Nuforce Icon2 DAC+Integrated Amplifier

The NuForce Icon2 improved upon the original Icom and is now rated at 24-watts per channel driven into 4Ω (18-watts per channel when driving 8Ω loudspeakers) and has a high-performance DAC built in. It has stereo RCA inputs and a 3.5mm headphone output on the front panel.

iMac, Nuforce Icon2, and Amphion ion 

The USB DAC inside the Icon2 is compatible with both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 standards, able to operate at 32, 44.1, 48, and 96 kHz up to 24-bit (no 88.2!). The 3.5mm stereo headphone jack on the front panel can deliver 80mW into 16Ω headphones. There is also two more analog inputs one via normal RCA, another via 3.5mm mini jack.  It’s available in four different brushed aluminium finishes: Black, Silver, Red or Blue, for US$349. 

In a fairly unusual move, NuForce has terminated the speaker terminals of the Icon2 with RJ45 connectors, so it also provides a pair of two-metre long RJ45-to-banana-plug speaker cables with each amplifier, these can be extended using CAT5 ethernet couplers.