NuForce Icon mods

Wayne1 · « **on:** 8 Jul 2008, 02:44 pm »

I have had a Nuforce ICON in my office system fo a couple of weeks. I have used a couple of Tripath amps in this system before. I have a modded Trends I have used in the past.

Right out of the box, with the stock switching power supply, the ICON was far cleaner. Rated at 12 wpc, it plays VERY smooth. It offers THREE inputs: RCA, 1/8" stereo, and USB. It uses relay switching for input selection. It has 1/8" headphone output AND 1/8" stereo line out.

I pulled it apart over the weekend and started work on some mods. I have replaced all the op-amps and modded the internal power supply distribution. There were a couple of other little thing done. I put it all back together and was very pleased with the improvements.

Yesterday I built a version of my "Standard" power supply for use with the ICON. This is a major upgrade!. The little switcher does a good job, but it does inject noise into the AC line. With the linear supply, all harshness is gone from the highs. The dynamics are improved. etc, etc.

This IS a very nice small digital amp. The mods have made it even better. I will wait a couple of weeks to let the mods and PS break in. If it continues to improve and there is interest, I will offer these mods through the BOLDERcables.com website.

I should be getting a GLOW tube amp in for mods today. Ed Schilling is sending out a pair of his Horn Shoppe Horns. Towards the latter part of this month, I should have a comparison of the small amps playing on the Horns. ICON vs Trends vs GLOW

jrebman · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 03:20 pm »

Wayne,

I'll definitely be staying tuned to see what you come up with here. I have a few friends that would like something better than their boom boxes and big box store component systems, so I'm keeping my eye out for lower cost, higher quality options for them.

At some point I'll probably be able to send my devilsound DAC to you just to see what you might be able to come up with for it. I haven't even heard it yet myself.

The SB3 and Ultimate Nirvana PSU now has close to a month of continuous play on them (courtesy of internet radio) and it's sunding very, very good.

-- Jim

Andrew JC · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 07:27 pm »

Wayne will any of your mods help out the headphone section of this amp? Thanks....

Wayne1 · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 07:38 pm »

Yes.

The power supply will improve all areas of the amp.

Specifically, I have done a fair amount of work on the headphone output section. I need to let things burn in and take a listen later on this week.

When I am satisfied with it, I post a little more detail on what was done.

Andrew JC · « **Reply #4 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 11:05 pm »

Thanks Wayne I look forward to your update!

bprice2 · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Aug 2008, 07:56 pm »

Hi Wayne,

Just wondering if there are any updates on your Icon mod.

Brett

Wayne1 · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Aug 2008, 12:19 pm »

Hello Brett,

The project is still underway. The first round of mods seem to have worked out well.

I will be out of town for the next couple of days, But I should have a bit more to say early next week. Ed Schilling has sent me a pair of his Horns to use for this project. He is now sending me out his "cube" sub. Once I get all those hooked together, I will have a better idea on how they all sound.

I will say that the modded Icon impresses me more than the Glow Amp One.

bprice2 · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Aug 2008, 04:15 pm »

Thanks Wayne and am looking forward to hearing how the Icon works with the horns, or more importantly, single drivers.

RowanH · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Aug 2008, 06:51 pm »

Interesting, count me in on seeing the results. I am awaiting their own upgraded PSU to see how much the sound is improved ..

RowanH · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Aug 2008, 01:52 pm »

Also I'd love to hear your opinion on the differences of the Glow vs Icon (both stock vs each other and your modifications). Since getting the Icon, it's kind of like a reintroduction to sound. A large part of me wants to pull the trigger on a tube amp believing a warmer richer less fatiguing sound will be present. But if there's little to no difference...

I'd also be interested to hear if using the just the headphone out (I believe I've read that Nuforce don't recommend the line out without speaker load) to Glow amp is appreciably better than using the Glow direct from USB

Thanks kindly!

Wayne1 · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Aug 2008, 04:16 pm »

I will have more to say about the NuForce next week.

I would NOT recommend the Glow if you plan to use the USB input. The chip used for the Glow is not very good at all. It is intended for use with small, self powered, computer speakers. It has compression turned on by default. It also has an EQ setting turned on that tips up the high end and reduces the low end.

I replaced all the coupling caps in the USB input section and the power supply decoupling and I could not really hear any improvements. The analog input to the Glow is nice, but I do prefer the sound of the NuForce. I'm not into tube rolling. I'm sure you can get some nice sound out of the Glow analog stage, but I just prefer to listen to the music from the ICON.

In a direct comparison of the Glow vs Icon USB input, the Icon will be preferred every time. It has dynamics and low end extension. The higs are smooth and clean. The Glow sound restricted and dull. Absolutely no low end impact or depth.

The linear power supply for the Icon does smooth things out very nicely. It is warmer and richer than the stock PS. Changing the Op-amps also aids in this sort of tone.

bprice2 · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Aug 2008, 06:13 pm »

Wayne,

Do you see the modded Icon as merely a high quality amp for a desktop application or do you visualize it as a cost effective alternative for the main rig?

