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HT Omega "Claro Halo" Headphone Only soundcard - Page 19

post #271 of 366
11/16/09 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBSCIX View Post
Good. You should hear improvments over those generic opamps.
Those 2132's are alright, but there are much better units out there.....Keep on rollin'

Did you get your splitter put in yet? How is everything working.
Not yet, the "music store" dont have any

Im gonna look in others stores.

I dont have so many samples to rolling, im gona try these for a time and then change
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post #272 of 366
11/16/09 at 11:07pm
Sure, test those out and see or rather hear what they have to offer but as I am saying there are many great opamps out there.
Just remember to enjoy the music as your testing.
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post #273 of 366
11/20/09 at 1:42am
I ordered 2107 samples, my future test will be using 2x2107(U8/10) > 2x2132 (U9/11), the bass of 4x2132 in some tracks sounds out of control :P
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post #274 of 366
11/20/09 at 6:27am
hey guys, i have one simple question, which would be better? Asus Xonar Essence STX or HT Omega Claro Halo? This question might have been asked many times already, so please forgive me for that.
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post #275 of 366
11/20/09 at 7:24am
I've made a quick comparison in the previous pages..basically the drivers are much less bloated, you can use both the RCA/headphones out simultaneously(no need to swap for one or another manually in the drivers), you can use Dolby Headphones(and all the built-in DSP's on top) on the RCA out(useful if you wanna buy an external amp, the STX only allows it on the headphones out), better DAC(that forces 128X oversampling at all sampling frequencies by design), more room to roll op-amps(fitting 2x single DIP8>1 dual DIP8 is pretty much impossible on the Asus), you also get much higher quality DIP8 sockets(HQ gold plated machined Vs cheap pressed ones), no resident apps like on the Asus(that carries 3 of them), 1 more op-amp socket to improve crosstalk on the 2 outputs(rca/headphones).

differences are subtiles, but it's all the about the details innit?
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post #276 of 366
11/20/09 at 7:40am
thanks a lot for the info leeperry, so if you were given $200 for a soundcard, you would choose the Claro Halo over Essence STX??
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post #277 of 366
11/20/09 at 7:51am
well, experience has taught me that you can't judge audio gear w/o listening to it...we all have different gear and different tastes.

I've tried all these cards, and my favorite setup is the one in my signature...discrete op-amps on the Prodigy HD2, I get the nice mellow/highly detailed and laid back sound I've been craving for since forever

*BUT* if you don't want a laid back sound, and like agressive music(many ppl do!) these two cards are very much worth a listen I'd say...on build/drivers quality the Claro Halo wins indeed(why did Asus put the crappiest DIP8 sockets you could find?!?!?!).

as for the STX/Claro Halo, I haven't owned both cards simultaneously and thoroughly run A/B comparisons...but IIRC they sound rather similar(same headphones amp, same DSP, same windows core drivers, same 24Mhz clock)...all about the details again

IMO these two cards lack a 22Mhz clock, that would allow 44.1kHz with much less jitter...but apparently their DSP doesn't support it, and whether this is audible is debatable.
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post #278 of 366
11/20/09 at 7:55am
ok, thanks again, i am checking ou the one you mentioned, i am currently using AKG K601 which is considered kind of laidback, so i dont know how good i will be doing with a laid back soundcard above my laidback headphone. thanks again
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post #279 of 366
11/20/09 at 12:51pm
indeed, the only way to find out is to try it...try a shop w/ a return policy maybe?

Burson's are not cheap, but they are head and shoulders above everything else...all the hype on their site is very much true: Burson Opamp

and you can reuse them when you switch soundcards..they carry a lifetime warranty.
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post #280 of 366
11/20/09 at 2:17pm
The STX and the Halo have many things in common. The chipset, headphones amplifier..base drivers.
The real difference are in the components used such as DAC, opamps, filters..etc.

If you can test out both for yourself and keep the one that sounds the best with your gear.
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post #281 of 366
11/20/09 at 4:05pm
okay, i dont mind spending if it makes a big difference, but that must be done later. Also, if you could explain me which one i would need, it would be very helpful, if single is sufficient or i would need a pair.

Dual Discrete Op Amp Module, single
Dual Discrete Op Amp Modules, pair


And i wont be able to test them out before buying due to certain limitations, so this is a little gamble i have to make. Thanks again

Edit: putting these opamps kind of scare me, i was never good at these modding things starting from childhood toys that i ruined! lol
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post #282 of 366
11/20/09 at 4:24pm
The claro halo takes 4x dual opamps/hdams, and if you get 4x burson hdam that'd be over $300?

les_garten said in majkel's hdam review that audio-gd makes burson's hdam, at least the first version anyway, not sure now since burson has a second version (but for certain the first version was designed by audio-gd). I read a opamp test pdf once where burson's new hdam version had very good measurements, and all three audio-gd hdam flavors had crazy measurements (distortion), but of course that's just because audio-gd gave them deliberate sound signatures. I don't know if the new burson hdam is any better, but if it is, I doubt it's a whole lot better, besides, considering the price and how many you'd need for a halo sound card and the price of the sound card, you might as well buy 2x moon and 2x earth or 2x earth and 2x sun and have fun with flavors rather than pimping out a $200 soundcard with $300 of opamps.
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post #283 of 366
11/20/09 at 4:37pm
Just grab dual version of the Audio-GD Earth.
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post #284 of 366
11/20/09 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by InFn-0 View Post
if you could explain me which one i would need, it would be very helpful, if single is sufficient or i would need a pair.

Dual Discrete Op Amp Module, single
Dual Discrete Op Amp Modules, pair
you need duals, and if you triple-check everything you'll be fine.

well, look up photos I posted in the previous pages, the Audio-GD don't sound as good as the Burson's, but they are PNP(you even get extension leads)...the burson's come w/ bare wires, you have to solder a cap and DIP8 sockets...you can of course get a friend of an electronics shop to do it for you.

the Audio-GD are also WAY cheaper, I posted a vague comparison between these op-amps here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/6172139-post1724.html

the burson are much pricier and more annoying to set up(soldering required), but the SQ is one *major* notch further again...maybe you can make baby steps and go for two Earth and two good IC's to begin w/? my personal favorites would be two LT1124ACN8/LT1213ACN8 on the DAC output and then two Earth as final buffers.

if you get the op-amp rolling virus, later on you could also use these kinds of adapters(there isn't enough room on the Asus Essence cards to do that) w/ majkel's favorites(OPA228P/LT1028ACN8/AD797BN)..no soldering required : http://www.head-fi.org/forums/6152254-post246.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloxt View Post
not sure
considering you didn't listen to any discrete op-amps as of now, voicing any opinion is pretty m00t at this point...innit? j/k
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post #285 of 366
11/20/09 at 4:48pm
Well, $300 on Opamps is surely too much for me, i was kind of hoping the single 100$ one would be enough. At this moment i am not considering swapping opamps as i have dangerously little idea about these things and how to handle them. So i guess i ll just wait till i get the Claro Halo and i ll let you guys know my impressions.
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