[AJHeadfi]

Looking at the impressions already here, it seems the Herus sound quality is inline with it's retail price? Roughly double the HRT Microstreamer. ADD: AU$399.

 

[project86]

Looking at the impressions already here, it seems the Herus sound quality is inline with it's retail price? Roughly double the HRT Microstreamer. ADD: AU$399.

I personally prefer it to the Microstreamer, the Dragonfly, the Explorer, and a few other tiny things which I can't recall at the moment. Definitely worth the dough IMHO. It sounds like a good desktop unit, when used within the scope of its capabilities (ie no really difficult cans).

 

[AJHeadfi]

Thanks project86, I expected it to be as good or better than it's rivals, but experience is needed to reveal.
 
How does it fair with 44/16?
 
All the high resolution decoding is fine and dandy but everything I get is published in ol'redbook.

 

[LFC_SL]

//farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/11007340555_b3258a87bf.jpg

Spent 1-hour at Custom-Cable this morning.

Class -dB + Pico Power rig the best sound quality for me. Clean black background. Best definition, separation , bass hits hardest and tightest and silky smooth vocals.

AK120 quite thick and heavy in comparison. Somewhat congested. Pico Power improved things and can see how RWA make money but IMO better value elsewhere

Herus played great with my new 128GB rMini. Stock sound not as wide or controlled as -dB combo. Thought vocals were more forward. But giving time to adjust it was great sounding and frankly preferred it to the AK120.

When pairing Pico Power to Herus sound was more balanced. Bass less heavy and tighter. Vocals more air.

So -dB rig the best but not at all three times as good as Herus when looking at price comparison. I think Herus is a buy

 

[Warpkitty]

Herus looks nice. Here's an OTG cable I found for a few bucks:
 
http://dx.com/p/micro-usb-male-to-usb-b-male-otg-data-cable-black-25cm-233994?tc=CAD&gclid=CL_Ut-TygLsCFYY1QgodN1sAng
 
Any reason why it might not work with a Galaxy S3?

 

[Wfojas]

Having a ton of fun reading your impressions. 
Has anyone had the chance to compare the Herus with a Concero HP (or Concero HD, which is really what I'd like, but I understand that the absence of an amp will add the amp factor into the comparison, further mucking up the comparison?). I'm really leaning towards the HD and a Schiit Loki, but was wondering if the Herus would be enough to drive an HD800.

 

[jexby]

  I'm really leaning towards the HD and a Schiit Loki, but was wondering if the Herus would be enough to drive an HD800.

 
I can't answer your Herus question, but that little device appears to have made ears happy already based on an RMAF "best sound award" (computer audiophile?) and some tweets I've read.
alas, haven't had the $ to spring for a Herus yet as the price + $36 airmail into USA is steep.
 
also, uh- you don't need a Loki (DAC) if you already have/want a Concero HD (DAC).
 
what I will say is:
with my HE-500 and Concero HD + Lyr (+ Ediswan tubes) the HD has been one sweet, small piece of refined delivering DAC.  glad I have the HD.
 
for 4 days I also paired the HE-500 + Concero HD + Vali amp and it was very close to the Lyr setup for sure!
see the Vali thread, but the Lyr with good tubes still delivers a wider sound stage, better low bass and better instrument separation.
yet equal the micro details, and midrange I'd say.
for 20% of the price, the Vali is a gem.
 
cheers!

 

[angelo898]

  Having a ton of fun reading your impressions. 
Has anyone had the chance to compare the Herus with a Concero HP (or Concero HD, which is really what I'd like, but I understand that the absence of an amp will add the amp factor into the comparison, further mucking up the comparison?). I'm really leaning towards the HD and a Schiit Loki, but was wondering if the Herus would be enough to drive an HD800.

 
might wanna think about the concero hd with a bottleneck crack with speedball/no speedball or just a concero hp if you want something small

 

[Wfojas]

Thanks for your feedback.I did intend to pair the HD with the Vali, and not the Loki for a desktop setup. I was curious to see how the Herus compared with the Concero HD for those that have been able to hear both. They are both small enough in size that it does not fall into consideration. The price difference between them the Herus and Concerro HD (or HP) is considerable. Is one worth double the price of the other (roughly speaking).

