HRT Music Streamer HD USB Digital-to-Analog Converter

I purchased this to provide me with a connection from my laptop running Media Monkey to my stereo. I have 80% of my music in Apple Lossless, A couple hundred high resolution FLAC and the rest Itunes. I am running Windows 7. I send the signal to the HRT Streamer HD in WASAPI mode with the volume control on the laptop at 100%. The sound is set to 24 bit 44 khz for now and the quality of the sound matches that of my Arcam 93T CD player. The CD player and the Streamer HD feed an integrated amp with Ice modules and full range floor standing speakers. When you set this up there is a very small switch on the front panel you need to set to position 1 if you are using Windows 7. Windows 7 supports a USB audio device standard known as version 1. This is what the 1 position of the switch is for. Macs support USB audio device standard 2 which allows more freedom for ASIO output and if hooking the streamer up to a Mac I would suppose switch position 2 should be chosen. If using windows 7 you have to choose 1 output of bit depth and sampling freq from a list of approx 6 to 8 choices such as 16 bit 44 khz, 24 bit 44 khz, 24 bit 96 khz and so on. I mention this because the Streamer HD can support up to 24 bit 192 khz but if you are like me and have the majority of your music in 16 bit 44 khz you are forced to make a choice of having windows upsample most of your music or have your higher quality music downsampled to meet the majority of your music due to the limitations of the USB audio device standard on a Windows computer.My evaluation of how the music sounds did not have any DSP addons enabled in the Media Monkey music player and I am currently using the RCA outs. I found the presentation to be smooth with no harshness. I was thrilled that my music server(still new to computer audio) provided me with a quality of sound that I could happily live with. I played Jazz recordings, some blues and rock and found the sound to be simply excellent. I was able to A/B against my CD player with the press of a button and the music server if anything sounded better.There is a lot of competition in the USB DAC space right now. I chose the HRT product because I was very impressed with there Istreamer product I purchased over a year ago and the reviews of the Music Streamer 2+ product. This appears to be another winner in the HRT line up.

I had the first HRT music streamer and moved up to this unit because of it's ability to play hi-rez files. It sounds really good but I think it's output voltage is a little to high which simply means I run my preamps volume control lower than before.

It sounds better than the Stream ||| and a lot better than other DACs I have in sub 1K range.However, the first unit I got has a problem working longer than 15 mins. It would stop and require a unplug and plug in back the computer USB. The problem is consistent on all laptops windows 7 USB 1.0 mode, Ubuntu USB 2.0 mode, and Macbook Pro USB 2.0 mode.I returned the defect and purchased another one as I like the sound so much. It doesn't disappoint me. This XLR out unit delivers perfect D/A to my tube preamp. And the sound is crisp, details and sweet. It a step up from the Streamer III I also haveThe hard shell has he hard cold plastic trim around the unit ends. A rubber would make it more sticky and stable than this frictionless trim acting as the feet. Packaging is poor and is noway near other products like Meridian.Don't forget to get the native driver for Windows to get the 2.0 mode audio. Otherwise, you have to use 1.0 mode on Windows.I reduced to 2 stars because this lineup has some serious Q/A or design problem. The second unit never stop playing. However, it inserts small popping sound every now and then especially when it just started.I also try to add a high quality USB hub with good power supply (Brick) and it does not fix the problem. So I tried 2 units and they are both flaw. I think I have to return the 2nd unit as well. I really really like the sound, however.

The unit I purchased has made loud popping sounds several timesand "fuzzed out" twice. Sonics are good otherwise.Terrible customer support regarding my concerns about the unit.

I recently purchased the HRT Music Streamer HD and own the Music Streamer II. A self confessed audiophile with a penchant for listening, this unit surprised me with it's musicality, detail, and nuance (right out of the box). I have owned some of the best equipment produced in the world and suggest that this DAC at its price point is an incredible bargain. I am one that ranks good vinyl the pinnacle of great reproduced sound and have owned a highly acclaimed CD player that made me less of a vinyl-phobe. This HRT Music Streamer HD brings computer audio in to the pantheon of hi-end sacred cows and belongs. I always though that hi-end did not need to cost upwards toward what many pay for vehicles and in some cases homes. It is quite thrilling to find a product that plays at the highest levels for a fraction of the going rate. Do note that I use this unit with the AQVOX low noise USB linear power supply with stunning results.Nice job HRT! And it is a great leap from my Music Streamer II.Thank you!

Great little piece of equipment, should have been a 5 star easy.But how about some real company support. HRT are so stubborn as they won't release any windows drivers, to enable their customers to take advantage of the USB Class 2 (ie 24bit/192k), they are waiting for Microsoft to natively support USB class 2, Good luck with that.May be windows 9 will, because the freshly released win8 doesn't.Do we need to switch to a mac to take advantage of your DAC "HRT"?Come onUPDATE: the windows ASIO driver was finally released by HRT ( couple of months ago) , they informed me by email, the download and installation process was a breeze. And the great little piece is working to its full potential, and it's lovely.So guess what, it gets 5 stars from me now.I enjoy it a lot on my desktop running "JRiver" and attached to my "Bottlehead Crack" with "Speedball" driving a " Sennheiser 650" in my bedroom rig.Great combination that's depriving from sleeping.

Klingt prima, braucht aber bei älteren Windows Versionen etwas Hilfe zum installieren. Der Hersteller sitzt in den USA und hat von daher Zeitverschiebeung. Antwortet jedoch auch am Wochenende schnell und genau.