355 Head Streamer Mobile Headphone Amplifier, White

I moved to the HRT HeadStreamer after using a Fiio E7; it was like a breath of fresh air! In my setup, the E7 had a low-level 60Hz hum when powered from USB. This was quite noticeable when listening to high dynamic range classical music at high volume.The HRT by contrast, is quiet and clear. No hiss, no noise, only crystal-clear music. I use it to review piano recordings; these are of good quality, with a low noise floor. The electronics in the HRT are so quiet that I can hear the (low) noise in my recordings, and can hear fine nuances of the recording such as mechanical sounds, the ticking of a small clock several feet away, etc. And when the music gets loud, the HRT has no problems delivering crisp, clear notes across the frequency range, at ridiculously high volumes.Installation was a breeze on my W7 64-bit PC, just plug and play. The HRT even works fine through a USB hub. My source material is typically lossless WAV files at 44.1KHz or 48KHz; I adjust the Windows output audio sample rate for the HRT to match the source material to avoid resampling losses.Compared to the E7, the HRT costs more and has a minimalist design with fewer features: No cute screen or buttons, no built-in battery or capability to be used as a standalone analog headphone amplifier. But it does one thing really well: Deliver clean and crisp audio. To me, that's everything, so the HRT is well worth its price!

For years, I've done most of my listening via DAC and headphone configurations, streaming lossless files from my computer. I have a HeadRoom Desktop amp with their DAC circa 2006. I was an HRT early adopter, however, and picked up the original MusicStreamer+ back in 2008. That was a great product, and the company let me upgrade it to a MusicStreamer II+ at a steep discount last year so I could get the benefits of their new asynchronous USB circuit. (I tell you this because, during that process, I was in direct contact with Kevin Halverson, the company's owner, who is quite enthusiastic about bringing great sound to people at reasonable prices. Great service!)Anyway, when I wanted to get a portable amp so I could listen at work, I went back to HRT, having been impressed with their low-cost solutions in the past. The HeadStreamer lives up to the excellent reputation the company has been earning.I listen with a set of AKG K240 Mk.II headphones at 55 ohms impedance and stream FLAC encoded files at 16/44.1 and 24/44.1 from a machine running WinXP 32. This little DAC/amp does them justice. The sound is detailed and clear, with actual separation of instruments. The bass is tight and controlled and sounds great on the AKGs. Mids and highs are clear without being harsh.My only complaint is that I sometimes get a bit of lag/computer induced distortion when switching files in Outlook. No WASPI in WinXP 32. (I have no similar problems using the HeadStreamer on my home PC running Win 7 64 and using WASPI.) That isn't the fault of the HeadStreamer, though.In all, this and a decent pair of headphones will give you amazing results and bang for your buck for less than you would spend on an entry-level consumer grade home receiver and speakers. If you really want to hear well into your music, check this little wonder out.-------------UPDATE-------------This product is now discontinued by HRT in favor of their newer MicroStreamer, which, like the HeadStreamer, is an outboard DAC and headphone amp. However, the MicroStreamer also has a line level output that makes it suitable for use as a line source for a home amplifier. It's a bit pricier, so you still might be interested in snapping up one of these excellent little HeadStreamers before they're all gone.

We are in the stone age of the computer audiophile era because these are the early USB/DAC devices that a becoming more and more mainstream as we more often use our computers to play music. As the previous review noted, the prerequisite is Foobar with WASAPI plug in. There are some issues with Windows and USB control because if you have Foobar open, Flash plays from the computers speakers or if you have a 3rd button mouse, you get intermitten interference. So, a computer setup only for audio would be ideal.First Impressions: Assuming that you did the Foobar/WASAPI installation, and know what your computer is capable of, which in newer computers, is very good, only then you can experience better sound. Most of the econo USB/DAC's may be only marginally better than a modern laptop. Since my laptops are relatively new and have upgraded audio capability, some lesser DAC's did not improve sound quality enough to even justify their lower price. Although not terribly expensive, the Head Streamer uses similar technology that is seen in devices costing at least 2x or many multiple times more.The sound is dependent on your output device, but on the whole it gives a wider soundstage, a deeper soundstage, a warm midrange, extended, but not shrilling highs. Bass is extended and has some more detail than what I noticed with my stock laptop with WASAPI output. (Of course, stock laptop sound from Windows default sounded compressed with limited dynamic range) My full size headsets sounded much fuller and more dynamic, but it may have overpowered my IEM headsets because the sound became a little flat. Vocals have a smidgen of Pidgeon warmth to it that is very pleasing. I am still getting used to the wider, cleaner, clearer sound, but like anything else, it takes time to get over the shock value and just to enjoy the music. Like a new pair of glasses or your ears popping inflight an airplane, everything just sounds new again so it will be nice to review them again after some time.EDIT: Been busy and I don't know about burn in, but I just realized my onboard laptop DAC is no slouch. The HeadStreamer sounds wider and more extending both ends, but only if you have better headphones or a very quiet listening environment. I could not imagine another product to significantly better the sound when you listen with better equipment. The only drawback is that my laptop has the occasionally USB interference or Iphone radio interference- who knows. Vocals are no longer veiled, highs become more transparent and bass becomes more detailed/textured. I have never heard cleaner, both clearer and smoother sounds from my digital files. Of course the better the output device the better the results. At this point, I think I maxed the quality for relatively low cost. It's time to listen to some music!

