# HT Omega  "Claro Halo" Headphone Only soundcard



## Anax

Not sure if this was discussed , I just had gotten a d2x and a claro + I am going to compare them and do a review. Upon looking for drivers ( The hdmi card by asus most of us know about now ) I found this on HTomega's site.


HT Omega - Claro halo


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## jenneth

Not bad, and it's only $165.


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## Valens7

Hm. That looks like a pretty neat piece of kit. Someone should try it out!


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## Zathan

I AM IN. I'm ordering one in the next week or so for sure.
 edit: hmm where the hell can I find one lol? any link guys? I want to buy it asap


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## odigg

I believe the TPA6120 they are using is the same op-amp used in the CI audio VHP 2.

 If this is done well this will be really interesting...


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## VinnieD

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Zathan* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I AM IN. I'm ordering one in the next week or so for sure.
 edit: hmm where the hell can I find one lol? any link guys? I want to buy it asap_

 

I am also interested in the Claro so I wrote their sales department. Here's their response:

 Hello. 

 Thanks for the interest
 Newegg starts selling Claro halo next week.
 They are setting them on the web

 Have a nice weekend!
 Sincerely,
 HT OMEGA

 So it looks like we should be able to get our hands on one soon


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## jenneth

Great news... I wonder how much of an upgrade this is over the X-Fi Prelude.


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## obobskivich

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *odigg* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I believe the TPA6120 they are using is the same op-amp used in the CI audio VHP 2.

 If this is done well this will be really interesting..._

 

afaik the VHP series as a whole has no opamps, the VHP-1 doesn't, and the VHP-2 is an extension of that 


 as far as an upgrade from the Prelude, remember, it'll only be in sound quality, not in performance, as its still based on the 8788 (an amazing piece of kit, as far as music/movie quality goes), but it'll slug down for gaming and other things which the X-Fi processor will scream through 


 now, that shouldn't stop anyone from this card though, lol

 EDIT::
 and if that wasn't enough, they have the XT option board, which brings 5.1 to analog RCA line outs (noice!), no idea how much more that'll cost (guessing over $200 from the look of it)

 per their specs, its a JRC 4580 for all channels of analog out (looks very nice)
 and TPA6120A2 for the headphone stage

 and here's the TI IC:
http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folder...tpa6120a2.html

 which looks superb

 as far as the op-amp/no-opamp thing, CI claims the VHP series have no opamps, but instead use current feedback, which is what TI is claiming for the operation of the TPA6120A2, so I'm guessing there is some discrepancy in what CI is really claiming

 I'd love to hear this card side-by-side with my CIA setup, but idk if I'm willing to buy a third 
 >$100 soundcard


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## haloxt

Do you guys think the extension card XT will be useful? I plan on using headphones primarily as I don't have good speakers.


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## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Do you guys think the extension card XT will be useful? I plan on using headphones primarily as I don't have good speakers._

 

The XT only makes sense if you want 7.1 surround sound. It's useless if you are only using headphones.

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *obobskivich* 
_as far as the op-amp/no-opamp thing, CI claims the VHP series have no opamps, but instead use current feedback, which is what TI is claiming for the operation of the TPA6120A2, so I'm guessing there is some discrepancy in what CI is really claiming_

 

There has been some discussion about this on head-fi. If you notice, the CI audio site says it does not use opamps but does not say it is a discrete design.

 Many audiophiles seem to have an aversion (which I don't understand) to opamps. My guess that the CI Audio has written it like this just to appease the people who would reject it based simply on the fact it uses a integrated circuit. Many people don't know what an opamp is on the first place, so CI Audio can get away with this.

 To me the CI audio description is just semantics. Of course, I don't really care if something uses opamps. Many people do.

 These types of shenanigans are common in audio land. They are done to get around the oh so many myths people have about why they should/shouldn't buy something.


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## obobskivich

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *odigg* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_There has been some discussion about this on head-fi. If you notice, the CI audio site says it does not use opamps but does not say it is a discrete design.

 Many audiophiles seem to have an aversion (which I don't understand) to opamps. My guess that the CI Audio has written it like this just to appease the people who would reject it based simply on the fact it uses a integrated circuit. Many people don't know what an opamp is on the first place, so CI Audio can get away with this.

 To me the CI audio description is just semantics. Of course, I don't really care if something uses opamps. Many people do.

 These types of shenanigans are common in audio land. They are done to get around the oh so many myths people have about why they should/shouldn't buy something._

 


 yeah, i basically surmised as much, based on the image of the board, and lack of them espousing their "unique design" (kind of like ultrasone writing paragraphs on s-logic), but yeah, a lot of people crying over integrated circuits and solid state, just because its "new" (i.e: not something from the time of christ), honestly I'd love to hear the CIA vs the HT Omega, just to see how much different the sound may really be, and if the Halo can push enough juice to really match the CIA...


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## jenneth

Newegg has the card on their website:

Newegg.com - HT OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Sound Cards

 Anyone here interested in getting it?


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## haloxt

can anyone tell just how much better this might be over the ht omega claro plus? really itching to buy but don't want to waste money if it's about the same as my claro plus.


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## jenneth

I don't think anyone has this card yet (but that could change soon). As for its sound quality, well, it certainly has very good specs and upgradibility. However, if there's one thing I don't like about Halo is that if you want to upgrade the opamps, you'll need to change all four (at least this is the impression I get). The RCA output is a nice touch though.


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## haloxt

well i decided to order it, if there's any tests or comparisons you guys want to see done between halo and claro plus let me know.


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## jenneth

Congrats, let us know how it sound when it get there. BTW, since you didn't specify in your profile, what are your other audio components?


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## Shahrose

nice, this is exactly the direction i want sound cards to head. it'd be interesting to see a comparison between the halo and the claro plus (imo currently the best music/movie soundcard on the market). i'd also like to see some opamp rolling on the halo.


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## haloxt

My headphones are Bang & Olufsen A8.


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## VinnieD

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jenneth* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I don't think anyone has this card yet (but that could change soon). As for its sound quality, well, it certainly has very good specs and upgradibility. However, if there's one thing I don't like about Halo is that if you want to upgrade the opamps, you'll need to change all four (at least this is the impression I get). The RCA output is a nice touch though._

 


 I just ordered the card today from NewEgg. I should receive it Tuesday (fingers crossed). I'll try and post my opinions on here after I get a chance to try it out. Just as FYI I will be listening with Sennheiser HD595s (50 ohm version) so I won't be able to tell how the card fares with high impedance headphones. My current Soundcard is a SB-Xfi. I really hope the Halo is noticeably better with the 595s. Imo the SB-Xfi sounds really nice with the 595s(certainly better than my Ipod). So we will see(or hear)


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## odigg

Looks like the Halo is sold out at Newegg. Did they only have 2? The XT is still available if you want to spend $50 more.


