HRT Music Streamer II USB DAC

"So much for an objective description. Now for an unabashedly subjective conclusion: Buy it. "

The HRT Music Streamer II is a compact external USB DAC capable of playing 24 bit 96 kHz high resolution audio files, MP3's, and streaming internet radio stations like Pandora or Rhapsody.

The Music Streamer II compeltely separates the path between the computer and audio system from any extraneous noise. Computers are notoriuous for their noisy, switching power supplies, but the Music Streamer gets its power from the USB buss and actually regenerates the incoming power for all of its internal circuitry using a sophisticated set of proprietary circuits. According to the Music Streamer's designer, Kevin Halverson, the Music Streamer II's power supply also provides complete isolation between the product's digital and analog stages.

Supports a wide variety of Players
The Music Streamer II has full support of iTunes and Windows media player (we recommend Foobar, Jriver and Media Monkey). You can also listen to streaming internet radio like Rhapsody, Pandora, or Slacker Radio.

The Music Streamer+ is housed in an extruded-alloy sleeve roughly the size and shape of a remote-control handset. All of its component parts reside on either a 5"-long motherboard or a smaller sub-board, the latter held in place with standoffs and a pair of machine screws. Fit and finish are quite decent—better, in fact, than would be expected for the price.

"Installation was simplicity itself. My iMac recognized the review sample as soon as I connected its USB cable"

Plug and Play
Operation of the Music Streamer II couldn't be simpler. Simply plug the it into any USB port on your computer and the Music Streamer II will install itself in seconds. Once installed, Just connect the Music Streamer II like you would a CD player via the RCA jacks.

In the Press

• Stereophile on the HRT Music Streamer

Specs

• Input: USB
• Power Supply: 5 v USB Bus
• Processing Capability: 24 bit 96 kHz maximum
• Output voltage: 2.25 V
• Output type: RCA
• S/N Ratio 99dB
• THD+N (1 kHz FS 44.1 KS/s) .002%

Interface

• Data Rate: Up to 96 kHz
• Sample Depth: Up to 24 bit
• Transfer Protocol: Asynchronous
• USB Type: 1.1 or above
• Dimensions: 5.1 x 2.3 x .875