About the NuForce Icon 2
You can carry your entire music collection around on an iPod® or a laptop. That's cool. Too bad you can't carry a great stereo system along with you, too.
Oh, wait. Now you can.
About the size of a ham sandwich, the NuForce Icon 2 easily fits in your suitcase, backpack, or lunch pail. Add a set of small bookshelf speakers or a pair of high-grade headphones, and you have an affordable audiophile system that's perfect for a desktop, dorm room, or hotel suite. Going overseas for an extended stay? The included AC adapter handles worldwide voltages.
You can connect up to three music sources to the Icon 2. Input #1 is a stereo minijack, which accepts the headphone output from your smartphone or MP3 player. Input #2 is a pair of RCA jacks, ready to take on a CD player or iPod® dock. Input #3 is a type B USB jack, which takes the output of your computer into the Icon 2's onboard 96kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converter. If you've never heard digital music files played through a high-quality DAC, you're in for big surprise.
Good headphones are the most economical way to get a taste of high-end audio. But you won't get high-end sound out of your headphones if you plug them straight into your laptop. The headphone amp inside the Icon 2 will quickly spoil you. It reveals layers of musical detail that ordinary headphone jacks obscure and opens your ears to a sense of the performance space.
The Icon 2 couldn't be simpler to operate. The top knob turns the amp on and controls volume. The bottom knob is the music source selector. A sturdy base is included to keep your Icon 2 firmly planted on your desktop.
From the review NuForce Icon 2 makes a forceful case for a quality DAC
"If you have good quality or high-performance headphones or speakers, then the NuForce is decidedly worth the investment - especially if your audio files have a higher bit rate than 128 kbps. I'd recommend them to anyone (like myself) that saves files in some kind of lossless format - or anyone truly serious about music with a large digital collection.
— Ralph Graves, Crutchfield Blog Editor and A/V Writer
Product highlights:
- 18 watts x 2 channels into 8 ohms at 1% THD+N
- 24 watts x 2 channels into 4 ohms at 1% THD+N
- built-in 96kHz/24-bit USB DAC
- high-performance headphone amplifier
- 3.5mm stereo minijack audio input
- 1 pair RCA analog audio inputs
- stereo minijack audio output
- silicone stand
- RJ-45 speaker connectors (speaker wire included)
- AC adapter handles worldwide voltages (60W, 100-240VAC)
- 1-1/4"W x 6"H x 4-1/2"D
- weight: 1 lb.
- warranty: 1 year
- MFR # NF-ICON2-Blue
What's in the box:
- Integrated amplifier
- Power supply with attached 45" DC output cord (15 volt/4.5 amp)
- 6' AC power cord
- Silicone stand
- Two 82" Speaker wires (each with one RJ-45 connector on one end and two single banana plugs on the other)
- 38" USB cable (USB Type-A on one end and USB Type-B on the other)
- Manual
Customer reviews for NuForce Icon 2
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Average review:
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Pros:
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More details on the NuForce Icon 2
Features & specs
Performance Specs | ||
---|---|---|
Watts RMS per Channel (8-ohms) | 18 | |
Watts RMS per Channel (6-ohms) | 0 | |
Watts RMS per Channel (4-ohms) | 24 | |
Frequency Bandwidth | N/A | |
THD | 1% | |
Minimum Impedance | 4 ohms | |
Amplifier Class | --- | |
Signal to Noise Ratio | 90 | |
DAC Bit Depth | --- | |
DAC Sample Rate | --- | |
Features | ||
Built-in DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) | Yes | |
Wi-Fi | ||
Built-in Radio Tuner | None | |
Room Correction | --- | |
High-res Audio Playback | ||
From Network | No | |
From USB Thumb Drive (USB-A) | No | |
From Computer (USB-B) | No | |
Bluetooth | ||
Version Info | --- | |
Receiver Mode | No | |
Transmitter Mode | No | |
AAC Playback | No | |
aptX Playback | No | |
aptX-HD Playback | No | |
LDAC Playback | No | |
Connections | ||
RCA Line-level Inputs | --- | |
XLR Line-level Inputs | --- | |
Phono Input | No | |
Optical Digital Inputs | No | |
Coaxial Digital Inputs | No | |
USB Input | 1 Type B | |
HDMI Inputs | --- | |
Stereo Preamp Outputs | --- | |
Subwoofer Outputs | No | |
Recording Output | No | |
HDMI Output | --- | |
Home Theater Bypass | No | |
Pre-out/Main-in Loop | No | |
Headphone Output | 1/8" | |
Removable Power Cord | --- | |
Streaming Compatibility | ||
Apple AirPlay | No | |
Apple AirPlay 2 | No | |
DTS Play-Fi | No | |
Chromecast built-in | No | |
Roon | No | |
HEOS | No | |
BluOS | No | |
Dimensions and Warranty | ||
Width (inches) | 1-5/16 | |
Height (inches) | 6 | |
Depth (inches) | 4-3/8 | |
Weight (pounds) | 1 | |
Parts Warranty | 1 Year | |
Labor Warranty | 1 Year |
Product Research
Features
Overview: The icon2 is a desktop amplifier with a headphone amp and digital to analog converter built in. There are three inputs, USB (digital), stereo RCA, and stereo mini-jack, along with a mini-jack line output and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
USB Input: The USB input is designed to connect to your computer's USB port, allowing the icon2 to act as the sound card and amplifier. The input is a USB Type-B port and a USB Type-A to USB Type-B cable is included.
Analog Inputs: There are two analog inputs, stereo RCAs and a 3.5mm stereo mini-jack, both on the rear panel.
Speaker Outputs: The amplified outputs are RJ-45 terminals and speaker wire is included with the amp (with an RJ-45 connector on one end and two single banana plugs on the other). When using the NuForce S-X speakers, the wire included with the speakers should be used, which has RJ-45 connectors on both ends.
Controls:
- Power: rotary power/volume control on the front panel; controls the volume for both the speaker level and front panel headphone outputs; turn fully counterclockwise to turn the unit off
- Input: rotary input selector switch; three position, mini-jack, RCA, and USB
Connections:
- Front: 1/8" headphone; stereo; compatible with headphones up to 32 ohms; 31.25 mW x 2 @ 32 ohms; 80 mW x 2 @ 16 ohms; THD+N 0.05%; 20 Hz-20 kHz
- Rear:
- Power: DC input for use with included power supply
- Input 1: stereo mini-jack (3.5mm)
- Input 2: stereo RCAs; maximum 2.0 volts
- Input 3: USB Type-B input; compatible with USB 1.1 and 2.0 (full speed and high speed); USB cable included; 96 kHz maximum sampling rate; 24 bit resolution
- Speaker Output: left and right RJ-45 terminals; muted when headphones are plugged in
- Line Output: stereo mini-jack; use the icon2 as a preamp or add a powered subwoofer
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