Developed a crackle

[Anonymous]

Hi, Thanks for the reply, as I am still looking to get a dac do you feel with the extra connectivity and good sound this is a good buy in relation to the hrt, it is not that much more and looks a sturdier piece of kit. The fact I would have to plug it in is not an issue for me as can just sit it with the hifi, Thanks again

I definitely think the DacMagic is a good buy, and good value for money. It is well made and has balanced outputs should you want them. I don't think you would be disappointed. its in the same price bracket as the Beresford Caiman which is also worth a look. To me the Dacmagic looks and feels better made than the Beresford. That's not saying the Beresford is bad, it's not. If you have the time ask Richer sounds to lend you one for an audition! see what they say.

 

[Shanka]

Brilliant, thanks very much for the tips, will look up the beresford but there are 2 richer sounds near so will give them a go and try the home demo request. Will let you know how I get on, is mainly for spotify but can try some other sources with this. Been going thru traumas so could do with some toys to play with.

 

[ESP2009]

A quick 'thumbs up' to Mr E.

I acquired one of those HRT Headstreamer gizmos this week. It sounds great. Except...

...I suddenly began to notice really irritating, if not downright alarming, clicks, pops and crackles through my earphones. Never had that problem with my other DAC/amps. I tried various things to address the problem - to no avail. The good news is that at least it prompted me to update drivers on the laptop and I now have a few useful features I didn't previously.

Narked and frustrated by web opinion elsewhere, I ran home to momma and came across this thread. I gave Mr E's suggestion a try. Lo and behold: removing the mains power eradicates the problem! My ears are soothed by the sounds of Spotify and iTunes without being accompanied by assaults from the Rice Krispies elves.

So, even though the Headstreamer is small, neat and sounds about the same as the mains-powered NJC Monitor I (which has graced my desk until now) I am beginning to think the HRT is not for me.

I just tried another angle - remove the battery unit. With the laptop on straight mains power, the horrible noises have not gone completely, but are much reduced. How intriguing.

LATER: And to add interest, I re-fitted the battery and ran it without mains; when the battery got down real low and I re-attached the mains lead, with the mains power busily feeding the battery, all crackles and such disappeared...completely. I am sure they will be back once the battery is up to fully charged.

 

[ESP2009]

OK, a further update and some progress.

The improvement when the mains supply is recharging the battery was merely temporary. I tried the same trick the following day and the crackles returned - so much for that! Mind you, it wasn't a particularly good solution, I'll admit.

However, this weekend, as a purely circumstantial and coincidental exercise, I purchased a new laptop: a modern Acer running Windows 7. I need to try it out some more, but certainly the crackles and pops seem to have taken a holiday. I will report back after a day of proper listening.

 

[Anonymous]

ESP2009,

I also have an HRT Streamer, and in the beginning also had some pops and crackles.

In my case it was a software issue...

HRT (and some other DACs) require a very low software buffer to fuction properly in Wasapi and Asio output. Usually 50 ms or less.

I was listening music trought foobar-wasapi output and never got the DAC to work right because foobar only allows for a minimum 50 ms buffer, but with stability issues.

Changed to MusicBee and everything works flawless.

J River, XMplay and Aimp3 are also good alternatives that work perfectly.

What is your media player ?

Besides that inicial issues, everything is perfect now and love my HRT sound...

 

[ESP2009]

Hi Melosoares,

At the moment I am listening via Spotify Premium on the new laptop and all is A-OK. Mind you, at first I was a bit concerned because the sound seemed to lack body and presence. I then checked all the laptop settings without finding any reason (deepening concern) and then finally remembered to check Spotify preferences. Sure enough, their default is NOT to stream in high quality, even when you have the Premium version! I ticked the relevant box, restarted, and the quality is now what I expect.

I also listen via iTunes on occasion but haven't tried that since the weekend laptop upgrade (I need to install iTunes).

As I said in my other post in this section, the Headstreamer is very close to my Monitor I DAC/amp in presentation and quality. I am going to have a tricky decision to make soon.