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *obobskivich* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_yeah, i basically surmised as much, based on the image of the board, and lack of them espousing their "unique design" (kind of like ultrasone writing paragraphs on s-logic), but yeah, a lot of people crying over integrated circuits and solid state, just because its "new" (i.e: not something from the time of christ), honestly I'd love to hear the CIA vs the HT Omega, just to see how much different the sound may really be, and if the Halo can push enough juice to really match the CIA..._

 

Their are two theoretical technical issues I can see with the Halo vs the VHP 2.

 1. PCI is 5 volts. The VHP 2 is powered by 14 volts. That is a lot more headroom for high impedance headphones, especially during very dynamic music.

 2. It's likely the Halo uses a tweaked version of the reference design for the headphone amp section, as is the trend in the PC industry. I believe the VHP 2 uses an original design. 

 As for the practical implications versus technical ones, we will have to see. 

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Shahrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_nice, this is exactly the direction i want sound cards to head. it'd be interesting to see a comparison between the halo and the claro plus (imo currently the best music/movie soundcard on the market). i'd also like to see some opamp rolling on the halo._

 

This product is very interesting. The TI chip has been around for a while. As far as I know, this is the first mainstream (well, mostly mainstream) product that uses the chip. 

 The implications of such a chip are that it can be very inexpensive and easy to create a headphone amp. Combined with what seems to be a greater interest in headphone amps, I wonder if some more manufacturers are going to create products for this market. Obviously TI had enough faith in the market to create such a specialized chip in the first place.

 Considering that Denon, Sony, etc could sell an amp similar to the VHP 2 at a much lower cost, the Halo might be the first glimpse into much cheaper headphone DACs/Amps in the future. This will really eat into the lower line products of headphone, CI Audio, RSA, and the other small companies out there.

 But this is just a general observation. Who knows if it will come true. My guess it that headphone amps are enough of a niche market that the big boys may ignore it for now.


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## VinnieD

I just received my Claro Halo today and based on a couple hours listening I am extremely impressed. My previous card was a SB-Xfi and this card clearly sounds better. I am listening with HD595's which play LOUD with this card. This claro has more power than the X-fi and far more than the HD595s really need. Judging from the volume the Hd595s play at I assume it should have no trouble with much less sensitive and higher impedance headphones.

 I will post more finding once I have more time to listen.


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## haloxt

I got it in the mail this afternoon and listened several hours. I haven't tried comparing sound tests against the ht omega claro + just yet because I'm having trouble due to my cheap PSU.

 If you guys don't mind premature and amateur impressions: with halo compared to the claro+, sounds are more distinct and less flowery (in a good way). There's greater detail, even at low volume, whereas high volume on claro+ became a bad habit of mine because it would help the mushed sound. It has more reverberation which is nice. What strikes me most is how music in general sounds less forced now, which I suspect is attributable to the fact that sounds are more distinct.

 Tomorrow I'm going to take out some stuff and try to have both cards in to try some benchmark tests. Can you guys recommend some tests to do other than rightmark? *crosses fingers, hopes sound card not really fitting in pci bracket isn't an indicator of hardware quality*


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## slowfreight

haloxt, what headphones are you using? Also I was wondering if you have a seperate headphone amp to compare with the Halo. thanks

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I got it in the mail this afternoon and listened several hours. I haven't tried comparing sound tests against the ht omega claro + just yet because I'm having trouble due to my cheap PSU.

 If you guys don't mind premature and amateur impressions: with halo compared to the claro+, sounds are more distinct and less flowery (in a good way). There's greater detail, even at low volume, whereas high volume on claro+ became a bad habit of mine because it would help the mushed sound. It has more reverberation which is nice. What strikes me most is how music in general sounds less forced now, which I suspect is attributable to the fact that sounds are more distinct.

 Tomorrow I'm going to take out some stuff and try to have both cards in to try some benchmark tests. Can you guys recommend some tests to do other than rightmark? *crosses fingers, hopes sound card not really fitting in pci bracket isn't an indicator of hardware quality*_


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## haloxt

I'm using Bang and Olufsen A8 and sorry I have no headphone amp. I'm not a head-fier, I just wanted to talk about sound cards 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.


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## obobskivich

if the card isn't fitting the bracket, i.e: on the metal part of the case, thats an issue with the case's quality, not the comptuer system itself


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## Enthusia

Someone should really do an extensive review on this, especially compared to the prelude or even the new Auzentech quartet.


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## VinnieD

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *VinnieD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I just received my Claro Halo today and based on a couple hours listening I am extremely impressed. My previous card was a SB-Xfi and this card clearly sounds better. I am listening with HD595's which play LOUD with this card. This claro has more power than the X-fi and far more than the HD595s really need. Judging from the volume the Hd595s play at I assume it should have no trouble with much less sensitive and higher impedance headphones.

 I will post more finding once I have more time to listen. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 


 OK I have had a chance to spend many hours with the Halo and just want to follow up with my findings. 

 I only have Sennheiser HD595's so all my listening has been done on those. Also I do not own any external Headphone Amps to compare; my reference point is my SB X-FI.

 Simply put I have never heard sound this good from a PC. My HD595s hardly sound like the same headphones vs the X-FI. I always thought the 595s were a little thin in the bass department before I heard them on a true headphone amp. The 595s sound very full now in the lower end compared to before. The midrange is also much clearer. I hear things in recordings I didn't even know were there. The treble has also improved and I notice cymbals sound so natural you feel like you're in the room with them. Everthing about the sound is natural. Overal imo the 595s sound very balanced and neutral with the Halo.

 I hope this info has provided useful to anyone interested in the HALO. If anyone has questions about the card, I will try my best to answer what I know.


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## obobskivich

aren't headphone amps fun!

 lol

 hopefully the word of this card gets 'round as more than a FOTM, it'd be a good alternative for those new to high end headphones


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## HeadLover

I wonder how this card compare to some headphones amp, we guys use here.


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## NapalmV5

another great 8788 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/so...3/#post4826783


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## RTilbury

I hope somene can help me with this. I currently have a Sound Blaster Audigy 2. And really hate it.

 My system consists of a Portal Audio Panache, Vienna Acoustic Bach, and Sennheiser HD600. 

 I was about to pull the trigger on the HT Omega Claro Plus+ a few weeks ago, but have been too busy to actually do it. 

 Now I see they have some new cards. If I am using just 2 channel, what card offers better musical sound quality? I dont care about driving my headphones, since my Panache does that spectacularly.

 I am mainly wondering about the OPamp quality difference between the claro plus and Halo.

 Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## leberserkfury

I'm in the same boat. I currently have X-fi and want to upgrade to something that is awesome with headphones yet able to keep that nice gaming side going. I heard the X2D sonar is very good on both music and gaming. Any thoughts on how claro halo compares to the sonar?


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## odigg

Let me present a "logical" argument. Just remember that it doesn't have to be correct.

 The HT Claro line is considered to be excellent. With the Claro Halo, instead of using one of the regular opamp outputs, they have specifically used a opamp designed to drive headphones. Basically you have a HT Claro card with a dedicated headphone amp.

 Unless there is something seriously wrong with the Claro Halo, you have a card that is at least as good as the regular Claro. If you are primarily focused on the 2 channel headphone use, I'd get the Claro Halo. If you already have a headphone amp, I'd just get the regular Claro and feed it into the amp.


