha HP-1 & YH-2 planar headphones. I can't push the volume level past 3:00 even with the Yamahas, there's a decent amount of power here. EDIT: June 13, 2020. I was having a lot of issues with noise in the Icon that would only present itself after a few minutes of listening. What I've discovered in my testing is that the Icon HDP seems to be very sensitive to electrical noise from whichever source is connected. When I placed an isolation transformer between the wall outlet and the power strip with all my gear on it tidied that up nicely. NuForce also have some useful advice around adding ground lift devices in certain installations with other products in the Icon family here: http://optoma.skyfly.com.tw/customerSupport_Detail.php?q=9 Since resolving this I have noticed a couple of additional things; music played in via the optical input seems louder than the USB input, so when I play through that I have to wind up the volume a lot further. That's when I run into the other thing; there's a noticeable hiss in the left channel of the headphone output once the volume knob gets past 3:00. By then most people in most situations would be rendered stone deaf, but playing music in via USB and then driving my Yamaha HP-1s creates the perfect storm for the hiss to start creeping into the mix. If I had paid the full retail price for this I would be a bit disappointed, but that may be because I have unrealistic expectations. As it is though, the feature set and the capabilities of this little unit should still be highly regarded, and at the Drop price they are hard to beat. Plus it has helped me learn a lot of useful information about correcting audio system noise, for which I am grateful. All things considered I would still definitely recommend this to a friend, but only when it drops again. At that price I'd buy a second one for the office.
NuForce Icon HDP DAC/Amp
01 / 10
NuForce Icon HDP DAC/Amp
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Product Description
For discerning audiophiles looking to get better sound quality out of their computers, the unit packs a heck of a punch for the size. It contains a preamp, DAC, and high-current, low-distortion Class-A headphone amplifier—all housed in a sleek, compact aluminum chassis that stands vertically to occupy minimal space on your desk Read More
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Customer Reviews
4.6
(21 reviews)
5star(16)
4star(3)
3star(0)
2star(2)
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keyboard_arrow_downsposayanukul
1
Feb 20, 2022
checkVerified Buyer
Clarity n lossless @ reasonable price
Friendly user
Recommends this product? Yes
B_to_tha_C
53
Jul 10, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Great dac
This is my only desktop dac but I also have hidizs (s3), dragonfly (red) and a few others.
The red is generally my preferred for iem use and this is used for my over ears (meze 99, hd6xx, Fostex pH, etc, etc). Very nice upgraded sound quality, stage and separation. Everything is just.. better. Power is easily sufficient for the hd6xx as well - and they are thirsty.
Also doubles as a pre-amp dac to my Fostex 2.1 speaker set up and is great to use the gain as volume given they have the volume in the rear so not as convenient (they offer an optional separate dial but clearly not needed in this case).
Overall very happy with this one. Plus it looks great and space saved with the included stand.
Recommends this product? Yes
Hags
1
Feb 12, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Couldn't get Working.
The packaging came looking very nice and tidy. I was excited for it, but when powered on, it would be recognized by my computer, but no sound would come through. NuForce customer service could not help.
Recommends this product? No
dherrada
14
Aug 7, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Great for the price
I really liked it for the price. Was a perfect starter dac/amp. Had all of the connections. Ended up selling it to a friend as I upgraded.
Recommends this product? Yes
Birb_Whispers
24
Jun 12, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Amazing quality with great looks
I love this DAC/amp combo, and I think it's a very good looking one as well. It has powered all of my mid range headphones and clarity is key for me, this checks all my boxes, might try to side mount it in the future
Recommends this product? Yes
Andrewwardell
8
Apr 23, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
I like it a LOT, but buy it here when it drops.
TL;DR very versatile and capable all-in-one unit, let down by some weirdness on the USB input and a prematurely dead power supply. Good value for money on Drop, not good value for money at full retail, in my opinion. I've had this for six months after buying it from Massdrop in October last year. My setup uses the USB input (from either a 2012 MacBook Pro or a 2018 MacBook Pro the Optical from a Chromecast Audio and the analog in from an old Tascam CD-A500 CD/cassette deck. I'm also driving a small SMSL amp and JVC speakers from the preamp output....so the first thing I can say is that I am very happy with the level of versatility in this little package. The vertical orientation is perfect for my tiny desk and the headphone output has been able to gamely drive my IEMs, from the 10-ohm Massdrop Plus (with an iFi IEMatch attached) up to the power-hungry Toneking BL-1 and RHA CL-750, and my much more demanding Yamaha HP-1 & YH-2 planar headphones. I can't push the volume level past 3:00 even with the Yamahas, there's a decent amount of power here. EDIT: June 13, 2020. I was having a lot of issues with noise in the Icon that would only present itself after a few minutes of listening. What I've discovered in my testing is that the Icon HDP seems to be very sensitive to electrical noise from whichever source is connected. When I placed an isolation transformer between the wall outlet and the power strip with all my gear on it tidied that up nicely. NuForce also have some useful advice around adding ground lift devices in certain installations with other products in the Icon family here: http://optoma.skyfly.com.tw/customerSupport_Detail.php?q=9 Since resolving this I have noticed a couple of additional things; music played in via the optical input seems louder than the USB input, so when I play through that I have to wind up the volume a lot further. That's when I run into the other thing; there's a noticeable hiss in the left channel of the headphone output once the volume knob gets past 3:00. By then most people in most situations would be rendered stone deaf, but playing music in via USB and then driving my Yamaha HP-1s creates the perfect storm for the hiss to start creeping into the mix. If I had paid the full retail price for this I would be a bit disappointed, but that may be because I have unrealistic expectations. As it is though, the feature set and the capabilities of this little unit should still be highly regarded, and at the Drop price they are hard to beat. Plus it has helped me learn a lot of useful information about correcting audio system noise, for which I am grateful. All things considered I would still definitely recommend this to a friend, but only when it drops again. At that price I'd buy a second one for the office.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
CureForTheCommonMeat
4
Apr 19, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Vertical Orientation is Handy
I like that the Nuforce stands on edge. Comes in handy in a tight space. I bought this to also act as a source switch between the turntable, Surface Laptop, and the optical output from an older Apple TV that I use from bringing streaming sources from phones and another Apple TV. Only thing I would change is to add Bluetooth direct and maybe make the LED lights a little dimmer. 
Recommends this product? Yes
Leeminzhe
16
Apr 14, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Good
Is easily portable and sound is good although not very good,but depend on its price and gorgeous look,I appreciate it.
Recommends this product? Yes
pashasunbk
44
Feb 24, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
I love it
Better than Centrance dacport HD, Tempotec (Hidizs) sonata idsd plus, xDuoo 05.
Recommends this product? Yes
sublimelime
1
Dec 31, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Great
The sound from the Icon HDP is very clear and neutral. Build is also excellent and so is the packaging that it comes in. However, as another reviewer (Okeer) has pointed out, the power supply cable and brick itself seem cheap and unreliable. Only time will tell if the power supply holds up. Otherwise, it's a solid product but I wish they included a better power brick in the future.
Important Information:
You may need to buy a replacement C13 style power cord for the power supply if you do not live in the US or have a US style plug socket.
Edit:
Power supply has held up for almost three months at this point and I hope it won't stop working soon. I have also not experienced any degradation in sound quality.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
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