Impressions/Opinions on HRT Music Streamer II + needed - Page 3

I think it is any 88.2k stream. I guess I was just lucky in getting some older stock.

Well, I have decided to return the HRT. While it is certainly more transparent and dimensional than the Duet, I can't give up the midrange and overall analog sound of the Apogee. I put the SAA Equinox cable back on the Sennheisers and it is a great synergy with the Duet. I have decided to save my money for what I really want, a Wavelength Audio Proton or Brick.

I was trying to talk myself into liking it better, but it just isn't my sonic flavor.

It's definitely more resolving, that's not the issue for me. The soundstage was more distinct with a greater sense of depth as well. I just thought is was too clinical and sounded less like music than the Duet. Hard to put into words.

I just got mine from amazon a couple of days ago and I love it so far.  The set up was painless.

Though after seeing comments on here and looking at their website (procrastinating) I noticed some comment about having to have firmware v1.5 in order to do a firmware update - otherwise you need a new chip.  So out of curiosity I looked up what version I had and it's 1.4.  Apparently, the latest version is at least 1.5 and I got got mine new a few days ago so I was surprised mine has older software on it.  I realize it is not effecting me and I have no issues but if they were to send out an important update I wouldn't be able to do it.  Not sure what to think...

actually it turns out I may be upgrading soon anyway. I just noticed this on an off-site review:

Our soon-to-be-released Music Streamer HD will initially support audio data rates of up to 192kS/s but with a planned future firmware upgrade would support up to 384kS/s.

but this also stuck out to me because of this thread:

Budget-conscious readers should be pleased to know that even the $149.95 HRT Streamer II benefits from the same low-jitter USB transfer protocol as the rather more expensive asynchronous USB DACs from Ayre, dCS and Wavelength Audio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tme110 

Budget-conscious readers should be pleased to know that even the $149.95 HRT Streamer II benefits from the same low-jitter USB transfer protocol as the rather more expensive asynchronous USB DACs from Ayre, dCS and Wavelength Audio.

At the risk of being a nitpicker (I own the MSII and enjoy it very much):

- yes, all of the products mentioned in your quote employ asynch USB

BUT

- Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio wrote the asych USB code licensed by the other guys, but Kevin Halvorsen uses proprietary code in his implementation for the Streamer II. There are ongoing, ahem, discussions re the best way to deal with jitter on a number of forums and similar discussions questioning the digital audiophile's obsessions with jitter, but the important thing is that the end result sounds good.

Just as we obsess over the numbers on pieces of silicon, so it goes with anything that promises to minimise jitter. Whatever HRT are doing, I just hope they keep doing it.

Got my hrt ms2+ the other day and all I can say is wow.  I didn't realize how crappy my auzentech xfi prelude actually was until hearing the ms2+.  I'm only using a crappy cable right now and it's still miles ahead of the xfi prelude.  There was so much random noise and popping on the xfi that I finally had to upgrade.  

It makes the ad700's sound simply amazing.  Bass quality is increased in a big way.  There still isn't slam, but I can actually pick out bass lines and hear it extend down to the basement now.  I'm not sure how I feel about the ms2+ paired with my t50rp's, but they were tuned for my xfi prelude so I need to roll some felts to get better results out of them.  

For a first taste of mid-fi DAC's I can honestly say that I won't be feeling the need to upgrade my source for a while.  Until I'm able to see what this thing can milk out of better cans down the line.  Need to find a deal on some hd650's or possibly the ad900's because I love the ad700 sound so much.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by VulgarDisplay 

For a first taste of mid-fi DAC's I can honestly say that I won't be feeling the need to upgrade my source for a while.  Until I'm able to see what this thing can milk out of better cans down the line.  Need to find a deal on some hd650's or possibly the ad900's because I love the ad700 sound so much.  

As an AD900+MSII owner, I can confirm that its a smooooth ride with this combination (D4 amp). You will get more bass impact from the AD900, but its still very tight and fast - none of the sloppiness I have been grappling with on my latest acquisition. I know I have to give them time, but I keep going back to the AD900.

Quote:

Originally Posted by third_eye 

Interesting. Does this only affect native files or every 44.1 file upsampled to 88.2 in OSX?

Have a strange issue with 88.2 on Music Streamer II, fw 1.7 (not a +, I know :)) and my Win XP Pro SP3 laptop running foobar2000+ASIO plug-in+ASIO4all. There is a clicking noise during 88.2 playback which doesn't occur on 44.1/48/96 sampling frequencies. Any clues maybe?

haven't seen that one.  I know there was an issue with 88.2 on OSX and FW<1.5 but that's not you.  You already tried the whole reboot fix?  could be be the normal usb chatter that for some reason manisfests itself the most with 88.2??  (ie try unplugging all other usb stuff and try a high quality cable)

I've been looking at a bunch of dacs in this price range, and have been trying find comparisons between the Apogee Duet, the HRT Streamer II+, the Streamer Pro, and the CEntrance DacPort, among others. These all seem like excellent dacs, I'm just trying to get some impressions of the tonal signature for mating with my JH13s. 

The detailed observations and comparisons here are totally invaluable - thank you!  

Quick question to khollister - does the Apogee Duet export a balanced signal?  I know it has balanced outputs on the breakaway, but I wasn't sure if the unit itself had balanced output or if this was just splitting an unbalanced signal.

Also to Khollister and others: HeadphoneAddict did a pretty comprehensive review of the DacPort and concluded that it surpassed his Apogee Duet and even his Apogee Mini in SQ, so that might be worth looking into! 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/473473/review-more-to-come-centrance-dacport-24-96-usb-dac-amp

 I don't think he's ever tested the HRT line, so the HRT pro might put up a good fight, esp  within a fully balanced setup