Brett

jmudrick · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Sep 2008, 12:27 am »

Looking forward to your progress as well. I've put the Icon in the system with my Horns a la Ed, and at least at first crack it sounds a bit bright to me, more so than my modified Trends that was serving them fairly well. Ed's been urging me to try the Glow but I live in such a hot climate (Phnom Penh) a warm running tube outfit is just not in the cards, thus the Trends and Icon experimentation. Will give it some time and see what you have to report. Am using generic CAT6 (with a coupler for extension from the NuForce cable) which may not be the best way to set up the Icon (?). Don't know why Nuforce doesn't offer a longer cable -- 2m is still insufficient for a lot of us.

Jeff

RowanH · « **Reply #13 on:** 5 Sep 2008, 01:25 am »

Okay so my further trials and tribulations. Basically the Icon will not work with my speakers - I recognise they're not 1k+ speakers but they do sound good (enough) to (my) ears. However the noise floor was just not the go - irritating and downright distracting. I did get the upgraded PSU from NuForce, which did seem to improve the range quite a bit especially at higher levels, but noise floor still remained. The upgraded PSU definitely seemed to allow the amp to stretch it's legs a little more. However after the 3rd PCB it appears these speakers just have something about them that don't work.

So I enlisted myself on Audiogon and on Tuesday Mr FedEx dropped off a Sophia Electric Baby tube amp. I'm using the Nuforce headphone out to the Sophia amp. Apparently you shouldn't use the line out for fear of damaging some components (?).

Taking for example the Ani DiFranco's Living in Clip album. With the Icon only it was quite fatiguing to listen to for long periods of time. The Baby softens the guitar ever so slightly, with zero noise. It's utterly silent, nothing, zilch. I've had a few moments trying to figure out what's going on when no music has been coming out

I know this is apples to oranges comparison, so don't take it as such, but I'm just saying this setup works for me and works well. If you were paying full retail for the Baby + Icon, you could probably find something better (?) as a single unit, but find a used Baby amp and you've got a pretty sweet combo for a desktop. (Just find some efficient speakers, it's only 10 watts or so).

Besides which, just have a look at this would ya ! .. Even comes with a RealMans^TM on/off switch.
http://flickr.com/photos/rowanhick/2829568006/in/set-72157605961594935/

Wayne1 · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Sep 2008, 07:22 pm »

Thank you all for your interest in this project.

The Horns and Cube have been set up and playing for a bit now.

I have been trying out a peachtree audio decco with them for the past week.

The peachtree unit sounds very good, but it is not a good match with the Horns, gain wise. I can just barely crack the volume control before it gets too loud.

I had to send off the power supply I built for the ICON. It has returned and I should now be able to put the ICON in this system.

I have heard from others that the ICON with NuForce PS does create quite a bit of noise, readily audible with the Horns.

I heard no noise with the linear PS with some less efficient speakers. I'll do my best to get the ICON running with the Horns and Cube within a week.

I will note that the sound of the Horns is completely transformed when used with the Cube. The "Magic" cable is absolutely needed to match gains.

LeeInLdn · « **Reply #15 on:** 5 Sep 2008, 10:13 pm »

Hi Wayne,

I have a new set of Ed's Horns and Cube. I bought a Glow amp to power them. Have found that the USB DAC is exactly as you describe, worthless. Am very interested to hear about your results with the Icon. Question: Does the Icon work best alone as DAC/Integrated amp? or is there any benefit to using it as DAC/PreAmp connected to the Glow. If the Icon alone is the better solution, I'm wondering how I would go about connecting the Cube to it. Also, would I be better going with the NuForce as a DAC, or just trying to find a stand alone DAC to use with the Glow? ... BTW I purchased a set of your IC's thinking I was going to need an external DAC to work with the GLOW, which I suppose might come in handy to connect the NuForce to the Glow, if that is the better route to go. Otherwise, do you have any sort of exchange policy? ... Hope to get this all sorted one of these days in the not too distant future ... I'm looking forward to hearing some great music from the Horns. As of now, I'm breaking them in, feeding the glow direct from the headphone out on my MacBook. Even under these circumstances they're enjoyable, but I know they are capable of much, much more! Also very interested in what modifications you're finding make sense for both the Glow and the Icon.

Thanks for your efforts.

Lee

Wayne1 · « **Reply #16 on:** 5 Sep 2008, 10:29 pm »

Lee,

I think we can work something out with the interconnects.

I did not find anything to mod on the GLOW.

It is far too small an area to work. The way it is assembled makes any kind of mod all but impossible.

I think a SqueezeBox would be better than using the ICON into the GLOW.

smk · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Sep 2008, 11:52 pm »

Lee

Call/e-mail Ed & ask.

Ed Schilling · « **Reply #18 on:** 8 Sep 2008, 09:51 pm »

Thanks guys.

Lee, give me a call when you can......I'll shoot you something to play with.
You have all you need to hook the Cube to any amp...just call me first!
Ed

mrdon · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 Jan 2010, 07:45 pm »

What opamps did you use to replace the stock NE5532's?