Sonic Satori - HRT Levels the Field with the MicroStreamer

[JediGhostdog]

Awesome thanks a lot. Yes I would be using it as a dac and amp or possibly have it go to an E11 and then to the 600s. Would pair with another amp down the road most likely

 

[mikemercer]

Awesome thanks a lot. Yes I would be using it as a dac and amp or possibly have it go to an E11 and then to the 600s. Would pair with another amp down the road most likely

ANYTIME
 
Tonight I had another experience with my microStreamer that showed me the answer to your inquiry!
 
I ended up experiencing issues w/ the NuForce HAP-100 SS headphone amp I have in for review (hopefully its just a troubleshooting problem, but I went through every input - and even dropped my Mytek in front of it, instead of the microStreamer - to test if the MS's line-out was shot - think it needs to go back for work) its a shame because I think this headphone amp is fantastic! I cant think of something close at 599! anyway:
 
I was using the Myteks headphone amp to drive my new LCD-3s w/ Fazor & Nordost Heimdall headphone cable (a wicked combo) and I decided to try the microStreamer to drive em, just like I did with the original LCD-3 back when I reviewed the microStreamer!
 
I was baffled again at how well it drove the 3s w/ Fazor! It was a glorious combination - so much so it's 10:05AM here in Cali and I pulled an all-nighter listening and gettin' some writing done!!!!

 
man it was awesome - so you'll have no problems - IMO!!

 

[JediGhostdog]

 
man it was awesome - so you'll have no problems - IMO!!

Well that is great news, because I recently found an open box deal for $150 on the microstreamer. Should be delivered late next week. Thanks again.

 

[JediGhostdog]

Do you think the microstreamer could benefit from an upgrade to an audioquest forest or cinnamon usb cable? The monoprice cable it came with seems pretty beat up as it was an open box deal. I haven't had any problems so far except for a few clicks and pops here and there but that is a problem with latency on my laptop I believe. overall I am impressed with the microstreamer. Also could you make any recommendations on an amp to use between the microstreamer and HD 600's?  Thanks for your input I believe I made the right decision on grabbing the MS over the dragonfly.

 

[Gilly87]

When people talk about benefits from cables carrying analog signal, I'm skeptical but open; a cable that carries 1s and 0s is just a freaking cable.

I used an Asgard to drive HD650s sourced by the uS, it was a solid combo.

 

[mikemercer]

  Do you think the microstreamer could benefit from an upgrade to an audioquest forest or cinnamon usb cable? The monoprice cable it came with seems pretty beat up as it was an open box deal. I haven't had any problems so far except for a few clicks and pops here and there but that is a problem with latency on my laptop I believe. overall I am impressed with the microstreamer. Also could you make any recommendations on an amp to use between the microstreamer and HD 600's?  Thanks for your input I believe I made the right decision on grabbing the MS over the dragonfly.

there are some benefits certain USB cables can provide (as its still a digital cable - and different digital cables make a difference - its just that USB, as we know, carries power and data). The monoprice one is actually quite good as it comes with a ferrite ring to cut down on common-mode noise - an issue with ANY digital lead.
 
So this is a trial-and-error game!!

 

[ericr]

Buy a replacement on Monoprice? Kevin did advise me to keep the USB cable as short as possible.

 

[mikemercer]

Buy a replacement on Monoprice? Kevin did advise me to keep the USB cable as short as possible.

yeah, like I said, I have experienced sonic differences with various USB cables and my microStreamer,
because the MS is revealing enough to show you the differences.
 
IMO - 
The USB cable where I heard the most discernable differences was the Mood Audio Blue Dragon USB.
With the Moon Audio I got deeper bass extension, and a lower noise-floor - which Kevin also said is possible:
 
As I told him I thought the only differences that various USB cables could deliver, sonically, had to do with noise,
meaning - do they deal with common-mode noise or not, things like that. So, I don't think you can necessarily change
the SQ of an DAC/Amp like this with a USB lead - but one can deal with noise better than the other!
 
I still rock the USB cable Kevin sent me, however, most of the time!
That ferrite ring comes in handy, especially when you've got a bunch of wires in the same spot like I do in my computer
playback system...
 
Give it a shot!!
 
You NEVER know

 

[CharlesC]

I've recently been listening to the uS (line out) thru a Magni.  Very forward sounding which is great a lot of the time but can be too much sometimes, fatiguing even.  I find that it's much more relaxing to listen directly thru the uS alone.  Is this a common experience?  Do I just need to give it some more time?  Does the 2.5v output of the uS make any difference compared to standard 2v output?
 
I actually bought the Magni to use with my CD player and it works very well there.
 
Thanks

 

[ericr]

What headphones are you using?

 

[CharlesC]

What headphones are you using?

 
HD-598, assuming you're talking to me.

 

[ericr]

HD-598, assuming you're talking to me.

Never mind. I was thinking it might be your headphone reacting to differences in impedances, but both the magni and Microstreamer are less than one Ohm.

 

[Xoton]

Can someone help me -- I want to replace my Music Fidelity V-DAC (first version, only does 16/48k) with something that will do 24/96.  192 would be ideal, but I'd like to keep it under $200.
 
So far it's...

• Microstreamer - $200
• Dragonfly 1.2 - $150
• Dacmagic XS - $200

 
It doesn't need to be portable -- just going from foobar/laptop > dac > stereo/amp.  Will I notice a big difference with any of these?  Is it worth it?  I have a growing library of hi-res FLACs.

 

[periofab]

  yeah, like I said, I have experienced sonic differences with various USB cables and my microStreamer,
because the MS is revealing enough to show you the differences.
 
IMO - 
The USB cable where I heard the most discernable differences was the Mood Audio Blue Dragon USB.
With the Moon Audio I got deeper bass extension, and a lower noise-floor - which Kevin also said is possible:
 
As I told him I thought the only differences that various USB cables could deliver, sonically, had to do with noise,
meaning - do they deal with common-mode noise or not, things like that. So, I don't think you can necessarily change
the SQ of an DAC/Amp like this with a USB lead - but one can deal with noise better than the other!
 
I still rock the USB cable Kevin sent me, however, most of the time!
That ferrite ring comes in handy, especially when you've got a bunch of wires in the same spot like I do in my computer
playback system...
 
Give it a shot!!
 
You NEVER know

Hey Michael, among the USB cables you've tried, was there a WireWorld cable by any chance ? If so, which one(s), and what were your impressions ? Thanks !

 

[citraian]

It depends on what you want to pair them with. Wireworld tends to be on the brighter, more aggresive side when it comes to USB cables. I don't think it would pair very well with the MS.
Like Mike, I found the Blue Dragon to be perfect with the MS. Its natural, analogue tone suits the MS just fine.