Snow Series: From Sound to System
Expanding beyond in-ear monitors, AFUL introduced its portable DAC/AMP lineup with the Snow Series, bringing its tuning philosophy to the source stage.
Inspired by the natural evolution of snow under extreme conditions, the series reflects a progression from clarity → immersion → stability, shaping a more complete portable listening system.
2023 – SnowyNight: SnowyNight marked AFUL’s entry into portable decoding, earning praise for its “smooth, musical, and fatigue-free listening experience,” with a quiet background and immersive presentation.
2026 – ICEBORNE: ICEBORNE is the flagship of the Snow Series, evolved from SnowyNight.
Positioned as a high-end portable DAC/AMP, it delivers player-class sound in a compact form, with enhanced resolution, dynamics, and stability.
Inspired by the transformation of snow into solid ice, ICEBORNE reflects strength, stability, and a sense of foundation. It is not just a DAC/AMP, but the core of a complete portable audio system.
Key Selling Points
Where Garden Lattices Meet High Fidelity
“Hiding rhythm in form, hiding sound in the core.”
This is not just another portable DAC/AMP that simply piles up technical parameters.
The ICEBORNE uses Suzhou garden window lattices as its design and a hand-crafted resin body as its chassis. It uses the “slow kung fu” of circuit tuning to counter the industry’s fast pace. Every texture and every polishing session is a devout response to the “acoustic cornerstone.”
Suzhou-style Resin Body: A Craftsmanship Journey
Why give up metal?
Metal is cold, conductive, and prone to static electricity. We wanted a shell that feels warm and can “breathe.”
This led to the creation of the window-lattice body, made via high-precision 3D printing and finished entirely by hand:
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Design Inspiration: Inspired by the “ice crack patterns” of traditional Suzhou window lattices. Every ridge is a visual metaphor for sound—combining strength with softness, and density with elegance.
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One-Piece Molding: High-precision 3D printing ensures every three-dimensional detail is visible.
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Manual Cleaning: Supports and residual powder are removed piece by piece to retain a delicate, native touch.
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Manual Assembly: The circuit board and shell are fitted together seamlessly, merging with the resin.
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Fine Polishing: Four grades of sandpaper are used manually to achieve an extreme polish.
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German Skin-Friendly Varnish: Hand-brushed and low-temperature cured for a silky, warm grip.
Benefits
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No cold touch in winter; no static electricity issues.
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Lightweight design for easy portability.
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Each unit bears subtle manual marks—evidence of the craftsman’s dialogue with time.
Note: Slight manual marks may exist at the plug interface; this is a normal part of the process and does not affect performance.
USB Lossless Transmission
Traditional USB audio often suffers from packet loss, jitter, and delay. ICEBORNE optimizes hardware buffers and clock synchronization protocols to achieve:
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Software and Hardware Improvements: Optimized signal transmission for increased accuracy and speed.
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Reduced Delay: Significantly improves the “data packet loss” and “data delay” found in traditional USB transmission.
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Superior Signal Quality: Quality far exceeds ordinary USB, nearing the performance of optical or coaxial transmission.
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Enhanced Resolution: Significant improvement in high-frequency resolution and soundstage scale.
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6N Single Crystal Copper Silver-Plated Wiring: Significantly improves signal conductivity and power quality.
Dual-Core Tuning
While THD+N < 0.00037% is impressive, numbers are only the surface. True purity comes from stage-by-stage suppression of power ripples, precise segmentation of ground loops, and manual calibration of thermal noise.
ICEBORNE’s noise floor is as low as 1μV (3.5mm) / 1.5μV (4.4mm). Even with the most sensitive electrostatic IEMs, you will only hear the music, not the circuit.
Plug-and-Play: Multi-System and Multi-Interface Compatible
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300mW Output Power (4.4mm): Effortlessly drives everything from high-sensitivity IEMs to high-impedance over-ear headphones
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PCM 768kHz / DSD256: Supports all audio formats
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3.5mm Single-Ended + 4.4mm Balanced: Dual interfaces for instant plug-and-play convenience
Technical Specifications
Feature
Specification
Model
AFUL ICEBORNE
DAC Chip
CS43198 × 2
Decoder (DAC) Dimensions
54mm (L) × 14mm (W) × 22mm (H)
Cable Length
16cm
Net Weight With Cable
25.7g
Headphone Ports
3.5mm Single-ended + 4.4mm Balanced
THD+N
<0.00037%
Output Level
2Vrms (3.5mm) / 4Vrms (4.4mm)
Max Power
140mW @ 16Ω (3.5mm) / 300mW @ 16Ω (4.4mm)
USB Spec
Type-C, USB 2.0
SNR
125dB (3.5mm) / 130dB (4.4mm)
Freq. Response
20Hz - 20kHz
Noise Floor
1μV (3.5mm) / 1.5μV (4.4mm)
Formats
PCM 32-bit/768kHz; DSD256
Driver Download
Comparison & Positioning
Why choose ICEBORNE
vs Entry-Level DAPs
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More portable and convenient for daily use
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Delivers comparable or even better sound performance in real-world setups
vs Traditional Dongles
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More stable sound presentation
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Fuller, more complete audio performance
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Avoids the thin and flat sound often found in typical dongles
Use Case
Who is it for
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Smartphone users looking for a serious audio upgrade
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IEM users stepping into higher-level setups
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Daily commuting and portable listening
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Desktop “Light HiFi” setups
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Replacing bulky traditional audio gear