[eccom]

Hifipig also reviewed a pair of sticks that you Velcro in the vicinity of your cables to get sound improvements.... Personally not a site I trust, but as always YMMV

 

[EtymoticFtW]

I've had my Herus about a week and really enjoy the sound from it. Sourced from my MacBook and PureMusic or iPhone and Onkyo HF player it sounds very clean and balanced. I had one problem with a cheap shorty USB which caused the Herus to shutdown but it's been real reliable with an audioquest cable. And I've been pleased with the efficiency, meaning from my iphone I can run full size headphones for over 3 hours (and it's an old iPhone 4S). Oh, and per the earlier comment on hiss I do not hear any hiss with my ety ER4S. Once I heard a faint clicking, but I paused and restarted the song and it went away. Great product I think.
I did seriously consider the sony PHA2 but at its price I might just wait and get a NW-ZX1 next year when they come to US.
Thanks for reading this far. Rock on.

 

[shotgunshane]

Some very brief Herus and UHA760 thoughts (the 760 is brand new and I've only got a couple of hours with it) using an iPhone 5>CCK>USB>DAC/amp:

The Herus sounds more dynamic and bigger in size than the 760, with a little bit better deep bass.
The 760 sounds more laid back and smoother to me; doesn't quite have the sparkle of the Herus.
The 760 has a slightly blacker background.
Both are closer to each other than either one to the Meier Quickstep, which sounds overall warmer, darker and bassier.

While the Herus wins in form factor and minimalist approach, the 760's digital volume pot and 3 setting gain stage are just simply awesome with IEMs and is worth the price of admission for those reasons alone.

With most of my IEM collection, I really enjoy the Herus dynamics, power and soundstage but the 760 seems the better match with the JH13- I enjoy the smoother treble from it. I think I'll keep both and call it a day with portable amps.

 

[project86]

  Some very brief Herus and UHA760 thoughts (the 760 is brand new and I've only got a couple of hours with it) using an iPhone 5>CCK>USB>DAC/amp:

The Herus sounds more dynamic and bigger in size than the 760, with a little bit better deep bass.
The 760 sounds more laid back and smoother to me; doesn't quite have the sparkle of the Herus.
The 760 has a slightly blacker background.
Both are closer to each other than either one to the Meier Quickstep, which sounds overall warmer, darker and bassier.

While the Herus wins in form factor and minimalist approach, the 760's digital volume pot and 3 setting gain stage are just simply awesome with IEMs and is worth the price of admission for those reasons alone.

With most of my IEM collection, I really enjoy the Herus dynamics, power and soundstage but the 760 seems the better match with the JH13- I enjoy the smoother treble from it. I'm think I'll keep both and call it a day with portable amps.

 
Nice, thanks for the info.

 

[jexby]

Thanks for all these recent reviews/findings/pairings!
Glad some folks are getting Herus in hand to try out.
 
My Herus will arrive next week I hope.  Planned connectivity to:  iPhone 5S, iPad mini  and Macbook.
headphones:  Westone UM3X, Shure SE215, HD600, SRH840.
cable:  Wireworld Starlight USB 0.5m
 
I'm believing/hoping the music itself will sound rather grand through the Herus,
but am slightly concerned about battery drainage of my iPhone/iPad when hooked up for late night listening and dozing off....

 

[EtymoticFtW]

I'm no expert, but I've been told if you offload amplification to a basic amp (FiiO or HeadRoom or...) that'll help the iPhone last longer. I've noticed that myself with my IEMs but I dunno if it's true now that I have a Herus in the middle. And it's one more cable, so it's plus-dorky.

 

[burnspbesq]

Obviously it's not a portable rig, but Herus into Vali is pretty special.

