[mikemercer]

Just got the brand new Cavalli Audio Liquid Crimson in yesterday (LOVED it at Canjam - my full report, Part I, at EnjoyTheMusic.com HERE) - 
I've been sick as a dog all week: Ran myself ragged following RMAF - very little sleep - but s__, sick or no sick! I set it up on my desk in the front of the house 
(my wifeys desk, where we always keep a single headphone rig) - so its not in the Sonic Satori Personal Audio Lab YET...
 
And THANKS to the HRT microStreamer AGAIN as a temporary DAC accompaniment  - I was using my CEntrance DACport LX (also VERY good, one of the lowest jitter measurements ever recorded at Stereophile) - when I installed the MS w/ my Nordost Heimdall iKable (3.5mm to RCA) the music just POPPED!!!!
 
Kevin:
I love that I can ALWAYS have a terrific zippo lighter-sized DAC with me at ALL times!

 

[mediabox]

Hi All, Does anybody know if HRT would work with Galaxy i9505 (S4) and how it affects the phone's battery life, say after a couple of hour play on it with UAPP? Any comparisons sonically with Ifi Nano Idsd ? They are trading for more or less the same price. Many thanks in advance.

 

[amigomatt]

  Hi All, Does anybody know if HRT would work with Galaxy i9505 (S4) and how it affects the phone's battery life, say after a couple of hour play on it with UAPP? Any comparisons sonically with Ifi Nano Idsd ? They are trading for more or less the same price. Many thanks in advance.

I can confirm it works on the S4 and drains battery quite noticeably.  I can't be more specific, just to say that I wouldn't trust it out and about!

 

[amigomatt]

Maybe Airplane mode may be better...

 

[mediabox]

Thanks a lot. Sounds like a suckling.

 

[amigomatt]

I have recently started using my old Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp as a headphone amp again to power my recently acquired AKG K702s.  I have been using the line out from the HRT Microstreamer and I can tell you that the sound has been astonishingly good through my K702, HE400, NAD HP50s but especially my Sony MA900s.  It is positively apparent that the line out sounds different to the headphone amp and in a better way.  The soundstage is definitely more 3D sounding amped from the line out and the treble more extended too.  Just in case people wanted to know...

 

[mikemercer]

  I have recently started using my old Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp as a headphone amp again to power my recently acquired AKG K702s.  I have been using the line out from the HRT Microstreamer and I can tell you that the sound has been astonishingly good through my K702, HE400, NAD HP50s but especially my Sony MA900s.  It is positively apparent that the line out sounds different to the headphone amp and in a better way.  The soundstage is definitely more 3D sounding amped from the line out and the treble more extended too.  Just in case people wanted to know...

I was SO PSYCHED to see this response @amigomatt! As the HRT microStreamer was the FIRST of its kind - A small, affordable async USB DAC/headphone amp that provided a specific 2.25V line-out! This is a FAR superior way to act as a DAC and DAC alone without an amp-stage ahead of it - which would provide SOME level of distortion by default! I still bring my MS whenever I travel, in case I need a small, in-line DAC that sounds GREAT...
 
I had it w/ me at RMAF/Canjam this year and used it ahead of the brand new Cavalli Audio Liquid Crimson - and the duo sounded terrific! Granted, I wanted more bit-depth, but it was a wondrous musical experience nonetheless!

Havin' my Nordost Heimdall iKable (3.5mm-to-stereo RCA) made it all the better too.
and SURE - its overkill - but I'm ALWAYS out to get the deepest listening experience possible, period...
 
BTW: The reason you actually preferred the line-out is that you heard the amazing Kevin Halverson-designed async DAC (and Kevin NEVER used ANY of Gordon Rankins Async tools - he designed his own Async BTW - Important factoid) is that you got to hear the DAC alone!
 
and, I was about to post tonight, but gottta get a pic that'll fit into Instagram lil f___in box (I hate that - taking pics and Instagram cuts em off). But I busted out my MS tonight! I've been listening to my newly acquired Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies

ALL week - and I was driving my HD800s and then LCD-XCs when the wifey was around. So, I wondered, after hearing the WA7 give me some amazing listening sessions - and I'm glad I waited for all the HYPE to die down (and hey, my site - Audio360.org, was the FIRST EVER to do a 6-way review of the Woo Audio WA7!). I'm really enjoying it thus far.
 
BUT - I wanted to see if somethin' like the MS could drive my HD800s to my satisfaction! After all, when I reviewed it for Positive Feedback yrs ago (the 1st review BTW) that started this thread - WHICH CONTINUES THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!! - I was AMAZED that it drove my LCD-3s beautifully! It blew my mind I HAD to admit that! I was worried people would think I went nuts. Then they tried it!
 
BUT - HD800s? Well, I hooked up my Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite by @scootermafia to my HD800s (thanks to DHC's amazing adapters too), and the MS - and... BANG! It did it without a hiccup.

 
BRAVO as always
and @Kevin_Halverson  think you could answer these questions from this gentleman above?? 

 

[Kevin_Halverson]

  Hi All, Does anybody know if HRT would work with Galaxy i9505 (S4) and how it affects the phone's battery life, say after a couple of hour play on it with UAPP? Any comparisons sonically with Ifi Nano Idsd ? They are trading for more or less the same price. Many thanks in advance.

