Amplifier Icon Views

General Goods

The NuForce Icon is an audiophile-grade Integrated Desktop Audio Amplifier featuring two 12-watt outputs, a 3.5-mm stereo input for connection to an iPod or other portable device, a USB cable for operation with a PC or Mac, and standard RCA inputs for employing the Icon as the heart of a conventional audio system. For the headphone enthusiast, the Icon also offers a high-performance headphone output. Of particular interest to the computer user, the Icon's line-out functions as a PC or Mac USB...

It was in one of these golden-eared audiophile magazines that I was first introduced to photos of the NuForce Icon-1/S-1 system, which at the time was being demonstrated at a high-end audio convention. If you've never heard of NuForce, that's entirely forgivable - unlike companies such as Audioengine, who made their name by producing high-quality audio products exclusively for PC audio, NuForce has built their reputation on a line of loudspeakers and amplifiers targeted at the audio high-end - the 'golden-ears' that I've been speaking of. The Icon-1 amplifier and the S-1 speaker are the company's first foray into desktop audio, however, promising to bring a bit of the audiophile experience to your PC.

The NuForce Icon-1 is a stereo 'integrated amplifier' (a term that means that amplification for more than one audio channel is 'integrated' into its chassis) with a built-in USB DAC. Here at Techgage, we've often discussed the importance of a PC's sound card in producing high-quality sound, but by relocating the functionality of the sound card into the amplifier's chassis, NuForce can ensure that the quality of the amplifier circuitry and the quality of the digital-to-analog conversion complement each other nicely. The Icon-1 uses a Class-D amplification stage, which borrows its technology from NuForce's highly-regarded Class-D integrated amplifiers in the high-end category.

Complementing the NuForce Icon-1 amplifier is the company's S-1 speaker, which is first most notable for its striking industrial design, due in large part to the round 'waveguide' that dominates its face. That waveguide has an effect on the speakers' sound that I'll discuss in detail later on. It's also notable for its single 3 wideband driver, with a titanium cone and a copper 'beak' that also serves as much of a sonic purpose as an aesthetic one. Like the Icon-1 amplifier, the S-1 speaker is also available in a variety of color combinations.