[newtophones07]

Quote:

BTW, these bloat-free drivers should work on the Claro Halo: http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

interesting, where does it say in the post that these will work with the halo??

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

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

The latest C-Media reference they may be based on, but the drivers on the HT Omega site aren't from 2007.  I'm using the Windows 7 drivers,  which are available here: 
http://www.htomega.com/new/c81773w7.zip
 
Windows 7 wasn't released until 2009.  I know most early drivers are often based on Vista ones, but to say they are from 2007 is not accurate. 
 
 
 
 
I'll bet real money that no one could tell the difference between soldered or socketed.  But I'm all for overkill.  Likely better to use better OP Amps for U9B and U11B.  It's a waste for me to use anything nice on U9A and U11A since I don't use the internal headphone "amp" output.
 
http://www.htomega.com/faq10.html
 

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

interesting, where does it say in the post that these will work with the halo??

They both use the same C-Media CMI8786 chipset, however there is no mention of it Dolby Headphone.  Don't know if they use the same implementation.  HT Omega Claro Halo drivers don't use EAX Emulation either.  So I'm sure the Asus drivers are a lot more bloated.

 

[leeperry]

 

interesting, where does it say in the post that these will work with the halo??

 
How about reading the page?

Added theoretical support for [..] HT Omega cards (Claro, Claro Halo, eClaro).

 
If there's any issue, whine about it to the owner...I'm sure he'll do his best to get it working.
 

I'm using the Windows 7 drivers,  which are available here: 
http://www.htomega.com/new/c81773w7.zip
 
Windows 7 wasn't released until 2009.

 
Oh, yah October 2010.
 

I'll bet real money that no one could tell the difference between soldered or socketed.  But I'm all for overkill.  Likely better to use better OP Amps for U9B and U11B.  It's a waste for me to use anything nice on U9A and U11A since I don't use the internal headphone "amp" output.
 
http://www.htomega.com/faq10.html
 

 
LT1028 is very sensitive, the shorter the signal path the better. IME, soldering opamps directly onto adapters is quite audible: clearer sound and SS.
 
Your link clearly states that the dual opamps in U9 and U11 both process the same mono signal but one copy goes to the line-out and the other to the headamp.
 

They both use the same C-Media CMI8786 chipset, however there is no mention of it Dolby Headphone.  Don't know if they use the same implementation.  HT Omega Claro Halo drivers don't use EAX Emulation either.  So I'm sure the Asus drivers are a lot more bloated.

 
It's CMI8788 actually. They're the same at heart, it's only that Asus have added a fancy GUI on top. All the windows driver side is (poorly) coded by C-Media.

 

[BirdofPrey]

Just swapped out the OP Amps on my Claro Halo with OPA602CM's and LT1028ACN8's.
 
Overkill, yes.  Fun, yes.
 

 
. 
 
 

Dang, how tall are those? Can you still put another card next to that one?
===
New here if you couldn't already tell. I got directed here by posting a question about this card on the Overclock.net forums, and, as a testament to the uselessness of their sound forum, was given a link to slog through this thread instead of being given an answer (having read the entire thread, I have determined the answer isn't here). I'm hoping the people here will actually answer questions and don't seem to believe sound quality goes (rated best to last) heavenly, excellent, just sell your ears hobo. /rant

Anyways. I was wondering about this card. I came across it, and while the base card seems to be a good headphone card, I am confused as to what the XT add on is supposed to be good for. Do people use it to plug RCA into their receivers? i was under the impression if you use the SP/DIF, the receiver generates the sound itself, so the soundcard is irrelevant if you are using a receiver to get sound to your speakers from a PC. Do people plug powered speakers into things like these?

My home entertainment system as it were is my PC, and as I upgraded it last year and am waiting for Intel and AMD's next processors before upgrading again, I am planning on spending my money to upgrade the sound instead. I'm hoping to get good speakers and good headphones. I need much much more info on that front, but from what little I know, this card might suit both of those purposes.


PS. why doesn't this site like Opera?

 

[ROBSCIX]

IIRC, the XT is the addition of the Daughter card that adds further connection for full 7.1 surround.
To answer your questions:
Generally the added outputs would be used to connect to an external receiver through analog connections or connect to separate amps or PC type speakers.
As you said, you can use digital but many prefer analog because in some cases using digital can actually be a downgrade depending on your system.

 

[BirdofPrey]

A downgrade? Is there something wrong with the encoding scheme they use for the digital that means it can't carry the audio data that the analog can?

For my part. When I say this, my first thought was to connect just amps to one of these, or maybe just powered speakers. My A/V device consists of just my PC, so I don't need the hundred bazzilion connections of a receiver. So far I haven't found separate amps that, when I buy multiples of so I can run all channels, come out to be cheaper that mid range receivers, so I am somewhat confused. Granted, I don't know much about shopping for sound equipment.

 

[Laciel]

Hi guys i own this halo claro card, im about to buy a dedicated external DAC, does the signal from the optical out put get affected by the OPAMP?
 
EDIT:Ok, I got an answer from ht omega, the optical out will not get affected by OPAMPs, they run on totally different circuits(digital//analog), duh, how noob of me to ask this silly questions.

 

[openwheelracing]

I have Claro Halo setup with foobar2000 and WASAPI. The headphone is plugged directly into the sound card.
 
I am wondering if the driver "auto" switches the bit rates. For music flac files (44.1khz) and movie (48khz).
Or must I manually switch the bit rate in the driver software?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[openwheelracing]

Anyone?
 
See above question.
Perhaps there is a way for me to test myself?

 

[sch1omo]

What's the best way to hook this up to a receiver? I'm running optical out to a denon AVR-1083. After reading this thread I'm not so sure that is the best way. I have the regular version, not the xt. I just want good 2-channel stereo music sound.

 

[openwheelracing]

Assuming you are happy with your receiver's stereo musicality, then optical or hdmi directly to your receiver. Make sure your music player supports WASAPI or ASIO. Then again, you don't need a soundcard to do this. Most likely your onboard sound is capable already.
 
The best part of this soundcard is its analogue ability. Hook it up directly to an amplifier (I use an integrated amp) and you have got yourself a great system. Also this card has a great headphone amp built it.

 

[sch1omo]

Quote:

The best part of this soundcard is its analogue ability. Hook it up directly to an amplifier (I use an integrated amp) and you have got yourself a great system. 

What do you mean by that? Are you still talking about optical? 
 
Is it weird that I don't like the sound of ASIO? Maybe I'm crazy but I can listen to music longer without ASIO. Seems easier on my ears. I mainly listen to 24 bit FLAC. My receiver shows 24/96 so the bit rate is right.

 

[shorke]

Hey everyone, I am planning on upgrading to some Denon AH-D2000s. I currently have an HT Omega Claro Plus+, I was wondering if I should upgrade to the Claro Halo for them? Or would I be better off getting an O2 amp? They are both around the same price. And should I be thinking about any external DAC also? Sorry for so many newbie questions!

 

[sovereignty68]

Did Claro Halo owners ditch the card? Anyone still using it?