I got my
Shure SHR840 last week. Right now, I only have my
Toshiba Qosmio X505 laptop as a source. It has a
Conexant Pebble HDA (?? Good luck finding ANYTHING about that codec on Google except for drivers
). I'm pretty sure it's garbage, but then... I haven't listened to any other soundcard/DAC. Some reviews, though, seem to confirm my theory. Besides, the headphone jack has that "nice" static sound that seems so common on portable computers
. I have my collection of CD ripped to FLAC and some times I listen to >128Kbps internet radios. I listened to different genres, but mainly pop and rock (the likes of Lilly Allen, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, etc.).
I discovered this little
Matrix unit and really love the comments about it. Do you think this DAC would be a nice match to my Shure's? I'm not soooo worried about the Amp section (although Matrix's one seems pretty good as some said) because the Shure's are only 44Ohm and a little on the sensitive side (102dB). My main concern is to find a DAC/Amp that would improve my laptop's crappy onboard sound, specially the lows. I think it would be a nice first-time purchase, having read lots and lots of the forum's threads (
Maverick Tube Magic D1, H
ead-Direct EF2,
Zero DAC,
Compass,
Audio-Gd Fun... uff...). I just need someone to give me his/hers impressions so I can finally make my mind. Hope you can help me by giving me your opinions or pointing me in the right direction. Thanks!
(
PS: this is my first post after entering this magic little world I knew almost nothing about, so if you think that I should put this in a different forum or start my own thread, please tell me. Thanks!)