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HT Omega "Claro Halo" Headphone Only soundcard
Apr 27, 2010 at 7:29 PM Post #331 of 374
Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif
you don't need 4 burson's, 2 nice IC's on the DAC output and then 2 Earth/Burson's as final buffer are just fine! the 4 op-amps don't do the same job, 2 are used as low pass filters from the DAC and 2 as final buffers to embelish the sound and reach line out level.


So this post is terribly late, but as I just received my Claro Halo, I'm now curious about this. Why does the Claro Halo need 4x dual op amps? Furthermore, in the manual, it states that replacing all 4 is preferable, but if you are just going to replace 2, then to replace the op amps on the DAC output? The above seems to be saying that the op amps as final buffers are more important?
 
May 2, 2010 at 2:41 AM Post #332 of 374
Yo fellow Head-Fi'ers, I have upgraded from a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 to the Claro Halo soundcard and it completely murdered the Creative soundcard. I have had this card for about 4 months, going on 5 and I also had the liberty to purchase some LM4562 opamps and it has been an eargasmic experience. I'm definitely not as knowledgeable as many of the Head-Fi'ers on this forum but I am an avid listener to some good high quality music and this upgrade really did it for me. Moreover, at the same time I purchased the Sennheiser HD-600's and it really brought my music to life and since then have never looked back.

I also recently purchased the Darkvoice 3322 amp and will be seeing how this will affect my setup...hopefully for the better. Peace.
 
Aug 20, 2010 at 11:24 AM Post #333 of 374
Hello All-
 
I realize I'm bringing this thread back from the dead- maybe not cool here, but sorry if its not.
 
I am wanting to get a new soundcard- either PCI or PCI-E, but my main 2 issues are PRICE and QUALITY regarding Analog Inputs for doing Needle-drops or digitizing vinyl. I would record either at 24 bit, 96K or 192K.
 
I quickly went through the 23 pages here- and the only obscure reference I could find was regarding "inputs" on the CM chip as requiring a higher input level.
 
Does anyone here use ANY of the HTOmega cards to record vinyl? I had my mind on the Claro Plus with the changeable Op-Amps.
 
As for headphones- I do not own a working pair, so I don't think that factors into my equation.
 
Would I be better off with the Asus Essence STX?
 
Newegg has the STX for $199 plus $8 shipping- or the Claro Plus for $175 free shippijng.
Tiger Direct also has the Essence STX for $179 with $5 shipping.
 
 
Thank You
Chris
 
Aug 21, 2011 at 8:16 AM Post #334 of 374
guys . I have a question.
what is the best form to take the best sound ?
claro halo > rca out > head amp >>> headphone
claro halo > 3.5mm to rca connected to headphone amp >>> headphone.
thanks
 

 
Aug 22, 2011 at 1:16 AM Post #335 of 374


Quote:
minitrox said:
guys . I have a question.
what is the best form to take the best sound ?
claro halo > rca out > head amp >>> headphone
claro halo > 3.5mm to rca connected to headphone amp >>> headphone.
thanks
 
Click to expand...



RCA to external headamp I.E. #1 is best. # 2 may overdrive input of headamp & offer poorer S/N ratio as result as well providing it doesn't actually overdrive the input. All of this may not matter though if they are using low grade coupling caps in the signal path of both. On my STX I eliminated those pesky low grade coupling caps & got substantial improvement in sound. There appears to be several possible coupling caps in the pick you show.
 
 
Aug 22, 2011 at 1:30 AM Post #336 of 374


 
Quote:
reidcc said:
Hello All-
 
I realize I'm bringing this thread back from the dead- maybe not cool here, but sorry if its not.
 
I am wanting to get a new soundcard- either PCI or PCI-E, but my main 2 issues are PRICE and QUALITY regarding Analog Inputs for doing Needle-drops or digitizing vinyl. I would record either at 24 bit, 96K or 192K.
 
I quickly went through the 23 pages here- and the only obscure reference I could find was regarding "inputs" on the CM chip as requiring a higher input level.
 
Does anyone here use ANY of the HTOmega cards to record vinyl? I had my mind on the Claro Plus with the changeable Op-Amps.
 
As for headphones- I do not own a working pair, so I don't think that factors into my equation.
 
Would I be better off with the Asus Essence STX?
 
Newegg has the STX for $199 plus $8 shipping- or the Claro Plus for $175 free shippijng.
Tiger Direct also has the Essence STX for $179 with $5 shipping.
 
 
Thank You
Chris
Click to expand...



Either way unless you have a turntable with an internal phono amp you will need a preamp or external phono amp. My recommendation is that if you already have a turntable & preamp Hook the turntable to the preamp phono input then from one of the tape outs of the preamp go to the input of the soundcard. If there is still not enough gain & you are not using the preamp to drive anything else connect from the preamp outs to the analog input of the soundcard, then you can use the volume control to pump up the volume to the nessessary level but be very carefull as many preamps have huge gain potential when connected this way & you can potentially damage the input circuitry of some soundcards if you sett too high of a volume on the preamp.
 
Oct 26, 2011 at 2:22 PM Post #337 of 374
Powerwise what would be the difference betwen STX and Halo? I mean, trough their HP out, which one drives more power (let's not forget that the STX has a direct PSU connection to power it's headphone amp, and thus should drive considerably more power, but I wouldn't know... Anyone?). Which would drive hard-to-amplify headphones better, like the the HiFiMan HE-5LE ou Audez'e LCD2, the Halo or the STX? Please.
 
Nov 17, 2011 at 1:10 AM Post #339 of 374
As the Asus Xonar Essence ST + H6 card combo is getting harder and harder to find. How does the HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT compare? From what I read so far it seems like it's a matter of taste. Is there a clear winner?
 
Nov 17, 2011 at 2:06 AM Post #340 of 374
The no nonsense drivers and software are what really win me over.
 
Dolby Headphone encoding and DTS/AC3 decoding work perfectly with Media Player Classic - Home Cinema and Battlefield 3 without any modifications.  It just works.  (well other than having MPC-HC and AC3Filter properly set up, but you'd need to have done that anyways for use with regular home theater receivers).
 
The HT Omega Claro is to me the "Poor Man's Smyth Realiser", only working internally in a computer. 
 
-Ed
 
Nov 17, 2011 at 10:55 PM Post #341 of 374
 
edwood said:

 
. 
 
 
Click to expand...


Nice! but the extra sockets on the 1028 increase THD and the risk of oscillation. How's the SQ anyway?
tongue_smile.gif

 
Nov 18, 2011 at 4:56 PM Post #342 of 374


Quote:
leeperry said:
 

Nice! but the extra sockets on the 1028 increase THD and the risk of oscillation. How's the SQ anyway?
tongue_smile.gif
Click to expand...



I'm using an external headphone amplifier with the main Left and Right outputs (the RCA jacks) so I'm not really using the secondary amplification stage (built in headphone "amp").
 
Giving it some time to settle, seems a bit clearer, mainly improvement with the Bass.
 
Dec 3, 2011 at 10:35 PM Post #345 of 374
The latest Claro Halo drivers are from July 2007, this is based on the latest C-Media ref drivers...you get bit-perfect ASIO, KS, low DPC latency, automatic bitmatch audio, etc.
 
And I dunno what you meant by "I'm not really using the secondary amplification stage" but the 4 swappable opamps are used for the line-out(I/V and buffer) as well: http://www.htomega.com/faq10.html
 
Soldering the 1028's directly onto the adapters should provide a (more or less) subtle SQ improvement
wink_face.gif

 
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