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## jenneth

On paper, Claro Halo should at least as good, if not better than the X2D. They both uses the same C-Media chip, but Halo has two features that the X2D don't have, RCA output and changeable OPAMP. Additionally, Halo is cheaper than X2D.


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## haloxt

sorry i haven't posted the rightmark test results yet, i don't have the wire to do a loopback for the test and i'm having trouble getting both cards in at the same time. but right now i'll post the halo test results even though they make no sense to me : ]. i ran the tests with these options: directsound, external loopback, speakers (Claro halo) at 24-bit. tested in 44.1kHz, 96kHz, and 192kHz.

 note: Noise level and crosstalk are missing because they are seriously wrong because I am not setting up the test correctly 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 44 kHz
 Summary
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.01, -0.01 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 102.6 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0007 Excellent
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -96.7 Excellent
 IMD + Noise, % 0.0022 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.0022 Excellent
 General performance Excellent

 96 kHz
 Summary
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.10, -0.09 Very good
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 102.7 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0020 Excellent
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -69.4Average
 IMD + Noise, % 0.040 Good
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.032 Good
 General performance Very good

 192 kHz
 Summary
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.10, -0.09 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 102.6 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0019 Excellent
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -85.6 Good
 IMD + Noise, % 0.0034 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.0075 Excellent
 General performance Excellent


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## ROBSCIX

Those numbers look a bit strange to say the least. 
 You really need a cable...


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## Shahrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *VinnieD* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_OK I have had a chance to spend many hours with the Halo and just want to follow up with my findings. 

 I only have Sennheiser HD595's so all my listening has been done on those. Also I do not own any external Headphone Amps to compare; my reference point is my SB X-FI.

 Simply put I have never heard sound this good from a PC. My HD595s hardly sound like the same headphones vs the X-FI. I always thought the 595s were a little thin in the bass department before I heard them on a true headphone amp. The 595s sound very full now in the lower end compared to before. The midrange is also much clearer. I hear things in recordings I didn't even know were there. The treble has also improved and I notice cymbals sound so natural you feel like you're in the room with them. Everthing about the sound is natural. Overal imo the 595s sound very balanced and neutral with the Halo.

 I hope this info has provided useful to anyone interested in the HALO. If anyone has questions about the card, I will try my best to answer what I know._

 

as much as i appreciate your impressions, it, unfortunately doesn't tell me much. when i compared them, the X-Fi was greatly outclassed by the claro+ and had a LOT more volume than the X-Fi as well. what i'd like to see is a comparison between the claro halo and the claro+.


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## sonci

As I see from this link HT Omega 
 the Claro + uses the high end AD8620BR, for front channel, so, for purely speaker use the Claro+ should be better than any Omega card, even the new ones.


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## haloxt

for whatever reason looping optical input and output causes distortion and clipping and the test results are all screwed up, so i'll stop being cheap and get the stupid analog cable lol.


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## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_for whatever reason looping optical input and output causes distortion and clipping and the test results are all screwed up, so i'll stop being cheap and get the stupid analog cable lol._

 

If possible, could you do the test with and without headphones connected? Many devices test well when unloaded, but change when loaded with headphones. A LOT of devices change when you use low impedance headphones. Your A8s are 19 ohms and if you RMAA the analog section with those connected that will give us a great idea of how good the headphone amp really is.

 Thanks.


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## haloxt

I listen to music at about 5% of total volume, and to do the test properly I have to do 95% of total volume which would probably damage the headphones. RMAA requires playback/recording volume adjustments so that the left and right channels are at -1dB. it's due either to HT Omega making their sound cards having extremely high volume at low volume setting or to RMAA always requiring such high volume (I think the first is most likely).

 But if you think it's safe I'll do the test with my headphones after I test the cards with an analog loopback.


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## haloxt

radioshack only has 1 male to male 3.5mm cable and it costs 14 bucks. you guys know if the rca cable that came with halo can be used to loopback? otherwise i'll order from newegg


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## haloxt

I connected the RCA plugs with the RCA adapter into line-in and did a bunch of tests with MME and directsound which give pretty much identical results consistently except directsound has much better frequency response.

 Also do you know if the RCA loopback is good enough or a male to male stereo cable would give more accurate results? I'll test out the claro+ in the same way later today. tell me if you think i should do some other tests because I will be giving the claro+ to my sister soon.

 here's the MME test results (i was off from required -1dB by 0.2 dB on the right channel, i don't know how this affects score)

 Testing device Wave mapper
 Sampling mode 24-bit, 44 kHz
 Interface MME
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.03, -0.04 Excellent
 Noise level, dB (A) -96.2 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 96.5 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0031 Very good
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -86.1 Good
 IMD + Noise, % 0.0062 Excellent
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -97.3 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.027 Good
 General performance Excellent

 Sampling mode 24-bit, 96 kHz
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.17, -0.18 Very good
 Noise level, dB (A) -97.1 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 96.6 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0043 Very good
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -67.1 Average
 IMD + Noise, % 0.035 Good
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -96.6 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.069 Good
 General performance Very good

 Sampling mode 24-bit, 192 kHz
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.15, -0.20 Very good
 Noise level, dB (A) -96.8 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 96.6 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0041 Very good
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -84.0 Good
 IMD + Noise, % 0.0070 Excellent
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -92.1 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.043 Good
 General performance Very good

 edit: adding new numbers, i got a loopback cable finally i'll just show the 192, the new test results are pretty much the same except for worse crosstalk.

 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.22, -0.20 Good
 Noise level, dB (A) -95.6 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 95.5 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0018 Excellent
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -83.2 Good
 IMD + Noise, % 0.0059 Excellent
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -77.5 Very good
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.033 Good
 General performance Very good

 i've been trying to reproduce some of the old results but no luck and now a new problem has come up, the right channel is always 0.2 dB off from the left channel.


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## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I listen to music at about 5% of total volume, and to do the test properly I have to do 95% of total volume which would probably damage the headphones. RMAA requires playback/recording volume adjustments so that the left and right channels are at -1dB. it's due either to HT Omega making their sound cards having extremely high volume at low volume setting or to RMAA always requiring such high volume (I think the first is most likely).

 But if you think it's safe I'll do the test with my headphones after I test the cards with an analog loopback._

 

Have you increased the stereo line in volume? I'm a little surprised you need the headphone out all the way up at 95 percent. Even with my motherboards onboard sound (I just tested it) I only need to set both the stereo out and stereo in to 30 percent for RMAA to say the volume levels are good.

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_
 Also do you know if the RCA loopback is good enough or a male to male stereo cable would give more accurate results? I'll test out the claro+ in the same way later today. tell me if you think i should do some other tests because I will be giving the claro+ to my sister soon._

 

Just to clarify, were you setting it to 95% on the RCA outs or the headphone out? Can you even set the RCA out volume?

 Since we are looking for the performance of the headphone out, you should get a male to male and run it from the headphone out to the Line in. Then we can get a better idea of about the quality of the headphone out. I believe Target also sells a male to male for a cheaper price, but don't quote me on it.

