牛！知名ＨＩＦＩ厂革命性的１９９美金ＭＩＮＩ桌面有源２．０详测来了！（有图）

lkpkp

可当ＵＳＢ声卡

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[ 本帖最后由 lkpkp 于 2008-4-12 00:28 编辑 ]

lkpkp

This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below  
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' g% K! I: E+ u& M2 g$ p9 rReviewer: Srajan Ebaen
: K' q7 P: \% ]- h% N( I& b6 e4 gFinancial Interests: click here
7 i1 C6 S( ?" t* USource: APL NWO 3.0-GO; Ancient Audio Lektor Prime; Raysonic CD-168
; A1 V; P9 c$ V2 TPreamp/Integrated: Supratek Cabernet Dual; ModWright LS-36.5/PS 36.5; Wyetech Labs Jade; Almarro A318B; Melody I2A3; APL UA-S1; Woo Audio Model 5; Glow Audio Amp One
Amp: 2 x Audiosector Patek SE; 2 x First Watt F4; Yamamoto A-08s; Yamamoto A-09s; Fi 2A3 monos
Speakers: Zu Audio Definition Pro; DeVore Fidelity Nines; WLM Grand Viola Monitor with Duo 12; Rethm Saadhana; Zu Presence [on review]; Mark & Daniel Maximus & Ruby Monitors w. OmniHarmonizer
- \' A8 D/ T9 r7 \5 XCables: Ocellia Silver Signature loom; Crystal Cable Ultra loom; Zanden Audio proprietary I²S cable; Crystal Cable Reference power cords; double cryo'd Acrolink with Furutech UK plug between wall and transformer; Stealth Audio Indra and Meta Carbon
' c5 J# G0 H' d) N9 O6 B8 jStands: 2 x Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular 4-tier
0 p8 N* ~) b& y; R, W7 }Powerline conditioning: 2 x Walker Audio Velocitor S fed from custom AudioSector 1.5KV Plitron step-down transformer with balanced power output option; Furutech RTP-6 on 240V line feed
Sundry accessories: GPA Formula Carbon/Kevlar shelf for transport; GPA Apex footers underneath stand, DAC and amp; Walker Audio Vivid CD cleaner; Walker Audio Reference HDLs; Furutech RD-2 CD demagnetizer; Nanotech Nespa Pro; Acoustic System Resonators and front wall sugar cube matrix
- f6 |& L4 U6 [  ?' }; k9 aRoom size: 16' w x 21' d x 9' h in short-wall setup, with openly adjoining 15' x 35' living room
' ]/ [! q, j+ C% ~Review Component Retail: $249 (special introductory offer $199)
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  Z, a$ v' I4 e/ Y iBom. iBiz. iBite. Apple has started a veritable iTrend. Don't blame NuForce for joining forces and christening their newest stable addition Icon. Mind the spelling though. iCon would suggest something quite different. While, at $249, one should suspect a con, NuForce assures us the Icon is no joke. Their Jason Lim is so serious about its seriousness in fact that he sent me an e-mail asking for my address. To send me one for preview or just to turn my crank. Unannounced. Unsolicited. No "are you interested". Just a "gimme address, I'm sending". Our resident NuForcist David Kan was already signed up to do the formal honors.     
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Jason jerked my chain just because. Actually, Jason's no dummy. He knows full well of my penchant for -- and resident harem of -- hi-eff speakers. And my concomitant habit for doing the unspeakable, namely converting affordable low-power desk-top solutions into big-rig drivers fronting expensive full-room speakers.


; k6 k5 k- C4 j& FNeedless to say, running a $249 ($199 special introductory offer) USB-input integrated into $8,000/pr Zus or Rethms or WLMs is nutz. We all know it. But as the owner of a website called 6moons, I can afford a certain amount of lunacy. You might even say, I'm expected to. Hence David will do the legitimate and formal review, his boss the illegitimate informal preview cum sidebar cum second opinion whatever.
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Here's what interested me. The T-amp phenom has been a fantastic journey into the outer reaches of hifi. While serious mainstream companies like Bel Canto focused on the high-power Tripath modules, then abandoned them in favor of ICEpower (with other companies joining the fray with Hypex), it were the small but equally serious players who started the wave of 6 to 30-watt Tripath amps which continues unabated. Sonic Impact. KingRex. Trends. Winsome Labs. This is all well-known history. The question I had all along was simply this. If these bloody low-power T-jobs could sound quite unbelievable for the money -- or 'never mind the money' brilliant in the case of Red Wine and Firenze Audio -- how come none of the current engineers of class D modules had bothered to author their own low-power challengers?


  
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As it turns out, Bruno Putzeys of Hypex just did with the iQube he designed for Qables and which Marja & Henk reviewed. Alas, that's 'just' a headphone amp. What if you have speakers that need to suck at least 5 watts of electron mother's milk?   
. p: u. ?+ Q5 L' v% JEnter the NuForce Icon. At 2 x 12 watts, it's more powerful than a 300B SET, meaning there's the equivalent range of usable speakers - and a lot more in the actual desktop environ the Icon is really meant for. But that (reasonable, sane, laudable) part of the tale won't interest us today. We're going off the reservation into big bossy expensive speakers that so happen to sing on 2 watts of direct-heated triode juice. While I don't expect any buyer to follow suit, think of this exercise as the ultimate test against which to challenge Jason's smug self confidence. Insert smiley face.