I use this in my car on a netbook. It sounds great once it's burned in. I give it 4/5 because there is an issue with coming out of sleep mode where it needs to be removed then reinserted to work. I did not have this issue with other DACs on the same machine.

Sound ist gut, um Klassen besser als der analoge Ausgang am iPhone, aber nur, wenn das Gerät erkannt wird. Manchmal gehts, manchmal nicht. Wenn es geht erscheint zwischendrin immer wieder die Fehlermeldung, dass das Zubehör nicht unterstützt wird. Der mitgelieferte iPhone Adapter hält auch nicht wirklich, sodass der Stecker wieder rausrutscht. Dann muss man wieder bangen, ob das Teil beim Einstecken wieder erkannt wird. Wenn nicht hilft nur mehrmaliges Ein- und Aussecken. Irgendwann gehts dann wieder. Entspannter Höhrgenuss ist das dann aber nicht mehr. Ich habs daher leider wieder zurückgegeben.Am Mac angeschlossen funktioniert das Teil aber tadellos und mit gutem Sound.

This is a great little DAC/Amplifier for your laptop. Before this I had the FiiO E07K. In terms of sound quality it seems the HRT pulls some extra detail and also gives greater bass extension whilst always remaining taut and crisp. Negatives... well, if you play any poorly recorded tracks this device seems to be a little less forgiving and any discrepancies are revealed. I've used the Headstreamer with both games and music and both are a delight. Another thing I like about this compared to the FiiO is that it's far less fussy. Rather than have a host of different settings and adjustments the HRT device plugs in and does it's job, as any good amp should. There's not even volume control and why should I need it, when I already have two means of adjustment through the laptop (Windows and whatever media player I'm using). A note, make sure you turn your Windows volume down to about 25% before playing anything otherwise you'll jump out of your skin (as I did). Build quality, whilst not as attractive as the FiiO, is suitably sturdy and with no moving parts I expect it's going to be a laptop must-have companion for years to come. The only situation in which I'd recommend the E07K over this is if your adamant about using it with a portable device. There's no 3.5mm input on the Headstreamer and no internal battery. It does come with an adapter which I believe is for an Apple device (maybe an iPad) -you'll have to check on this. What I found with the FiiO E07K was the biggest difference was made when connected to a laptop and using the internal DAC. Any difference when connected to my MP3 player was slight and didn't really justify carrying the extra bulk around. I already reviewed the E07K back in February giving it five stars. Having now used the Headstreamer, I'd be inclined to reduce that to 4 stars. I just really like the low fuss single-minded approach HRT has taken.Headphones used: Grado SR80i, Sennheiser PC151 (headset), Shure SE315

My sample showed 2nd harmonic distortion at about -60dB with a 1 kHz tone - this is about 20dB worse than the manufacturer's spec and 12 dB worse that the sound chip on my Dell motherboard. I contacted the seller, Analogue Seduction who were very helpful and accepted a return for refund without question. Other samples may be fine as this had had good reviews elsewhere.

This tiny device - not much bigger than a match box - is able to extract amazing audio detail from your PC or Laptop and deliver it to your headphones or amplifier. It plugs into a spare USB port and within seconds Windows will load the necessary drivers and present it as a new audio device. (Windows 7 has the necessary drivers.) Go to the Sound applet in the Control Panel and select the new device as the default and set the levels using Properties. Plug in your headphones and your ready for a superb listening experience.With a top notch audio source such as loss-less FLAC, the sound is extraordinary. Not the tiniest whisper of noise or distortion. Just smooth, dynamic, broad sound. With quality movies, it reveals sounds you've probably not heard previously! Surprisingly, it extracts extra detail from quite low quality MP3s, but please be warned, it will also bring out the bad too!I've plugged the output into my Hi-Fi system with large B&W speakers: the difference is instantly noticeable. If you are listening with quality headphones or Hi-Fi to a computer or laptop using its integrated sound device, this matchbox-sized device is the perfect accessory. Its diminutive size coupled with some top rate ear buds make a perfect transportable Hi-Fi to take along with your laptop.Highly recommended.

use it everyday