 I'm not sure if you should connect your headphones to the headphone out at 95% volume. If you can get RMAA to work at lower levels by increasing the volume of the line in, then it should be fine (but listen first to see how loud it is first.).


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## odigg

Just another thing. You may know this already.

 To do an RMAA with a headphone attached, you will have to get a stereo Y cable that allows you to split the output of the headphone out on the sound card. The male part of the Y cable goes into the headphone out. Then the male to male cable goes into one of the female ends of the Y cable. The headphone goes into the other female end.


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## haloxt

I can't resolve the new problem I mentioned in my last post, now I wonder am I damaging my sound card?


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## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *sonci* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_As I see from this link HT Omega 
 the Claro + uses the high end AD8620BR, for front channel, so, for purely speaker use the Claro+ should be better than any Omega card, even the new ones._

 


 There is more to the soundcard then just the Opamp. The DAC's also play a large part.. Also, the Halo has socket so you can snap a 8620 in that also if that is your cup of tea. The 8620 isn't the best opamps there is either... There are many other opamps out there that people will say provide better sound then a 8620BR...


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## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I can't resolve the new problem I mentioned in my last post, now I wonder am I damaging my sound card?_

 

I don't think your card is damaged. You have no way of knowing is the imbalance is there in the headphone out or line in. I've also seen slight channel imbalances (0.2 is very slight) from cards I've tested in the past so I don't think it's a major issue. 0.2 db is not something you can hear.

 Look at the RMAA frequency graph for the EMU 0404 USB. There is a slight channel imbalance there as well.

 In fact, I looked at other graphs on this site (amb) and it seems a slight channel imbalance is common. So I don't think your sound card is damaged.


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## haloxt

Here's the claro+ results, it's too high by 0.2 dB on the right channel so I think maybe it's the bloody wire I bought yesterday that's broken lol.

 There's a lot of difference between MME and directsound for the 44kHz test so I'll post both, the last tests are MME.

 Testing device Speakers (HTO CLARO)
 Sampling mode 24-bit, 44 kHz
 Interface DirectSound
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.04, -0.13 Very good
 Noise level, dB (A) -100.8 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 98.8 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0046 Very good
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -83.9 Good
 IMD + Noise, % 0.033 Good
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -92.0 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.040 Good
 General performance Very good

 Sampling mode 24-bit, 44 kHz
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.12, -0.08 Very good
 Noise level, dB (A) -100.4 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 98.7 Excellent
 THD, % 0.122 Average
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -54.3 Poor
 IMD + Noise, % 0.222 Average
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -91.4 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.302 Average
 General performance Very good

 Sampling mode 24-bit, 96 kHz
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.12, -0.18 Very good
 Noise level, dB (A) -101.5 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 99.1 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0048 Very good
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -69.2 Average
 IMD + Noise, % 0.041 Good
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -91.2 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.051 Good
 General performance Very good

 Sampling mode 24-bit, 192 kHz
 Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB +0.08, -0.09 Very good
 Noise level, dB (A) -99.4 Excellent
 Dynamic range, dB (A) 99.6 Excellent
 THD, % 0.0052 Very good
 THD + Noise, dB (A) -81.6 Good
 IMD + Noise, % 0.0066 Excellent
 Stereo crosstalk, dB -91.0 Excellent
 IMD at 10 kHz, % 0.037 Good
 General performance Very good


----------



## villager-li

Hi there - hopefully someone can help me with this. I am trying to decide if I should get a Claro Plus or a Claro Halo. I had some questions pertaining to getting a Halo card:

 1. I would need to purchase a 3.5mm Stereo Female to RCA Male Y-Cable/Adapter so I can connect my Logitech speakers to the Halo card (the adapter that is provided with the Halo is a Male connector on the 3.5mm Stereo side, which won't work for me since my speakers don't have a stero input). This may be a silly question, but am I going to lose any sound quality by using this type of adapter?

 2. Most of the music I listen to is MP3 based (usually at a decent bitrate - 192kbps or higher). I have seen a few posts on the Internet saying that if you're listening to MP-3 with the Halo, the sound quality is not good at all. What are your thoughts? Is it actually going to be worse with the Halo card vs. the Claro Plus?

 3. My headphones are actually Shure earbuds (they cost about $300 when I got them). Will I be able to take advantage of the benefits of the headphone features on the Halo with these earbuds?

 Thanks very much for your help.


----------



## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *villager-li* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_
 1. I would need to purchase a 3.5mm Stereo Female to RCA Male Y-Cable/Adapter so I can connect my Logitech speakers to the Halo card (the adapter that is provided with the Halo is a Male connector on the 3.5mm Stereo side, which won't work for me since my speakers don't have a stero input). This may be a silly question, but am I going to lose any sound quality by using this type of adapter?

 2. Most of the music I listen to is MP3 based (usually at a decent bitrate - 192kbps or higher). I have seen a few posts on the Internet saying that if you're listening to MP-3 with the Halo, the sound quality is not good at all. What are your thoughts? Is it actually going to be worse with the Halo card vs. the Claro Plus?

 3. My headphones are actually Shure earbuds (they cost about $300 when I got them). Will I be able to take advantage of the benefits of the headphone features on the Halo with these earbuds?

 Thanks very much for your help._

 

1. You will not lose any sound quality with a bit of extra cable. 

 2. Rubbish. I've heard MP3s out of gear that is much better (proper speaker/headphone rigs) than the Claro Halo and decently encoded mp3s (192+) sound just fine.

 3. According to the previous comments in this thread, the Claro Halo works well with headphones. If you are going to use headphones I suggest the Halo as driving the Logitech system is easier than driving headphones since the Logitech system has a built in amp. The Halo should be more than adequate to get good "sound quality" from your speakers.


----------



## TimPrice

why not PCI-Xpress interface?


----------



## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *TimPrice* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_why not PCI-Xpress interface?_

 

How about why PCIe? 

 PCI has more than enough bandwidth for this type audio, and by making it PCI they increase the number of people who have compatible hardware . There are plenty of people (like me) who are still using AGP/PCI based computers. Even the latest motherboards still have at least 1 PCI slot.


----------



## HeadLover

I love the new PCI interface (the E or express or what ever you call it)
 It allow much more bendwidth to the card, and as a much "nicer" lower footprint.

 Don't know why not many brands have cards for it


----------



## Quantum 9598

You can wait for the ASUS Xonar Essence card with PCIe interface probably. i got this information from another thread.


----------



## obobskivich

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Quantum 9598* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You can wait for the ASUS Xonar Essence card with PCIe interface probably. i got this information from another thread._

 

exactly

 and the reason not many people are jumping on the PCIe bandwagon is that there is no gain to be derived from spending all of that R&D money/time, the performance is more than enough on PCI (this has been argued to the ground in other threads), and not everyone uses PCIe compatable systems (even my newest computer, I use a PCI card, it could take a PCIe card, but why do I want to spend another $40-$50 to help some company recoup R&D expenses because the product isn't selling as well, especially when I can save that money, and get the same quality on PCI (which, even my absurdly early adopter motherboard still supports))


----------



## Reputator

I'd rather use PCIe so I can carry the card over to future computers that may not have PCI. The sound card is not something you upgrade very often, whereas the rest of the system, if you like staying on top of things, you may upgrade every few years. That's why the Essence STX looks appealing to me.


