Mitch,
The thread Almarg pointed to is very informative, and echoes why I was focusing on the USB converter instead of the DAC. Good reading.
Windows laptop vs. "desktop": laptop is easier with the included screen and keyboard, but a"desktop" has more room inside and is easier to open up and change stuff. You asked about a permanent solution, which of course means different things to different people. Down the road you might want to replace the card in your PC with a SotM card, with an independent power supply to it, etc, etc. In that case a desktop type would be the way to go. Yet this is secondary to getting the USB converter and DAC right, I think.
But all this trouble is, in my eyes, meaningless if you use computer audio just like you use your CD player. If all you are getting out of it is saving yourself from standing up to change a CD...not sure it's worth the trouble. So trying it out cheaply was what I was steering you to, so you could come to your on conclusions. In line with this the HRT makes sense to me, just don't expect the same sound quality as with your Muse.
Regards
The thread Almarg pointed to is very informative, and echoes why I was focusing on the USB converter instead of the DAC. Good reading.
Windows laptop vs. "desktop": laptop is easier with the included screen and keyboard, but a"desktop" has more room inside and is easier to open up and change stuff. You asked about a permanent solution, which of course means different things to different people. Down the road you might want to replace the card in your PC with a SotM card, with an independent power supply to it, etc, etc. In that case a desktop type would be the way to go. Yet this is secondary to getting the USB converter and DAC right, I think.
But all this trouble is, in my eyes, meaningless if you use computer audio just like you use your CD player. If all you are getting out of it is saving yourself from standing up to change a CD...not sure it's worth the trouble. So trying it out cheaply was what I was steering you to, so you could come to your on conclusions. In line with this the HRT makes sense to me, just don't expect the same sound quality as with your Muse.
Regards