Reviews and impressions of HRT Headstreamer?

I don't think there are any full reviews, more like impressions and odd comparisons to other products. I've been looking for more comments about them as well. There are some issues with it on Windows and Foobar that are not yet resolved, but I don't know of any with Macs.

Also consider the CEntrance DACPort, Audioengine D1, iBasso D7, nuforce uDAC-2SE, and Calyx Coffee. They should all be interesting compact products that run directly off USB power as well.

I'm the guy with the FooBar + Asio issues with the Headstreamer and they are pretty much ironed out by now. And just for kicks I bought the K701, I'll report back how they sound together 

Edit: And we're having a local meet-up this weekend where I'll get the chance to A/B test the HeadStreamer up against the D7 among other things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sorensiim 

I'm the guy with the FooBar + Asio issues with the Headstreamer and they are pretty much ironed out by now. And just for kicks I bought the K701, I'll report back how they sound together 

 

Edit: And we're having a local meet-up this weekend where I'll get the chance to A/B test the HeadStreamer up against the D7 among other things.

Any update?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nullstring 

Any update?

Just from my waning memory - The D7 is darker sounding with a more enclosed soundscape than the HeadStreamer. Output power is about the same, both of them will make the K701 play music, none of them will power them adequately. I preferred the sound from the HeadStreamer over that from the D7, but the D7 has a proper volume knob and a line out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sorensiim 

Just from my waning memory - The D7 is darker sounding with a more enclosed soundscape than the HeadStreamer. Output power is about the same, both of them will make the K701 play music, none of them will power them adequately. I preferred the sound from the HeadStreamer over that from the D7, but the D7 has a proper volume knob and a line out.

But it sounds like you can't objectively say the D7 sounds worse?

Decisions, decisions.

Thanks for the reply!

Haven't done a lot of comparing, but I really like the HeadStreamer.  It's tiny, easy to set up, and sounds pretty damn good to my ears (especially with higher rez files).  I've not done much on setup to tweak it, just pretty much plug it in and select the correct device in Foobar.

anybody got this work work with an iPad via the camera connection kit (cck)? Im guessing there may be a problem with 'self' powered usb bus... that seems to be the issue with iPad and ckk

I will get one to compare to the Audioengine D1 which I like a lot.

Have you already compared the Headstreamer to the D1? I'm considering both as my next purchase.

I may be wrong but as far as I know the D1 has a better DAC, and the line out and S/PDIF in are a huge plus.

From what I've read the D1 uses adaptive USB mode and the Headstreamer uses asynchronous mode, but from the manufacturers specifications the D1 has a TI1020B USB controller and the Headstreamer has a TI TAS1020B controller, are they the same?

I only plan on gaming and listening to music through my computer, no editing, mixing or recording. Would the asynchronous mode bring any benefit?

And what about the Headstreamer vs Music Streamer II with a <$50 headphone amp?

I really can't decide yet and I don't have any way of testing any of the products I mentioned here in Portugal.

I'm currently using my iPod's IEMs but planning on buying a pair of AKG K412P.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I received the HeadStreamer today.  Breaking it in overnight.  Will report back as soon as I get some head time with it.

Nice. My decision between both will be based mostly on your opinion since I can't find anything relevant in their reviews that stands out. Can't wait for your comparison.

initial impressions is that the sound is more musical than the D1 through the Focal Spirit One headphones.  Have to do some side by side to truly know if what I'm hearing right now is true.

I've enjoyed my headstreamer and I don't think it can be beat for the price of a dac and amp. I compared (short term) against the Micromega MyDAC ($367) and MF V-Can II ($199) and while I could hear a difference, it wasn't as much as I would have expected. The more expensive combo had better separation and smoother and more powerful bass, but it did take some critical listening to decide. You definitely get a bigger upgrade going from laptop sound to the Headstreamer than from the headstreamer up to the next price point in products. It is also very portable which is nice if you do any traveling. I think the amp is the weak link and I wish it had a line out jack so I could upgrade the amp without also needing to upgrade the dac. The amp isn't "bad" and gives more than enough volume, but it falls short of every other desktop amp I've demoed (not many) in terms of bass power and overall smoothness.
 

I got my Headstreamer used but like new, anyways I tried a/b ing my Macbook with and without but it was difficult because there is time in between and my memory isn't great. Luckily, my Macbook was buggy one evening and seemed to switch from the HRT and its own dac sometimes making a aweful noise in the process but it really  made it easy to hear the improvement the Headstreamer made and it was very impressive, it was exactly like when your ears pop from pressure and suddenly you can hear way more detail, volume and bigger sound stage. I was surprised  at the differance and how hard it was to tell before a/b ing because it really was a huge improvement. Amazing how some chips can make such a differance. oh and I haven't had any problems with my Mac being buggy since so thats not an issue.