----------



## HeadLover

You know
 Asus has a new card that is like the D2X but with HDMI and so on
 Well, I have seen a review of it, and it seem to have a much lower quality sound than the D2X (due to more parts on the card and so on)

 I wonder, will the same thing happen here ?

 I prefer a more "minimal" design, but with much better SQ.


----------



## odigg

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Reputator* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'd rather use PCIe so I can carry the card over to future computers that may not have PCI. The sound card is not something you upgrade very often, whereas the rest of the system, if you like staying on top of things, you may upgrade every few years. That's why the Essence STX looks appealing to me._

 

Like most technology in computers, PCI will probably hang around for a long time. I just browsed through some motherboards on Newegg and they still have parallel and serial connectors. Apart from EPROM programmers and such, has anybody used a serial or parallel port in the last 5 years? I stopped using those two ports even before I stopped using a 1.44 floppy! Anybody remember the joys of having a printer/scanner that used the parallel port?

 PCI is here to stay for a little while at least. It'll probably be a few years after people stop making PCI devices that motherboard manufacturers abandon it (unless they are Apple). Gigabit Ethernet and SATA require PCIe, and those two are usually built into motherboards now. The only common use for a PCIe slot are graphic cards, and most people only need one


----------



## odigg

HT responded to some technical information I asked for and I thought people here would like to know.

 When the Claro Halo was first announced, I was skeptical of their claim that the Halo could power any headphone to 600 ohms because PCI is a 5 volt spec. 5 volts is not a lot of headroom for large voltage swings for very dynamic music when using high impedance headphones.

 However, after looking at the datasheet for the TPA6120A2 (the headphone amp on the Halo), I learned the this chip requires a minimum supply voltage of 10 volts. So I emailed HT asking them about this discrepancy.

 Turns out that the PCI spec has a +12v pin and a -12v pin. The reply I got wasn't 100% clear (to me), but I think the gist of it is that the headphone amp is being powered by both pins and thus has a supply voltage of 24 volts. Even if I misinterpreted what was said in the email, the headphone amp has a supply voltage of 12 volts.

 24v should be enough to drive 600 ohm headphones. With this bit of information, I have much more confidence in HT's claims that the Halo can drive any headphone up to 600 ohms. Even if does only have a supply voltage of 12 volts, that is quite close to the 14v of the VHP-2, if such a comparison means anything to anybody.

 Also, HT responded to my email in 3 hours. That is very impressive!


----------



## slowfreight

I received my Halo yesterday, installed it and after only a few hours of listening and tinkering with it, I can honestly say that I am done looking for audio upgrades (at least as far as a source is concerned). This things is cyrstal clear and it drives my D2000's perfectly ( via factory low impedance settings). All details, wether in game or with music, shine through. I like this card so much, that soon I will be selling my Little Dot MK V and Prelude. I was ready for a huge disappointment, but received the card I will be using for many system builds to come. Bravo HT Omega.


----------



## Daal

I want to revive this for a little bit.

 Anyone else have a good experience with this sound card?

 Wondering if I should get an external amp or this sound card for my HD-595's 

 going to be playing lots of games and drum n bass music.


----------



## JamesL

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Reputator* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'd rather use PCIe so I can carry the card over to future computers that may not have PCI. The sound card is not something you upgrade very often, whereas the rest of the system, if you like staying on top of things, you may upgrade every few years. That's why the Essence STX looks appealing to me._

 

I've read PCI is technically superior to pci-e when it comes to audio. Something about the packet sizes I think... I've no idea where I've read it though. 
 One thing is for certain. PCI will be used for many many years to come. The first manufacturer to put out a motherboard out there with no PCI slots are going to take a major hit in sales.
 I think video cards are only recently taking an advantage of PCI-E, and they're really the only things out there that comes near utilizing the capabilities of PCI-E.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Daal* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I want to revive this for a little bit.

 Anyone else have a good experience with this sound card?

 Wondering if I should get an external amp or this sound card for my HD-595's 

 going to be playing lots of games and drum n bass music._

 

Should drive the HD-595's fine.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *HeadLover* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You know
 Asus has a new card that is like the D2X but with HDMI and so on
 Well, I have seen a review of it, and it seem to have a much lower quality sound than the D2X (due to more parts on the card and so on)

 I wonder, will the same thing happen here ?

 I prefer a more "minimal" design, but with much better SQ._

 

Actually, that is quite incorrect. The HDAV 1.3 has good DAC, opamp output section design and as a result great sound quality, which is better then the D2.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




 The HDAV in terms of analog quality is the current King of the Xonar line-up. The Xonar essence is the only other Xonar which can surpass it for analog output quality.


----------



## lumingzuiku

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Actually, that is quite incorrect. The HDAV 1.3 has good DAC, opamp output section design and as a result great sound quality, which is better then the D2.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 The HDAV in terms of analog quality is the current King of the Xonar line-up. The Xonar essence is the only other Xonar which can surpass it for analog output quality._

 

But according to review, HDAV performes worse than D2X


----------



## odigg

I've got an RMMA test with the headphone out on high gain (was not able to test with low gain) loaded with the D5000 (25 ohms).

 I'd prefer to just put the html file and images on a website. Can anybody host the files for me?

 Thanks.


----------



## odigg

Guess nobody wants to host it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Oh well. Here are the results. Headphone amp was set to high gain and I tested loaded with the Denon D5000 (25 ohms).

*Summary*






*Frequency response*






*Noise Level*






*Dynamic Range*






*THD + Noise (at -3 dB FS)*






*Intermodulation distortion*






*Stereo crosstalk*






*IMD (swept tones)*


----------



## odigg

First things First. The D5000 being powered by this card was wonderful. There is also no computer noise or any of that associated rubbish.

 When doing the RMAA testing I came across a few issues.

 1. The stereo in of the Claro Halo is not very sensitive. With the headphone amp on low gain I set the stereo in (tried stereo in and stereo mix) volume to 100 and the headphone out volume to 100 and RMAA still reported the volume was not high enough to do a test. The only way I could do a test was with the amp set to high gain.

 Going along with this, on low gain I was able to listen to music with windows and foobar volumes at 100% without destroying my headphones or ears. It was loud - beyond how I would listen to music on a regular basis - but I could listen to it without getting a headache.

 2. Changing gain is a pain. You have to take the card out of the computer to do it. This could be a deal breaker if you use IEMS and full sized headphones, but I do not think it's an issue if you only use headphones. The high gain setting works just fine for the Denon D5000. If you do not use IEMS you could set the amp to high gain and forget about it. I haven't tested the card with IEMs so do not take my claims as a definite statement.

 Those are really my only two issues with this card. The drivers seem to be solid. The Dolby effects are cool or weird - I haven't figured it out.