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0 X! y% B7 k9 ] I've done the same with the little $488 Glow Audio Amp One. I'm planning on another such excursion with the $749 Tecon Audio Model 55. Both are 5wpc EL84 jobs. With our outfit belonging to the anything-goes church of audiophilia, it's only fair to accord a 12wpc $249 transistor amp the same honors. Before we descend into unspeakables, a quick look at what we've got. Three inputs (RCA, USB and 3.5mm stereo); RJ45 speaker outputs (RJ45-to-banana speaker cables are included), headphone output (31.25mW max output into a 32-ohm load) and line out (to subwoofer or to convert Icon into preamp). Low THD, linear frequency response, monster S/N ratio of 98dB. Universal 12-14V power adaptor. Mini dimensions of 6" x 4.5" x 1". Finger weight of 1 pound. Technology, damn. It just keeps shrinking. Nutz. Or as the NuForce marketing machinery spins it:   
  
"With the same patented technology that has won a string of prestigious awards, the tiny Icon brings NuForce's celebrated sound quality to the music lover's desktop." On our staff, two writers have gone nutz over NuForce - Edgar Kramer on his Wilsons, David Kan on his Mark & Daniels. David in fact biamps with 4 NuForce monos. So there's the preamble for another unlikely adventure with -- if we consider the published evidence on NuForce all around -- a very low-risk proposition to actually make out. Stay tuned while Jason pops my mini in the mail. Trigger-happy readers, don't expect a mass mailing of Icons quite yet. NuForce has to seriously scale up production for this item. It takes no brains to recognize that with this pricing, NuForce needs to move volume. Which first means, make a volume. That's a different ball game than high-end audio sales. Should NuForce be back-ordered by the time you contact them (or take pre-orders)... well, this is a new product roll-out right now, at the time of publishing this.

lkpkp

The Icon's engineering begins with its packaging. It fits precisely inside a DHL or FedEx box and contains all the necessary bits beautifully housed. As far as bare presentation goes, it's like, dialed, dog. I kid you not. The carrying handle conjures up images of urban chixters and city slickers sashaying out of a trendy inner city boutique.   
  
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And there's quite a number of bits in this box, too.

   
   


  
  
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There's a universal 100-240V 50/60Hz wall wart; a USB cable to shake hands with the Burr Brown PCM2706 USB DAC; a pair of 1-meter Ethernet-to-banana speaker leads; an extruded aluminum stand with protective foam inside and underneath; a spongy mat to protect horizontal placement; and the thing itself, ensconced in an anodized soft-cornered aluminum extrusion with engraved branding on either cheek. The input selector knob actuates with confidence-inspiring detents, the volume control has the same solid feel and doubles as the on/off switch which confirms with a small blue LED.
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To brutalize the Icon as promised, I went to the mattresses. 82.5dB and 4 ohms nominal should cut off a horse's head. The Mark & Daniel Maximus Rubies would make the irrefutable offer. Because the enclosed speaker leads were short, I plonked the speakers on the floor Pierre Sprey style, propped up with Grand Prix Audio Apex footers   
4 c" S0 [7 b; T% @underneath the fronts to tilt 'em upwards, then leashed them to my $10,000 Ancient Audio Lektor Prime top loader whose 6H30 output stage can swing up to 7V max in case my red dwarf needed a boost.

  
  

- V) T0 q5 m) fAt 3:30 on the dial, the red dwarf turned super nova, no source boost needed. No, it didn't self incinerate. The Ruby did not rub it out. My room filled with standard-mode volumes in the listening seat, with bass you would flatly deny as possible if I told you - so I won't. Floor boost with already bass-endowed monitors like my infamous Rubies comes as quite a shock if you've never tried it. It's a cheap (no, make that free) trick if you can stomach the stumpy decor and slight hooding and thickening in the midrange. In this instance, it actually was too much of a good thing in the bass.

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3 G, A# {4 ?; F# ^1 g2 Y+ ]But forget distortion, ill-defined bloat or other smoke signals of distress to indicate border-lining. Quite the opposite. The only time I had to back down the dial to 1:30 to prevent woofer distortion was on the final track of Mercan Dede's Nefes with its gnarly infrasonic heart beat. At higher levels, the amp lost control over the woofer. If you know the track, you'll appreciate the insanity on such a load. One meter removed in the nearfield -- I sat on a pillow with the speakers closer together and toed in to simulate a desk top scenario -- the upper comfort zone with this ambient bass torture track was louder than I'd want to listen to. Lost in translation? What this means spelled out is that as a desk top amp, the speaker the Icon cannot drive most likely hasn't been made yet. As a foot-of-the-bed movie amp flanked by two quality monitors while jacked into a laptop's USB output all perched on a hutch, the Icon is all you'll ever need for cozy, scaled-back flick watching. 17" laptop screen + Icon = just right. The li'l Anthony Gallo Diva Ti balls worked just fine, too.