 

[angelo898]

i personally think it definitely depends on what you want out of the device. if you wish for something that can be used as a portable dac with your phone, then definitely get the herus. if you want something that is transportable, where you can bring it along with your laptop to somewhere for holiday or can afford the space of the concero hp, get that. if you can afford a full sized setup (both space wise and price wise, since you have to add in the cost of an amplifier), you might want to consider the concero hd or concero (both have their own pros and cons), the connectivity alone would help greatly since the concero hd/concero have their own dedicated sockets instead of the integrated one on the herus. if you are like me, and live in a tiny ass dorm with a distinct lack of space and wall sockets, get a concero hp and live with it because it is pretty good value for money. 
 
i am not so sure why you want to get a schiit product to drive them because they are not really well known as great amplifiers for the hd800, value for money as they are.

 

[Wfojas]

Hmm. Thats good advice. Now that I've read your combination, I may just spring for the Herus, then. I'll tell you what I find out when I set them all up!

 

[shotgunshane]

My Herus arrived yesterday but I haven't even opened it yet. I should get a chance to open it this morning and post some impressions soon.

 

[tomscy2000]

  My Herus arrived yesterday but I haven't even opened it yet. I should get a chance to open it this morning and post some impressions soon.

Look forward to hearing what you have to say!

 

[shotgunshane]

Initial thoughts and impressions:
 
Great tiny size and well made enclosure.  I like that it has a rubberized bottom for gripping whatever you place it on.  The only audio USB cable I have is a Pangea .5 meter cable.  Not sure this is a great choice for portable as it is not all that flexible.  I wanted something with some length, so I could use my iPhone to read email, web surf, etc while I listen to music.  Trying to put an iPhone in a fixed stack defeats its purpose for me.  But this USB cable's rigidness doesn't help and I end up flopping the Herus around.  Perhaps just putting an a/b adapter at the end of the CCK cable would be the way to go.
 
I've only used it with the iPhone so far- computer use will come later.  Soundwise it is quite different sounding from the iPhone 5 with iOS7.  The iPhone 5 comes across as more laid back, smoother and thinner sounding.  The Herus sounds much richer/thicker, more dynamic with bolder, harder hitting bass.  Treble is slightly more sparkly as well.  It also seems more transparent than the iPhone 5 running iOS7.  However that doesn't mean I prefer the Herus in all scenarios.
 
I really didn't care for the K3003 with the Herus.  It was too sparkly and too much bass.  I much prefer the K3003 on the iPhone.  The F111 was another story.  It sounds pretty awesome from the Herus.  The bass significantly improves and the treble sounds as good as I've heard from the F111.  Another observation is that the Herus as a standalone unit is more accurate and better sounding than the Meier Quickstep too me.  Next to the Herus, the QS sounds too bass heavy.
 
However I'm just not crazy about using the Herus with the iPhone due to the volume control.  The Herus has no volume buttons, so the volume is controlled digitally using the iPhone volume buttons.  It appears to me that the Herus volume steps are just a bit bigger jumps than the iPhone volume steps, which are already too large when using some IEMS.  Maybe it's using the same steps but just seems larger?  So finding the perfect volume is somewhat annoying, especially since you typically change volume with different songs due to mastering levels and mood. 
 
So the volume control was looking like a possible deal breaker until I used it with my Bottlehead Crack and HD600.  Just awesome.  The volume step issue here is negated by turning it all the way up on the iPhone and controlling via the Crack.  In conjunction with the Crack, my HD600 is more dynamic with a bit better bass slam; and the big plus is the final bit of treble sparkle I felt was missing when just using the iPhone or iPad directly into the Crack. The Herus>Crack set up looks to be keeper for me.
 
I'm not sure if I'm going to keep pursuing a portable set up, as I'm just very happy using my IEMS and the iPhone with iOS7.  I might try the AK10 sometime down the road, or maybe the Leckerton 760 but for now I'll stick with the iPhone and look into a shorter a/b usb adapter to use with the CCK cable.
 
By the way, does anyone know where to pick up a lower profile 1/4 to 1/8" adapter?  Seems like I've seen pics of them that don't stick out as far.

 

[seeteeyou]

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