The microStreamer is the lowest power consumption portable DAC/amplifier currently offered at just under 100 mA.  HRT is about to announce a series of products that take the power consumption to an amazingly new level (under 50 mA).  While the bulk of the power is consumed by the phone itself, the reduction will net even longer playing time on all portable platforms.  
 
Kevin Halverson
CTO
High Resolution Technologies, LLC

 

[Kevin_Halverson]

  I have recently started using my old Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp as a headphone amp again to power my recently acquired AKG K702s.  I have been using the line out from the HRT Microstreamer and I can tell you that the sound has been astonishingly good through my K702, HE400, NAD HP50s but especially my Sony MA900s.  It is positively apparent that the line out sounds different to the headphone amp and in a better way.  The soundstage is definitely more 3D sounding amped from the line out and the treble more extended too.  Just in case people wanted to know...

Your observation is correct.  Using a headphone amplifiers output as a line output path 'works' but it is far from ideal and the reason why the microStreamer offers separate output paths for line and headphone.  In the case of the microStreamer, as opposed to products that attempt to compromise between the two requirements using a single output, we have optimized each for the intended application.  The advantage can be appreciated with higher resolution systems and it is nice to know that some users have discovered this for themselves. 
 
Kevin Halverson
CTO
High Resolution Technologies, LLC 

 

[SunTanScanMan]

  Your observation is correct.  Using a headphone amplifiers output as a line output path 'works' but it is far from ideal and the reason why the microStreamer offers separate output paths for line and headphone.  In the case of the microStreamer, as opposed to products that attempt to compromise between the two requirements using a single output, we have optimized each for the intended application.  The advantage can be appreciated with higher resolution systems and it is nice to know that some users have discovered this for themselves. 
 
Kevin Halverson
CTO
High Resolution Technologies, LLC 

Apologies if this has been asked before. Would you advise against driving headphones directly through the line out? What would the consequences be if you did? Thanks.

 

[Kevin_Halverson]

 
Apologies if this has been asked before. Would you advise against driving headphones directly through the line out? What would the consequences be if you did? Thanks.

The characteristics of using a line output as a headphone path are dependent upon the impedance of the headphones used but will be in several areas; poor damping, diminished magnitude (volume), and amplitude anomalies.  
 
Kevin Halverson
CTO
High Resolution Technologies, LLC 

 

[mikemercer]

  The microStreamer is the lowest power consumption portable DAC/amplifier currently offered at just under 100 mA.  HRT is about to announce a series of products that take the power consumption to an amazingly new level (under 50 mA).  While the bulk of the power is consumed by the phone itself, the reduction will net even longer playing time on all portable platforms.  
 
Kevin Halverson
CTO
High Resolution Technologies, LLC

NICE!!!!
 
I wanna hear the new Music Streamer III

 

[cedou97yon]

  The microStreamer is the lowest power consumption portable DAC/amplifier currently offered at just under 100 mA.  HRT is about to announce a series of products that take the power consumption to an amazingly new level (under 50 mA).  While the bulk of the power is consumed by the phone itself, the reduction will net even longer playing time on all portable platforms.  
 
Kevin Halverson
CTO
High Resolution Technologies, LLC

Hi Mr Halverson,
 
could you tell us more about this new series of product,  
Power comsumption is a serious trump but is there another main asset ?
Also following this topic on your facebook page and i'm very impatient .
I think that we are in a turning point in the high res audio "history" (or business ) on portable plateforms with more and more company jumping in !!
 
Maybe one day there will be more audiophile in the street than 128kbps mp3 fans lol because when you taste it it's hard to leave this boat

.
This time will come and that's thanks to company like yours and with this kind of great product .
 

(with my ue900,xperia z and homemade usb otg that i'm very proud of 

)

 

[rovopio]

hi kevin,
 
its nice to see you are quite often replying here. i'd like to ask... is the hrt microstreamer amp powerful enough to drive hd600 and beyer dt880 250ohm without extra amp...?
 
also... can it be used with a sensitive IEM? something like a 15 ohm iem...?
 
regards...
 
rovopio...

 

[mikemercer]

don't know what happened,
but wrote a long post about the MS, being such a GREAT, reliable DAC that I always bring w/ me on trips,
especially to audio shows!
 
We used it ahead of the new Cavalli Audio Liquid Crimson before RMAF and Canjam kicked off in our
hotel room - and the synergy of the MS and the Cavalli was fantastic. Better, IMO, than the CEntrance DACport LX
(we also tried) - the music just had more gestalt, the velocity of the transient attack was palpable and the timbre
was gloriously colorful (NOT-colored).

Using Amarra for source, MS as DAC, Nordost iKable to amp/Cavalli Liquid Crimson - Double Helix Cables Molecule
SE by @scootermafia and my trusty @Audeze LCD-XCs! It was a FUN listening sesh.
 
Me and @warrenpchi were lovin' the sound we were getting from the system.
@soundmanmike was diggin' it too.
 
 
Because (as said in that long post - don't know what I did to it - need a power nap, LOL) Kevins amp sections in his HRT
stuff, IMO, remind me of his Muse Electronics high-end stereo line! 
 
GREAT to have you in the thread Kevin,
thanks for responding when you can. I know how busy you are.