lkpkp

Now comes the obligatory part where the reviewer says, "of course the Judas amp by JC Inc. isn't perfect" to rattle off a short or long list of personal or universal ills. The question today is, what should the standards of perfection be for $249?

lkpkp

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/nuforce7/icon.html

lkpkp

ＴＡＯＢＡＯ有卖了　ＮＢ
- z) z, h4 ~; g7 \Nuforce/新智 Icon桌面式合併功放 全新
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推荐给好友收藏这个宝贝
" k3 i8 ~& r" j' W" w! ]9 o. ]一 口 价：1980.00元

lkpkp

美國NuForce最新數碼產品--全功能數碼擴音機ICON
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發燒級別數碼產品，讓數碼音樂舞動起來
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全球著名發燒音響廠家NuForce把獲獎無數的專利擴音技術桌面化，推出首部全功能數碼擴音機ICON，把數碼音樂推至HIFI發燒境界，徹底改變重播數碼音樂質素低劣的情況，讓數碼音樂真真正正盡情發燒，舞動起來。
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0 P# s' z( Q) N0 x# |ICON特性: 分析力高、控制力强、高音清靜無暇、中音甜美潤澤、低音澎湃有力、音樂感豐富。
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3 |5 N: V( h7 f  y集6大發燒功能於一身：
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合併擴音機 － 適合音響愛好者接駁發燒級揚聲器
前級擴音機 － 適合Bi-amp接駁或推動主動式(有源)揚聲器
/ n  r2 [3 Q5 ?# |5 p後級擴音機 － 推動AV Surround Sound後置揚聲器
音頻解碼器 － Burr-Brown Jitter-free 電腦USB解碼，適合一般PC及MAC用家，可取代電腦音效卡
% y5 I0 e8 T/ O- h( r5 E耳筒放大器 － 適合Shure, Ue, Audio Technica等高級耳機用家
桌面擴音機 － 適合iPod, mp3等所有流動影音設備接駁桌面揚聲器
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產品規格
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輸出功率：12W x 2，最高：15W x 2  ( 8 ohm 負載時峰率達388W)
輸入端子：USB (1.1 & 2.0對應)、一組RCA、一組3.5mm (Ipod, MP3)
% D4 i' W  z7 c# n* z3 `( i音箱輸出端子：RJ45，跟機連RJ45->蕉插喇叭接線
: ~1 v* I9 l( ?  L9 K! z耳機輸出端子： 頻率響應  20 - 20 kHz (- 1 db)，最大輸出31.25mW，
; M& P; E- @1 |) W. l     諧波失真＜ 0.03% (1khz, 10W)
9 p2 s/ I1 z5 j0 p- A. I5 H其它輸出端子 :一組3.5mm ，一組RCA (連接後級擴音機或超低音)
訊噪比 :98 db
/ D7 ~2 W+ H; E6 J3 I0 k頻宽 : 26 Hz - 50 k Hz
0 j" Y  r  a( N6 `9 N/ B遙控 輸入選擇及音量控制 ( 附最後音量記憶功能)
體積：1"  x 4.5” x 6”
重量：1 磅
電源：自動選擇AC 90-240V
/ V: s$ g7 J3 f本機備有最齊接駁端子，能滿足所有發燒應用範圍 。
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- x2 L7 q: g+ [' X' y9 v2 H" S" }1 M顏色有紅色、藍色、銀色及黑色可供選擇。保修期為 1年

陶仁贤

不是说ICON是国产品牌么?

ylziihi

199美元，现在美元破7了，这么说应该是13XX？？？

lkpkp

原帖由 陶仁贤 于 2008-4-12 00:40 发表
不是说ICON是国产品牌么?

$ \/ S  o9 l" p' \+ Y不是ＩＣＯＮ，这个是ＮＵＦＯＲＣＥ的ＩＣＯＮ系列，ＮＵＦＯＲＣＥ是以做ＣＬＡＳＳ－Ｔ，Ｄ类放大器出名的
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3 t) I( |/ a, g他家Ｓ１　３．５寸同轴（２．Ｘ公斤种）桌面箱子快要上市了

fox541

PCM2706 USB DAC:lol:

等一分钟

有兴趣:loveliness: :loveliness:

掘地武士

旋钮太性感了……

myzhy9

我晕，喇叭太像S3W了！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

cnsh6688

这名字取得真不错，NUFORCE=Ultra nForce

bolix

喇叭象TB的,带个大号角,受众....
+ a9 h% l# K) c8 M4 qNND也太贵了,去了前面的1还差不多

伊仑

我喜欢另外那款不带DAC的小功放，更便宜些，这个：
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kindlyer

原帖由 myzhy9 于 2008-4-12 04:12 发表
: v% e( }0 K3 k* ?0 S3 u8 ]: f我晕，喇叭太像S3W了！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

. g: j( _' P# a' H. x( `' F握手,等到S3W的价格就合适了...:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: