Nuforce Icon Amplifier

The young Californian company Nuforce, in just six years of its existence, has presented a lot of interesting sound equipment to the court of music lovers. The Icon model belongs to the Desktop Audio series (desktop audio), which is clearly indicated by its dimensions. However, it is a complete amplifier, equipped with a single RCA input and a high-speed USB port that allows you to use the device as an external DAC. The speaker outputs (RJ-45 connectors, cable included) are supplied with up to 15 watts. The use of speakers with a sensitivity of at least 87 dB is recommended.

The icon's miniature chassis houses a separate headphone amplifier module of very high quality, so headphone lovers will be pleased. The power supply is in the form of a mains adapter. The remote control is not provided at all, but considering that the device will always be at hand, this cannot be considered a disadvantage.

Despite its modest power output, the Icon handled our test floorstanders well, sometimes showing the character of a solid hi-fi amp. The sound of the miniature Nuforce box turned out to be surprisingly clear and very linear. I could not find any noticeable coloring in the sound. Special mention deserves the reproduction of the mid-frequency band, with rich timbres and careful study of even seemingly insignificant details. But low frequencies are given to the amplifier with obvious difficulty. The bass is not too deep and at times somewhat compressed in terms of dynamics. However, there is no noticeable sound compression even at high volume. I really liked the sound of Icon when listening to headphones - it is audiophile strict and accurate.