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I am not sure about the others, but the Xonar DX would be good enough, in terms of both input and output quality. On the input, however, it is best to keep the level below about 1.4 Vrms to minimize distortion, but also not very low to keep the dynamic range sufficiently high (there is no pre-amplifier or any analog gain control on the input).
My computer and the Asus Xonar DG has a lot of noise. The noise can't be hear when you bump volume up so the music covers it. But, between songs, it is frustrating to hear. I've gone through all of the exercises, by updating drivers, muting all inputs (mics, etc.), I've used Ferrite magnet "chokes" on my cables to hopefully absorb RFI and EMI. Still no luck at making things quiet. I've also tried the Asus DSX, as well as the U3 (USB model) of the Xonar. In the end, it was a complete exercise in futility. My Magna / Modi combo arrived last even. Initially, all was good until I started bouncing around the Interweb. Then pops and bumps were going mad through my headphones. I downloaded a PCI bus latency checker utility and monitored it for spikes in an attempt to isolate the cause. In my case, it turned out to be the Avast! anti-virus program that would take control for a second as a new Web site was brought up. This would steal computer resources and interrupt the signal traveling through my outbound USB cable to the Modi DAC.
However, once that was resolved by removing the Avast! software via "safe mode" in Windows, all is now 100% pure satisfaction.
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Anyones thoughts on the claro halo?
I don't have any experience with this card, but @ $199.00, you're inst the same price league as buying the Magna / Modi stack. Or, you can find some integrated amp / DAC combos in the F/S section with offerings from Audio-GD, etc. The Audio Streamer II, by HRT, sells for about $110 - $120 used on the F/S forum. It as an asynchronous USB DAC, and I truly enjoyed mine when I had it.
I guess after the exercise I've gone through in an attempt to keep all of my audio contained within the computer case itself, I spent many hours to try and resolve an issue that couldn't be resolved because of all noise going on with my computer. But, if you really insist on moving forward with the computer solution, there are plans on the Internet for building a shroud out of sheet aluminum to provide protection for your sound card from various noise interruptions. This is still not a 100% guarantee, though.