 

[jexby]

  Obviously it's not a portable rig, but Herus into Vali is pretty special.

 
wow, my Herus just arrived so I happen to have these exact two pieces here on my desk with HD600.
did you make your own cable for Herus into Vali?  or purchase one from ?
what volume level did you set Herus at to get 2V into Vali?
 
so far just A/B ing  BifrostUber + Vali vs. Herus (solo).   using macbook pro + Audirvana, alternative and rock tracks of 24/96 and 24/192-
Very surprised how close the Herus can be at times to the Schiit combo.    But in quick tests in last hour, the Schiit stack has a tad wider and taller soundstage, and that more tube (natural) music presence.  bass was also deeper and a bit tighter on Schiit stack most times.
 
with Herus on iPhone 5S, found I really needed to crank iPhone up to 80% to get a decent listening level in the HD600.
not really a "bad statement" per se, as I won't have HD600 in my pocket when traveling around.
 
Westone UM3X and Shure SE215 should be no problem to drive from iPhone + Herus.  will try that later tonight.

 

[burnspbesq]

   
wow, my Herus just arrived so I happen to have these exact two pieces here on my desk with HD600.
did you make your own cable for Herus into Vali?  or purchase one from ?
what volume level did you set Herus at to get 2V into Vali?
 
so far just A/B ing  BifrostUber + Vali vs. Herus (solo).   using macbook pro + Audirvana, alternative and rock tracks of 24/96 and 24/192-
Very surprised how close the Herus can be at times to the Schiit combo.    But in quick tests in last hour, the Schiit stack has a tad wider and taller soundstage, and that more tube (natural) music presence.  bass was also deeper and a bit tighter on Schiit stack most times.
 
with Herus on iPhone 5S, found I really needed to crank iPhone up to 80% to get a decent listening level in the HD600.
not really a "bad statement" per se, as I won't have HD600 in my pocket when traveling around.
 
Westone UM3X and Shure SE215 should be no problem to drive from iPhone + Herus.  will try that later tonight.

I had an old Audioquest 3.5 mm to RCA cable around, and plugged the 3.5 into the adaptor that came with my UERM.
 
I left the volume control on Amarra maxed out, and I'm getting plenty of volume with the Vali between 8 and 9 o'clock. At 10 o'clock it's LOUD.
 
I use the Herus with iPad and UERM without a separate amp, and the Herus delivers the goods dynamically.

 

[shotgunshane]

When using the Herus, by itself, with the iPhone, I find myself needing to move the volume up pretty high on the stock player to get acceptable volume level.  Then it subsequently jumps to very (too) loud levels with each volume step.  This is my biggest complaint with the Herus.  However I've found a very nice iOS music player that solves this issue for me with true decibel volume control- CanOpener.
 
I had already planned to write a review of CanOpener for Cymbacavum but after acquiring the Herus, I've become very dependent on it.  It lets you adjust volume from -72dB all the way to 0 in 1dB increments, for very fine volume control, plus it has some other usable features too. The review just published, so I thought I'd share the link if anyone, especially Herus owners, are interested: http://cymbacavum.com/2013/12/22/in-the-app-store-canopener/

 

[tninety]

Could the ESS9010 be replaced with a 9018 in the same package?

 

[project86]

  Could the ESS9010 be replaced with a 9018 in the same package?

 
No way. The ES9010-2M is from their new line of DACs, which are way smaller in size and have far lower power requirements. The ES9018 would never fit in this application and draws too much juice as well. 

 

[tninety]

   
No way. The ES9010-2M is from their new line of DACs, which are way smaller in size and have far lower power requirements. The ES9018 would never fit in this application and draws too much juice as well. 

I meant the ES9018K2M. Same package size. Better SNR and THD.

 

[project86]

  I meant the ES9018K2M. Same package size. Better SNR and THD.

 

 
Oh, I see. If I recall correctly the ES9010K2M has simplified power supply requirements. I'd have to look at the block diagrams in the data sheets to refresh my memory.... which frankly I'm too lazy to do at the moment. 

 

[tninety]

   

 
Oh, I see. If I recall correctly the ES9010K2M has simplified power supply requirements. I'd have to look at the block diagrams in the data sheets to refresh my memory.... which frankly I'm too lazy to do at the moment. 

Looks like the ES9016K2M and 9018K2M need separate independent power supplies for the oscillator and the DAC, while the ES9010K2M just needs voltage in the main power supply. Guess there's a reason that they used the 9010K2M instead of the latter two, especially since the price difference between them isn't very big considering the $350 price on the whole DAC.