It's the Apex Glacier. Only available through Todd the Vinyl Junkie (ttvjaudio.com). It's gotten RAVE reviews around the internet from anyone who's tried it. They say "great portable amp. Sleek. Sweet DAC. Everything you need in a little package!" Well, everything except the ability to drive speakers. That's not why I have it.
I wanted a portable amp that was powerful and not crap to use with my iPod's line out. That's it. It does great. My iPod definitely sounds as good as it possibly can. That isn't saying a lot in my world, where the Wolfson DAC in my older iPod is actually only "adequate".
Pros:
The LIGHT on the front to indicate audio level, going from red to violet. If you know ROYGBIV, that's the volume scale.
Very accurate audio translator.
Rechargable battery - can be used on the go!
Cons:
The DAC is only OK.
It's kinda big for your pocket.
Not as sleek and awesome physically as I expected. Fingerprint magnet.
That's out of the way. I want to tell you what this post is really about: DACs. I have a few in my life and I want to tell you something about them.
The Apex Glacier's DAC is good. It does bring my music to life; but, it's probably about on-par with my Nuforce Icon-2. It doesn't get all the way there, it's just good.
What gets all the way there? My HRT MusicStreamer II+. I proved this by connecting the MusicStreamer to the input jack of the Apex, and did a side-by-side. The HRT blew the Apex out of the water.
SO:
If you want a USB DAC and don't care about the amp, get the HRT MusicStreamer II+. It's cheaper than the Glacier and sounds considerably better.
If you want a portable headphone amp and don't care about the DAC, I'm sure there's got to be something as good as the Apex Glacier without a DAC in it. Don't spend the $450 for it.
If you need both, I guess this is one way to go. It IS easy to stash in my bag, with or without the MusicStreamer. I'll be using it plenty in the future, but with the solid knowledge that I have better things in my possession.
:-)
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