NuForce DDA120 Powerful Integrated Digital Amp with BTR1 Bluetooth Receiver Dongle Included (Black)

I have been a serious listener of recorded music for decades. I have had a number of serious, mid- to (lower) high-end audio systems. I am also an analog engineer by profession, so I understand audio electronics well. About 4 years ago I divested myself of all of my analog audio equipment and replaced it with digital amplifiers. My main listening system since then has been a Wadia 151 PowerDAC driving Axiom M60 speakers, which I have been extremely pleased with. I also bought a NuForce ICON 2 and Axiom M22 speakers for my computer sound. I have been delighted by the little NuForce amp. Recently, I decided to extend my listening options to my bedroom, where I put the Wadia 151 on a pair of Paradigm Studio speakers. So, I was in the market for another amplifier to pair with the M60s in my living room. At first I looked at purchasing another Wadia, but then became aware of the new Optoma NuForce DDA120 amplifier, which has just become available as a successor to the DDA100. These amplifiers are fully digital, with the digital-to-analog conversion happening at the speaker terminals (That is, they are PowerDAC architecture). The reviews of the DDA100 were impressive, and the DDA120 promised to be even better. I decided to give it a try. I received my NuForce DDA120 about 2 weeks ago, and I have been putting it through its paces, as well as just enjoying my music (classical and jazz, with a strong emphasis on grand piano and classical guitar). I am delighted with the DDA120 amplifier, and can say that it plays extremely well in my listening system. It is transparent and effortless. The listening experience is entirely dominated by the quality of the source material. When the source is superb, the DDA120 does not let it down. I have verified all of the inputs - USB, TOSLink (optical), S/PDIF (coax), and analog (RCA). All have worked flawlessly. The only "quirk" is that there is a slight (about 5 second) delay when first connecting one of the digital inputs before the sound is heard. Apparently, this is time taken to synchronize the clocks and lock it in with the jitter elimination function. I was concerned that this would make it difficult to lip-sync with a TV, but there does not appear to be any noticeable latency. There is just the 5 second lock-up period when a signal is first connected to a digital input. The NuForce DDA120 is very light, but nicely built. It also runs only very slightly warm (not even approaching hot), even after hours of listening. The design is understated and uncluttered. Even though the red LED display is not overwhelming, it is nice that it can be set to only light for a few seconds whenever any control signal is received, either by front knob, or from the remote control. The DDA120 also comes with a "dongle" receiver, a little bigger than a USB thumb drive, which enables BlueTooth aptX and AAC. I have verified that this receiver works, and was trivial to get setup. However, I don't use BT to stream audio. Instead I use direct optical, USB, and optically coupled AirPlay (from Apple TV). So, the BT receiver was not an important factor for me. I love the supplied little IR remote control. It is the smallest remote I have ever had for any equipment. The only negative is that it is hard to keep up with. It is truly tiny! But it works perfectly. So, the bottom line is that I am extremely pleased with my purchase of the NuForce DDA120 digital audio amplifier. It has taken up a key function in my music system, and is doing exactly what I got it for. I make no claims to golden-eared audiophile status. But, I am a critical listener with good ears and a love of music. I am not disappointed in the Optoma NuForce DDA120, and would happily recommend it.

Unit failed just out of warranty. Unable to get a response from customer support. Unit was gently used and not abused. Sound quality was good while it worked. Expensive for a unit with this short of a life. I have HIFI gear from the 70s that’s still going strong.

Not a super fan of NuForce any more. I have been a loyal customer of theirs for quite some time. At first glance this was exactly what I was looking for. Small discrete integrated amp that could drive some respectable power into a pair of 8-ohm speakers. I ordered this product new but it seemed to have been handled before me. Fingerprints all over the enclosure, and the plastic wrap was not professionally done. If this was a customer return that was resold as new that is not cool. I figured I had in unboxed so lets give it a go with my normal setup. I set everything up. I was pairing this with some Klipsch 8-ohm speakers and a Mac Mini with plain old iTunes content. I usually employ apps like Audirvana to interface directly with the DAC but I figured that can wait until later. Everything was setup exactly as I had setup my other NuForce products (uDACs and an Icon DAC). Audio would work over USB then after a few seconds it would cut out. iTunes thought content was playing but nothing was coming out of the AMP. I did as much diagnosing as I could (swapped USB cables, swapped USB ports, added USB hub) nothing worked. I finally dug out an old toslink cable and set it up. Finally, music was working! And to be honest it sound quite nice. I emailed Optoma support about the packaging issues and USB issues. Heard nothing back. Maybe it is because their website is horrid to navigate? Anyway after a few days of testing it out with toslink the lack of USB DAC support was a real deal breaker. I have a bunch of high bitrate content that you just cant drive over toslink. Other comments 1. The display is kinda ugly and really hard to read unless you are looking straight at it. 2. Remote is crap, but I wasn't going to use it anyway - I just need it to learn the iR codes. 3. While the amp was able to drive 8ohms, some of my quieter vinyl recordings were not as loud as I would have liked. And normal level recordings I had the volume set to mid 80s to low 90s and I do not like driving amps at that level for long durations. After no response from Optoma (sorry I only give you one chance for support) I returned the product in favor of an Adcom GIA 275 which I have yet to receive. Although I have high hopes.