 You may notice I haven't given a comprehensive review of the audio. I'm one of the DBT Hydrogen-Audio audiophiles, so my expectations, tests, and philosophy about audio equipment are different from how many people see the world on head-fi. For those reasons I'll refrain from posting my opinions here. You are welcome to send me a PM if you still want my opinion even after all this.

 Please keep in mind that the paragraph above is not a implicit statement about the Claro Halo. The sound coming into my ears now is quite beautiful


----------



## odigg

I've been doing some more testing and I have one major complaint about the Halo.

 The line in sensitivity is very poor. The input volume has to be really loud before an RMAA test can be done. I was unable to RMAA a Sansa Fuze because I couldn't crank the volume high enough. 

 I then wanted to check how a CMOY changed the RMAA results of my motherboards stereo out. I cranked the CMOY to the point where I was worried about blowing up my headphones and it sill wasn't loud enough for RMAA to run the test.

 In both cases the stereo in volume was set to 100. I don't know if I'm missing a setting. My motherboard's onboard sound stereo in sensitivity is much better than the Halo. Using the onboard sound I was able to test the Fuze and other equipment without worrying about blowing up my headhpones.

 Assuming I am not missing a setting, I cannot recommend this card if you want to use the stereo in for testing or anything similar purpose. The actual "quality" of the stereo in seems fine when you can get the volume loud enough, but it needs to be very loud. There is a lot of equipment you may be unable to test because of this.


----------



## XSAlliN

You give to much credit to RMAA, so much that you don't trust you own senses and think RMAA knows best. It's just a benching soft, not very good with this card - you don't have to ruin your headset or go deaf because of that, just wait for a new version.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *lumingzuiku* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_But according to review, HDAV performes worse than D2X_

 

Some don't know how to properly use RMAA and even more have less of a clue on how to interpret the results. 
 The HDAV 1.3 is the current king for analog sound quality of the Xonar soundcard line. I have tested and others have tested that I trust and we all get the same results.
 When more review hit the streets for that card you will see this card has very nice analog sound quality. 
 The line-up would go like this:
 1. HDAV1.3 (SNR120)
 2. D2X(118)
 3. D2(118)
 4. DX(116)
 5. D1(116)
 6. U1 (96~100)
 If or when the Essence hits it will take the top spot and become the new king but for now the above list is 100% accurate.
 Ask ASUS if you are still in doubt.
 Sorry guys, not trying to go off topic....


----------



## odigg

Just to try it, I ran RMAA at 24bit/192khz as that seems to be the gold standard nowadays. Both tests were unloaded.

*Headphone Out*






 Stereo Speaker Out






 Judging from the results, I either did the test incorrectly, the stereo in of the Halo is not up to this test, or the performance of this card is really not very impressive for 24bit/192khz operation.

 Of course, considering that CDs are 16/44.1, I'm not sure the results posted above make a practical difference.


----------



## XSAlliN

Try at 24 bit/96 kHz - there are some available albums remastered at this rates.


----------



## odigg

24bit/96khz. Tests were done unloaded.

*Headphone jack*






*Stereo speaker out*


----------



## ROBSCIX

The trouble with RMAA, is when you do loopback mode, many of the modern cards have a much better playback section then recording. The RMAA results will always be limited by the weakest section which is usually the recording section on these consumer cards. To note: THD and other distortion measurments are the result of both sections.

 @odigg, are you using the latest Direct X with patches etc? I had some weird results with a RMAA and when I asked the guys who wrote the application they said you can get wierd readings for certain tests if your using a older version of DX. You may want to try this if things are looking a bit off to you.


----------



## audionewbieyao

I've also seen same card with huge difference in RMAA test results from different reviewer/sites.

 I think the system and the configuration does make RMAA only for reference.


----------



## ROBSCIX

RMAA is a tool, If used correctly it can give you much good information about the soundcard your testing. However if you don't know what you are doing or how to interpret the results you will get the wrong info from the applications and the info will be useless.


----------



## les_garten

Hello,
 I am new here. I just found this site looking for info about the Zero DAC/Head Amp on Ebay. Then I found this thread which looked interesting. I have a few questions and am seeking some advice.

 I just got a Hella good deal on Byerdynamics DT 770 for $108 at Amazon. The phones are burning in and sound kinda grainy to me. However I'm sure it is because how i am listening to them. I have a HT Omega Stryker 7.1 running Klipsch Promedia 2.1's. I am jacked into the Headphone Jack on the Promedia Speaker set. So I came across these options:

 1) Creek OBH-11 split off the line out from the HT Omega. Not real keen on splitters though.
 2) Zero DAC with the HDAM unit with Digital out from the Stryker 7.1 I have now.
 3) Upgrade to HT Omega Claro Halo for it's Head Amp

 I figured I could also add the Zero DAC HDAM later if I didn't like the Head amp of the Claro Halo.

 The Creek's are pretty reasonable on ebay. The Zero DAC looks nice.

 As far as sound quality, how would you guys rate these options?

 I posted to this thread because I am interested in the HT Omega cards. My experience has been real good with the company and it's products.

 Thanx!

 Les

 ------------------------------------------------------------------
 ---Les Garten--- Leave the gun, take the cannoli -- Fat Clemenza


----------



## cheesetogo

How would this card fair with a pair of HD 650s? (Using the card only)


----------



## ROBSCIX

Fine, the card has a built in Headphone amplifer that can handle High impedance cans like the HD-650's


----------



## darkswordsman17

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *les_garten* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hello,
 I am new here. I just found this site looking for info about the Zero DAC/Head Amp on Ebay. Then I found this thread which looked interesting. I have a few questions and am seeking some advice.

 I just got a Hella good deal on Byerdynamics DT 770 for $108 at Amazon. The phones are burning in and sound kinda grainy to me. However I'm sure it is because how i am listening to them. I have a HT Omega Stryker 7.1 running Klipsch Promedia 2.1's. I am jacked into the Headphone Jack on the Promedia Speaker set. So I came across these options:

 1) Creek OBH-11 split off the line out from the HT Omega. Not real keen on splitters though.
 2) Zero DAC with the HDAM unit with Digital out from the Stryker 7.1 I have now.
 3) Upgrade to HT Omega Claro Halo for it's Head Amp

 I figured I could also add the Zero DAC HDAM later if I didn't like the Head amp of the Claro Halo.

 The Creek's are pretty reasonable on ebay. The Zero DAC looks nice.

 As far as sound quality, how would you guys rate these options?

 I posted to this thread because I am interested in the HT Omega cards. My experience has been real good with the company and it's products.

 Thanx!

 Les

 ------------------------------------------------------------------
 ---Les Garten--- Leave the gun, take the cannoli -- Fat Clemenza_

 

You might see if you can adjust the settings on your card. Some allow you to manually assign the jacks for different things (so you could plug the headphones into the main left/right analog out which should be amplified, but then plug the speakers into a different jack and feed them effectively the same signal). I don't know if that card is capable of it, and also you might consider opamp rolling on it if that is an option with that card. It could save you some hassle if you're happy with the card. There's little doubt the Claro Halo would probably be better for you though.

