Operating instructions

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The Icon HDP permits an S/PDIF connection from your computer, if that’s your preference.
For best results, use a high-quality S/PDIF cable. Once the connection is made, select
S/PDIF in your System Preferences Audio Device settings.
Analog Connections
You need only connect headphones to your NuForce device’s headphone jack and adjust for
volume with the unit’s volume control. If connecting to an external amplifier or stereo
receiver, you will require a quality stereo interconnect with a standard male RCA connector
for plugging into the NuForce device and an appropriate connector at the other end (usually,
an RCA).
Note on Headphone Use
Headphones present a challenge to amplifier designers. There are two basic types: the over-
ear (OE) in general use in the recording industry and the smaller in-ear (IE), a.k.a. ear-bud,
commonly used with portable devices such as MP3 players. Given the range of available OE
and IE headphones, in attempting to deal with all of them, your computer’s headphone
output is optimized for none. Your NuForce Icon product will make a world of difference.
The reason is simple enough. Various OE and IE phones cover an expanse of electrical
impedances from 16 to 600 Ohms and differ in other significant ways. Sensitivity is a term
that expresses how loud the headphones will play at a given amount of electrical power, e.g.,
x number of decibels per milliwatt (0.001 watt) of power, expressed as xxxdB/mW.