Needed a spare amp to power my outdoor speakers covering my back patio. I went with this for the small size, Bluetooth dongle and the price. I'm familiar with digital amplification through my experiences with B&O and my current 'main' system Wyred 4 Sound. Nice packaging and amp felt good in hand. However, after set-up I found that the volume control did not turn smoothly. Poor workmanship when assembled or no QC when item was boxed. I guess I got a lemon. It did sound good when source was CDs. Had to turn it up to # 90 on the volume to hear my music well. When source was the Bluetooth I had to turn it way up to # 95 to hear anything but was still under powered. Anyways. Not enough power for my listening needs! This amp would be better suited for a desktop or small room setting. Can't go wrong with the price! Sent back and bought the NAD 3020 which will arrive soon. Cost extra 100 bucks but I'm hoping I'll get more power for my needs.

I want to give this little gem five solid stars and even though it performs perfectly for my needs, there are perhaps a couple of small areas that could do with improvement. It's tiny, elegant form factor belies a wealth of functionality and power all of which is immediately easy to use and my gosh does it sound good. It sounds REALLY good. For the price tag, I'm astonished by its smoothness, level of clarity and ability to drive my admittedly sensitive but rather large Klipsch RF-82 II's. I was initially worried the amp might struggle, but after 5 months of daily use, it's plenty able. The amp is mostly for music running off a dedicated HTPC connected via optical cable. A Bluetooth dongle is included which makes broadcasting music directly to the amp a breeze, perfect for when you want to play audio from you or your friends phone. The only area where this amp suffers is in its remote control and general control wheel. The remote control is cheap, there's no denying it. It's the kind of remote control you get with a $5 set of badly made LED lights. It's surprising given the attention to detail elsewhere. It's range is poor and I must be honest I gave up on it after 5 minutes and now only use the control wheel on the amp. The wheel is better, push it in and hold to turn it on and off, click it to change inputs. The amp will remember your last selected input, so you don't have to rotate when you turn it on. The wheel can be temperamental especially if you often switch inputs. Overall, I couldn't be happier. I say that, because I don't believe you can get the level of connectivity, sound reproduction and compatibility in any other device at this price point. At this moment in time, I think you'd have to up your budget significantly to better the sound offered by the NuForce DDA120 and I'd rather put up with the slightly lacking control for such a performance.

I've been bitten by the stereo bug since the 80's. Recently, there have been a lot of things going on in the house that kept me from spending anytime listening. I wanted to build a cheap but good secondary sound system for the bedroom. I bought the DDA 120 for that purpose and based on the reviews and the price drop. When I got it a month ago, I decided to use it to break it in and have a feel of the sound using my main system in the living room, listening late at nights. My main speakers are the Ambience Speakers Super Slim 1800 SE from down under augmented by Janis 12 inch subwoofer, driven by a Quicksilver GLA tube amp, with an Emotiva DAC 1 as my preamp/dac. Cables were either from XLO, Striaghtwire, Synergistic Research, Signal Cable and Tara Labs (some of these cables are more expensive than the DDA 120). Being that the DDA 120 is like a DAC amplifier, I have no use for my cables except the speakers cables and the power amplifier (Synergistic Research speaker cables and Signal Cable Digital Power Cable). Initially, I used the generic power cable provided with the DDA 120. After a week's break-in listening at low volumes late nights, I decided it was good, but not great, but good enough for the secondary system in the bedroom for the future. Then I remembered the Signal Cable Digital Power Cable and replaced the generic cable with it. Oh my.... I was floored. I am keeping this thing in the main system. I have decided to buy me the ELAC B6 for the bedroom and moving my tube amp, preamp/dac and sub to drive it. I am keeping this tiny little DDA 120 driving 6 feet tall Ambience speakers worth a little less than 10k. I didn't think it was going to be that good. But it is definitely that good. All the things you listen for are done with astonishing speed, clarity and musicality. Do yourself a favor and replace that generic power cable with a really good one and see if the transformation does not floor you as it did me. Order the Signal Cable Digital Power Cable, not cheap but not that expensive and see the difference.Try it, I know you'll love it. 5 stars because they limit it to only 5 stars...

As others have noted below, I bought this unit a few years ago and worked well until the power supply board failed, and might I say with very light use and taking care of it. I called product support, but all they indicated that it was out of warranty and just stopped contacting me. I asked if I can just pay to receive another power supply and they just didn't respond. I've had amps and pre-amps for years and they still work, but not this product. Consider yourselves warned. Don't buy any of their products.

I really wanted to like this amp, it's a shame I can't leave positive feedback. Background - I've built, restored and worked with amps for 30+ years, and I have a sizable collection of class A/AB/D amps. Pro's, one star for each positive feature: - Build Quality: Absolutely fantastic. The DDA 120 is very well made and packaged, really nicely done - Design: I love the design, smooth and solid; the multifunction button and retro display are a wonderful touch even though YMMV. - Feature Sets: Coax, optical, Bluietooth, USB and RCA inputs - just about any input you could hope for with the exception of XLR, also very impressive. Con's, I will deduct two stars for sound quality: - Coax input didn't work - the unit must have been defective, since my Coax output works. - Sound Quality: Shrill, sterile and flat sound; I have 40 Dollar chip amps that sound better than the DDA 120. Bottom Line: There's a WhatHifi review out there which describes the amp perfectly: Wonderful execution in terms of design and quality, but the sound is severely lacking. It's been a long time since an amp actually gave me a headache, and this amp managed to do just that. The high and midrange is over-emphasized, which makes this amp very shrill and dry sounding. The low end sounds frail and forced, there is no real bass, which is actually normal for a chip amp, but is emphasized by the shrill sounding high- and mid-range. Speaker sensitivity wasn't an issue, I tried speakers ranging from 86 to 92db, and the result was the same. It's a darn shame that such a quality piece in terms of design and build quality sounds so terrible, but unfortunately this amp lacks severely where it matters most - Sound Quality.

Excellent product...!