 Have you plugged the headphones directly into the sound card yet? That'd probably be better than going through the jack on the speakers.


----------



## arfett

I am about to purchase a Little Dot MK V amp in the next few days here. I currently have an X-FI in my PC and was looking around at some USB DACs, but would it be okay to just use this sound card going to my MK V? Would that produce better sound quality than my X-FI to my MK V?

 Thanks for any advice.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *darkswordsman17* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You might see if you can adjust the settings on your card. Some allow you to manually assign the jacks for different things (so you could plug the headphones into the main left/right analog out which should be amplified, but then plug the speakers into a different jack and feed them effectively the same signal). I don't know if that card is capable of it, and also you might consider opamp rolling on it if that is an option with that card. It could save you some hassle if you're happy with the card. There's little doubt the Claro Halo would probably be better for you though.

 Have you plugged the headphones directly into the sound card yet? That'd probably be better than going through the jack on the speakers._

 

Hi,
 Interesting concept about assigning jacks. I've never seen that on a soundcard before. I jumped in last night and bought the Zero Dac w/Headphone amp. I'll come out SPDIF to the DAC from the Stryker. Use the Zero DAC headphone Amp. and come out of the Pre-outs of the DAC to the speaker amp. I think that will do it. If not I'll upgrade to the Halo if I think I need better digital out.

 Thanx!
 Les


----------



## Shahrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *arfett* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I am about to purchase a Little Dot MK V amp in the next few days here. I currently have an X-FI in my PC and was looking around at some USB DACs, but would it be okay to just use this sound card going to my MK V? Would that produce better sound quality than my X-FI to my MK V?

 Thanks for any advice._

 

the problem here is your source, which makes a big difference (bigger difference than amps ime). your source (x-fi) is subpar for music listening, and all the MKV will do is amplify the crappy signal. it won't magically make your music sound better. it might help sound quality slightly by decreasing the output load on the soundcard, but the signal quality will remain the same. if you get the MKV (an excellent amp), you'll need a good source to really notice a difference. i recommend getting either a good soundcard like the claro plus, or better yet, a standalone DAC like you mentioned. trust me, the x-fi is significantly inferior to all the aforementioned alternatives.


----------



## les_garten

Hi,
 Along these lines, I am buying the Zero DAC w/Head Amp for my DT 770's. Will I see much of a differnce from the SPDIF output of my Stryker 7.1 compared to the Claro+ or the halo?

 Les


----------



## Garret Jax

I currently run my PC's optical output to a Zero DAC/AMP to Sennheiser HD-650 cans. The setup sounds pretty darn good. However, I may help a friend out by giving him the Zero and purchasing a new sound card - the HT Omega Claro Halo. The Halo has a built-in headphone amplifier and is supposed to be top-notch, but I wonder if it would sound better or worse than the Zero DAC/AMP I am using now. The Zero cost a little under $200, the Halo costs a little over $200, and I would be helping out a friend if I do this. However, I do not want to replace the Zero with the Halo if the sound quality will suffer.

 Advice por favor?


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Garret Jax* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I currently run my PC's optical output to a Zero DAC/AMP to Sennheiser HD-650 cans. The setup sounds pretty darn good. However, I may help a friend out by giving him the Zero and purchasing a new sound card - the HT Omega Claro Halo. The Halo has a built-in headphone amplifier and is supposed to be top-notch, but I wonder if it would sound better or worse than the Zero DAC/AMP I am using now. The Zero cost a little under $200, the Halo costs a little over $200, and I would be helping out a friend if I do this. However, I do not want to replace the Zero with the Halo if the sound quality will suffer.

 Advice por favor?_

 

 I answered you also in the Zero thread. I didn't pay attention to your Headphones. I have the same phones. Personally, I think you are makin' a mistake. The Senn's are noted for sounding better, the better the amp is hooked up to them. If I were you, I would send an email to HT Omega and ask them their cards output into 300 ohms. I am getting ready to buy a 2 watt output amp for my Senns. I have Little Dot MK V and it ain't quite enough, sounds great though. The LD MK V is connected to the Zero Preamp outs bypassing the Headamp in the Zero.


----------



## haloxt

The JRC4580 opamps that come with this sound card are intended to be replaced (according to their website and manual). I've been listening to a set of lm4562's and the sound quality is improved, but I think it isn't as warm as the JRC4580 so I want to start trying out random opamps to see what is good on this sound card. Anyone got suggestions? I'm thinking about buying 2 opa2134 and 2 lt1364, and maybe 4 of those single version of the opamps I'm using now (lme49710), just to see if there's any audible difference vs. dual opamps and since I got browndog adapters. I don't want any opamps above $10 each though. Btw, what's the difference between putting the lm4562 in front and jrc4580 in back vs. jrc4580 in front and lm4562 in back in this link?

HT Omega


----------



## Shahrose

not sure what the going price for the AD8620BR's is, but i'd recommend them as i enjoyed them more than the LM4562 and the JRC4580 both.


----------



## igor_f

I'm doing research before buying one of these cards (Claro Plus+ or
 Halo), but stuck on dilemma that I would like, is it possible, to have
 answer for.
 Based on all information that I found I don't see any
 other advantages that Halo has against Claro Plus+ except from:

 1) Dedicated headphone amp based on TPA6120 for high impedance phones.
 I'm planning to use D2000 (25 Om), so will I have any advantages here?
 I know that in many headphone schematics use AD8620 as preamp before
 TPA6120 but is it more necessary for high impedance headphones (50 Om
 and more)?
 2) Sockets for opamps 
 I would be satisfied with AD8620BR opamps on front channels (so basically not interested in changing them later).

 Am I missing something else or for my situation I would be perfectly fine with Claro Plus+

 Really appreciate for any suggestions.


----------



## Daetlus

Sorry for the thread necro, but I thought starting a new thread would be silly.

 Does anyone have further thoughts, experiences with this sound card over the last couple weeks? I'm all about using the PC as a source, and am getting really to pull the trigger on the halo card in the next two weeks for use with my HD650s.

 I know it's been stated that they work great with high impedance 'phones, but has anyone had a chance to try them out with some 300+ imp 'phones, and are they happy with it?


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Daetlus* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Sorry for the thread necro, but I thought starting a new thread would be silly.

 Does anyone have further thoughts, experiences with this sound card over the last couple weeks? I'm all about using the PC as a source, and am getting really to pull the trigger on the halo card in the next two weeks for use with my HD650s.

 I know it's been stated that they work great with high impedance 'phones, but has anyone had a chance to try them out with some 300+ imp 'phones, and are they happy with it?_

 

Hi,
 Just my 2 cents. You may already know this, but those phones really suck up amps. They realy sound good if you can throw a good amp at them. I'm sure they will be useable with the HT card, but if you really want to hear them properly you should get a Head amp that can throw some power at them.


----------



## Daetlus

Well I understood that from others, but I'm actually still awaiting delivery of my phones. Previous to this the only phones I used on a regular basis were a pair of Shure E3s They were driven 'fairly' well by pretty much anything.

