Top-Rated Products
Customer Reviews for NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
Model: Icon uDac-2 Black
SKU: 3992348
UPC: 895029002674
Learn more about Magnolia Premium Installation This NuForce Icon uDAC-2 96kHz/24-bit USB audio receiver and digital-to-analog converter features a compact design and connects your computer's audio to your home stereo, desktop sound system or headphones, so you can enjoy high-quality sound.
Average Customer Rating:
5.0
out of 5
(4 Reviews) 4
Rating Snapshot 4 reviews
5 stars
4
4 stars
0
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
100% of customers would recommend this product to a friend
(
4 out of
4)
Customer Reviews for NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
Review 1 for NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
Great Upgrade for any Laptop
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: creamsoda89
on 01/24/2012
What's great about it: Sound Quality, RCA out, Versatility, Portability
What's not so great: It's not battery powered so it'll draw juice from your laptop if you're not plugged in.
I have a Macbook and was looking for a solid upgrade, and obviously using a laptop, I have to go for an external sound solution. Being someone on the go, the uDAC-2's diminutive size is awesome for someone who is always on the go. As soon as I switch, I can tell that the soundstage / instrument separation is much better than with the Macbook's stock headphone out - It's most obvious when the track has a lot of instruments, where the macbook would sound congested, the uDAC cleanly splits all the instruments apart for me!
Having sensitive earphones, the analog volume control is much better for fine tuning my volume than pressing the volume buttons within OS X.
When I turn up the headphone out on the mac, there's a hissing in the background, but I fix that by using the uDAC-2. Everything simply sounds cleaner and clearer overall, I guess that could also be interpreted as more sonic detail.
The RCA out is great too, when i want to plug it into speakers - again, music is easier to pick apart and sounds cleaner, clearer through this tiny little wonder box.
With nuForce's history in solid audiophile-centric products, it's easy to choose their products over any other competitors available through Best Buy, they simply have more experience in specializing in audio!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Share this review:
Review 2 for NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
Perfect for beginner audio enthusiasts
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: saffyg
from New York, NY
on 01/23/2012
What's great about it: Great sound quality, Very portable
I have owned this DAC+Headphone Amp for 6 months now and used it mainly with my Sennheiser HD 598 and Klipsch X10 earphones. I use iTunes to play Apple Lossless and Foobar to play FLAC files on my Lenovo Thinkpad.
I use this primarily to listen to Rock, Pop and Classical music. The sound quality was a vast improvement over the existing soundcard on my laptop. Not only was there more detail in the audio, these produced a much higher volume on my Senns which I had desperately needed. The soundstage really opened on my Senns especially listening to classical music. I could make out precise details which I could not have discerned before; backing vocals could be differentiated from the lead ones. The bass was tighter.
There was a similar effect on the sound on my X10s although it was less pronounced. Even at high volumes, the sound was clear and did not waver or crack.
I could not at first justify my purchase of this because I hadn't really spent a lot of money on good audio before. But this purchase is really worth it.
I've compared the sound quality of this with that of my iPod Touch, Galaxy S2 and Denon AVR 1911 Receiver and the uDAC-2 had significantly better sound quality especially at higher levels.
I use this primarily to listen to Rock, Pop and Classical music. The sound quality was a vast improvement over the existing soundcard on my laptop. Not only was there more detail in the audio, these produced a much higher volume on my Senns which I had desperately needed. The soundstage really opened on my Senns especially listening to classical music. I could make out precise details which I could not have discerned before; backing vocals could be differentiated from the lead ones. The bass was tighter.
There was a similar effect on the sound on my X10s although it was less pronounced. Even at high volumes, the sound was clear and did not waver or crack.
I could not at first justify my purchase of this because I hadn't really spent a lot of money on good audio before. But this purchase is really worth it.
I've compared the sound quality of this with that of my iPod Touch, Galaxy S2 and Denon AVR 1911 Receiver and the uDAC-2 had significantly better sound quality especially at higher levels.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Share this review:
Review 3 for NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
Improves upon the original by several magnitudes!
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: burgerkong
on 01/23/2012
What's great about it: Feature set, compact, understated aesthetics, sound quality, and more...
What's not so great: N/A
I have owned the uDAC 1 since its inception into the portable DAC market and like all the rest of the early adopters, I was satisfied beyond belief. So much so that I could not find another comparable product in the same price range that sounded and had the same level of aesthetics as the uDAC. Flash forward a couple of years to when the uDAC 2 was released; from my prior experience with the first generation, I knew the second one was a must buy. I went through their (Nuforce) upgrade program and purchased the uDAC 2 internals, and I must say the improvements to the feature set and specs were well worth paying for. Now I can play high-resolution files (which the first gen lacked), and as well in my opinion I believe the sound quality has improved several times over, especially the headphone amp portion.
Definitely felt my money was well spent with either unit, cannot go wrong!
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
Share this review:
Review 4 for NuForce Icon uDAC-2 USB Audio Receiver and Digital-to-Analog Converter - Black
Great introduction to Digital conversion
Customer Rating
5.0
Posted by: Silvey
from California
on 12/30/2011
What's great about it: Sound quality
The uDac-2 is great for the average customer looking for what I would consider "the beginning" of their high end audio journey. It introduces you to what quality Digital conversion can actually do for your everyday music and gaming uses. Personally, I had originally been listening to my music on my regular cheaper speakers using the headphone output of the computer, then I plugged in my new uDac-2 and was blown away from realizing how distorted my previous music listening experience had been. Also, this product is much more affordable for a person who is unsure of what an external digital converter and headphone amp output can do for them.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+3points
3out of 3found this review helpful.
Share this review:
