[mikemercer]

Quote:

that was kind of the general feeling i'd heard about the hd, if you didn't have the ii+, or you needed balanced
as for the micro, to me, its like a whole different type product, i just never have been the portable type
the ii+ is like a bigger micro, it a similar sound, but BIGGER 
oh it more than holds up

and that says alot about Kevin Halverson's engineering.
 
I'm actually psyched to see so many Head-Fiers using the MS II, II+, and MS
when I look at their gear lists.
 
That actually speaks louder than ANY marketing ever will!!

 

[jaywillin]

Quote:

and that says alot about Kevin Halverson's engineering.
 
I'm actually psyched to see so many Head-Fiers using the MS II, II+, and MS
when I look at their gear lists.
 
That actually speaks louder than ANY marketing ever will!!

i had the meridian explorer for a couple of weeks, it did some things very good, but, the hrts  all of them , just have a naturalness,
and pace, the biggest thing the ii+ had over the explorer, was the bass, it was deeper, with good control

 

[cedou97yon]

hi,
is it useless to use microstreamer connected to an entry level home cinema amp:
yamaha rx-v373 ? :s

 

[Gilly87]

Mike, you're in LA are you not? I have the HD until next week; if you'd like, I'd be willing to meet up to give you a listen.

Yeah I gotta get on that: Checking out the HRT HD

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

hi,
is it useless to use microstreamer connected to an entry level home cinema amp:
yamaha rx-v373 ? :s

 
I owned that very receiver for a couple of years - not a fantastic option compared to a dedicated stereo amp, but hardly 'useless' unless you plan to use the headphone out. It's crap.
 
What speakers do you have connected to the Yamaha ?

 

[dnullify]

How good is the amp section in the microStreamer, compared to some portable amps (JDS C421 for example)- especially concerning IEMs?
 
has anyone done a comparison between the microStreamer and the hifimediy Sabre DAC?

 

[cedou97yon]

Quote:

 
I owned that very receiver for a couple of years - not a fantastic option compared to a dedicated stereo amp, but hardly 'useless' unless you plan to use the headphone out. It's crap.
 
What speakers do you have connected to the Yamaha ?

I mainly use it to watch moovies, and also use the headphone out a lot for moovies :s.
My speakers are the small Focal sib in 5.1 system .For now my computer is directly plugged in the receiver throught hdmi.
For music would it be a better option to use the microstreamer line out plugged in the receiver?

 

[Sorrodje]

Quote:

How good is the amp section in the microStreamer, compared to some portable amps (JDS C421 for example)- especially concerning IEMs?
 
has anyone done a comparison between the microStreamer and the hifimediy Sabre DAC?

 
I had a Hifimediy Tiny before my HRT microstreamer. IMO the mS is a far better device: real amped headphone output and far better ( lively, detailed , extended) dac. I plugged My HD800 yesterday in the mS headphone output and I can say that HD800 is by far completely listenable straight from HRT  Nevertheless I don't think HRT as dac + another SS amp or as standalone dac/amp pairs well will HD800.  IMO this Microstreamer has a good, lively musical sound but a bit dry and hot for headphones like HD800. I recently used my HRT microstreamer as dac paired with Meier Corda Jazz to drive a AKG K501 dans this combo was marvelous to my ears !
 
I will try to associate HRT microstreamer with an old OTL tube to see if HD800 can sould better with this combo. 

  

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

I mainly use it to watch moovies, and also use the headphone out a lot for moovies :s.
My speakers are the small Focal sib in 5.1 system .For now my computer is directly plugged in the receiver throught hdmi.
For music would it be a better option to use the microstreamer line out plugged in the receiver?

 
1. Of course, if you want to listen via your speakers - you have to use the line-out into your receiver : I'd suggest a Y-cable to connect to your RCA-in. 
 
2. The headphone out on the microStreamer is fine for most phones - my issue is with Windows volume control (or possibly my laptop, but I had no problem with Linux). IMO, a digital control prone to a misplaced swipe on my laptop trackpad is just plain dangerous, so I plug a headphone amp into the line-out.  

 

[cedou97yon]

Quote:

 
1. Of course, if you want to listen via your speakers - you have to use the line-out into your receiver : I'd suggest a Y-cable to connect to your RCA-in. 
 
2. The headphone out on the microStreamer is fine for most phones - my issue is with Windows volume control (or possibly my laptop, but I had no problem with Linux). IMO, a digital control prone to a misplaced swipe on my laptop trackpad is just plain dangerous, so I plug a headphone amp into the line-out.  

thanks for your advice

 

[dnullify]

Quote:

 
I had a Hifimediy Tiny before my HRT microstreamer. IMO the mS is a far better device: real amped headphone output and far better ( lively, detailed , extended) dac. I plugged My HD800 yesterday in the mS headphone output and I can say that HD800 is by far completely listenable straight from HRT  Nevertheless I don't think HRT as dac + another SS amp or as standalone dac/amp pairs well will HD800.  IMO this Microstreamer has a good, lively musical sound but a bit dry and hot for headphones like HD800. I recently used my HRT microstreamer as dac paired with Meier Corda Jazz to drive a AKG K501 dans this combo was marvelous to my ears !
 
I will try to associate HRT microstreamer with an old OTL tube to see if HD800 can sould better with this combo. 

  

I'm always going for transparent, and if it's even close to the jds c421, it's good enough for me. I'm mostly concerned with how good it can be - being how small it is.
I'm assuming by the sensitivity and output measurements it's pretty silent as far as IEMs go, can anyone verify that? I've read that it drives LCD3s, and HD800s and such big phones, i'm a little worried that it'd be too powerful from the headphone out to use with my IEMs.
 
Since it doesn't appear to have gain settings, if i end up hooking my battery powered amp to it's line out then i might as well get the Hifimediy sabre at 1/3 the cost, right?

 

[Gilly87]

I have both, and I prefer the uS, albeit not by leaps and bounds; it's certainly a fair fight. The uS has a cleaner sound overall with a bit more detail and a slightly wider soundstage. Overall they are different flavors, though; the Sabre DAC is warmer and bassier, whereas the uS HP out is brighter and might sound a bit thin to some people. I like the uS because I tend to prefer warmer, slightly bassy headphones, and having a brighter source balances them out a bit.
 
I used the Sabre with a cheaper amp and overall I think it is an amazing budget source for the price, and it would probably pair well with your C421; I actually intended to buy a C421 for mine before spotting the uS. It will definitely be a noticeable upgrade from iPod SQ. Seems like you're using mostly IEMs so the extra bit of soundstage might not matter as much. For the $130 price difference, give the Sabre a shot; if it doesn't tickle your muffin, it's only $50 lost, and you can have it for when you want a different sound than the uS! And who knows, it might just save you $130.
 
One quick thing: if you get the Sabre, I'd recommend getting a USB extension cable, and maybe securing it to your PC with velcro or something similar (I use superlock fasteners from ratshack for mine)  because the cable on mine started cutting in and out after I let it flop around next to my laptop for a couple of months. A 6-inch extension should do the trick, just to keep from wearing on the Sabre's strain reliefs unnecessarily.
 
 
 
Quote:

How good is the amp section in the microStreamer, compared to some portable amps (JDS C421 for example)- especially concerning IEMs?
 
has anyone done a comparison between the microStreamer and the hifimediy Sabre DAC?

 

[jarrett]

How do you control the volume on the mS? I use jriver and there are a few settings to choose from:
 
System Volume
System Volume controls the master volume of the entire system. It is equivalent to clicking the volume system icon and adjusting the slider.
 
Application Volume
Application Volume controls the volume of only Media Center. This requires Windows Vista and newer. It is not recommended for the best sound quality because it adds another volume layer.
 
Disabled Volume
Disabled Volume disables any volume controls. This mode is useful if you send audio to an external device with a hardware volume, and you want to avoid the complexity of two volumes.
 
Internal Volume
Internal Volume applies volume inside the 64bit JRiver audio engine. This is the highest quality possible software volume.
Internal Volume is useful in cases when hardware does not offer a volume, which is common with high-end sound cards and DACs.
As with any audio processing, Internal Volume does not work when bitstreaming.

 

[RapidPulse]

^^  I use a Mac.  And on a Mac, it is the system volume that should be used. All other volume settings are maxed (i.e. on Spotify, iTunes).  Assuming it is the same on Windows.

 

[RapidPulse]

By the way, this is stating the obvious, but if I can save just one person....
 
Pay attention to which output you plug your headphones into...especially if they are already in your ears!
 
I was careless and accidentally plugged into the line out. Let's just say I looked like this  

 during the second it took me to rip my phones out.