With its small size, modern styling, audiophile focus, and that oh-so-important USB connector, you’d expect the NuForce Icon to find a home next to a laptop on a glass topped desk in a high-rise office building with full length window views. You might be right – that’s definitely one of the roles the Icon can play – but this amplifier displays a surprising amount of versatility for its size: in addition to a USB input that turns it into an external sound card like the Asus Xonar U1, the Icon includes a headphone jack for connection to a portable music player (iPod, Zune, CD player, etc.), a discrete headphone amplifier, a line out port for connection to a powered subwoofer, RCA inputs for connection to stereo components, and two Ethernet ports for use with CAT-5-enabled speakers (or standard speakers through special cabling).
All together, the Icon makes for an interesting package, but given the number of possible applications, we’re surprised that NuForce doesn’t make a higher-end version of the amplifier with tube amplification. After all, why can’t we have our premium sound and miniaturization all in one package?
You may be the one to comment first. Please leave your message below.