 Honestly, I've tried to stay away from 'high-fi' for as long as possible. I know how badly I'd get scooped up in the chasing your tail that sound quality could become. As I'm a college student and a person currently going through a divorce, my wallet doesn't get much of that adrenaline rush that comes with free falling before it smashes with a ghastly death into the red.

 I honestly won't have too much money to put into this. Perhaps I should make a new thread.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Daetlus* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Well I understood that from others, but I'm actually still awaiting delivery of my phones. Previous to this the only phones I used on a regular basis were a pair of Shure E3s They were driven 'fairly' well by pretty much anything.

 Honestly, I've tried to stay away from 'high-fi' for as long as possible. I know how badly I'd get scooped up in the chasing your tail that sound quality could become. As I'm a college student and a person currently going through a divorce, my wallet doesn't get much of that adrenaline rush that comes with free falling before it smashes with a ghastly death into the red.

 I honestly won't have too much money to put into this. Perhaps I should make a new thread._

 

Well, you can run them off the card and upgrade to an amp in the Future. Of course everytime you listen to them, you'll wonder, you'll always wonder!

 If you get an amp, they really seem to like Darkvoice Tubed amps. I have mine running off a DV 337SE, and they just kill!!


----------



## Vandal

How does this compare to the ASUS Xonar Essence STX?


----------



## CompressionalFlagellation

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Vandal* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_How does this compare to the ASUS Xonar Essence STX?_

 

Buuuuuump...

 And how about these two vs the X-Fi Fatality for gaming?


----------



## les_garten

Just thought I would snatch the stake out of the Vampires heart and ask about Opamp rolling and how it is going with you guys. I just received this card. I'm waiting on some more Opamps and some Connectors to make a BNC connection and a COAX connection slot plate.

 Basically interested in the OPA rolling folks have done. I have the LM4562, LT 1364, LT 1469 and OPA 2132 coming. I don't necessarily want to get into Brown Dogs and what not. This is just to do something for fun. I'm not going to listen to the Phone output except to Play with OPSa. I ust need the Digital IO of the Card.

 But thought it might be fun to roll the OPAs a little since I'm only using Free OPAs.

 HaloXT, what did you settle on?

 .


----------



## Goit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *CompressionalFlagellation* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Buuuuuump...

 And how about these two vs the X-Fi Fatality for gaming?_

 

The X-fi is superior to both of them for gaming. None of these two have hardware accleration, nor the creative Xram.

 There is no difference in sound quality between this card and the Asus.

 One is PCI, the other is PCIE.

 However, the Asus seems to be designed for 32ohm headphones and up, the Halo has a jumper that can make the card work better for headphones under 32ohms.


----------



## Shahrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The X-fi is superior to both of them for gaming. None of these two have hardware accleration, nor the creative Xram.

 There is no difference in sound quality between this card and the Asus.

 One is PCI, the other is PCIE.

 However, the Asus seems to be designed for 32ohm headphones and up, the Halo has a jumper that can make the card work better for headphones under 32ohms._

 

There IS a difference in SQ between the STX and the Claro Halo. Have you even tried them both?


----------



## haloxt

I'm using the lm4562's, but I would suggest trying out the LME49860, majkel says it is superior to the lm4562's, in fact it is his favorite opamp (that means a lot given all the opamps he has tried) and it is dual-channel and pretty cheap, like $5 a pop.

 Why did you get the halo? If only for the digital output that's a little extreme no? I'm quite impressed with the detail of the halo compared to the compass dac/amp though, imaging is the only real difference, but I think LME49860 may really fix it if I understand majkel's opinion of it and lm4562's correctly.

 If you choose to get it, let me know how it works I am interested in getting some since I can now tell none of the 3 hdam's from audio-gd were designed for perfect neutrality and presentation.

 Shahrose, which did you prefer for music enjoyment? I am quite fond of the halo sq.


----------



## Shahrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm using the lm4562's, but I would suggest trying out the LME49860, majkel says it is superior to the lm4562's, in fact it is his favorite opamp (that means a lot given all the opamps he has tried) and it is dual-channel and pretty cheap, like $5 a pop.

 Why did you get the halo? If only for the digital output that's a little extreme no? I'm quite impressed with the detail of the halo compared to the compass dac/amp though, imaging is the only real difference, but I think LME49860 may really fix it if I understand majkel's opinion of it and lm4562's correctly.

 If you choose to get it, let me know how it works I am interested in getting some since I can now tell none of the 3 hdam's from audio-gd were designed for perfect neutrality and presentation.

 Shahrose, which did you prefer for music enjoyment? I am quite fond of the halo sq._

 

I haven't tried the Halo, but I do have the Claro Plus+ which, save for the amp, has nearly identical analog outputs as far as I know (actually the Claro+ has better opamps, ie. AD8620BR). The Essence STX has better SQ, plain and simple. I would rate the Claro Plus+ second out of all the cards I've listened to.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm using the lm4562's, but I would suggest trying out the LME49860, majkel says it is superior to the lm4562's, in fact it is his favorite opamp (that means a lot given all the opamps he has tried) and it is dual-channel and pretty cheap, like $5 a pop.

 Why did you get the halo? If only for the digital output that's a little extreme no? I'm quite impressed with the detail of the halo compared to the compass dac/amp though, imaging is the only real difference, but I think LME49860 may really fix it if I understand majkel's opinion of it and lm4562's correctly.

 If you choose to get it, let me know how it works I am interested in getting some since I can now tell none of the 3 hdam's from audio-gd were designed for perfect neutrality and presentation.

 Shahrose, which did you prefer for music enjoyment? I am quite fond of the halo sq._

 

Its a long story, but a lot of the Higher end Audio cards won't loop in and out a lot of signals. The Juli@ wouldn't loop analog to SPDIF out, and it would not Loop SPDIF in to SPDIF out. The real High dollar cards won't do this either like the RME cards around $1000. So I had to go back to a Consumner card.

 I also needed COAX and OPTICAL IN and OUT. I needed the Headers for COAX to be easily soldered to, so that i can convert them to a BNC connector for the REF 1 I am getting. 

 That's how I landed on the Halo. I also like HT Omega's Support which is the best I've ever seen. 

 I just ordered 5 of those LME49860's. You don't pay for these do you? National will send you 5 of them overnight for free. LT is not overnight, but it's pretty fast, they only give you two at a time. TI will do more, but is like 3 days. ALL FREE SAMPLES. I got a drawer full of these things. I don't think you should take advantage of them, but they'll give them to you if you KNOW how to answer a few questions 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 .


----------



## haloxt

Well let me just warn you right now, optical in into the halo is not affected by computer volume control. I tried setting the windows volume to 0, soundcard volume to 0, and foobar volume to 0 and it went to 100% and hurt my ears pretty bad. When I emailed to ask why it doesn't work they told me because of legal issues with c-media, their chipset manufacturer.

 Not likely you will ever use optical in into the compass from a cd-player, but just warning ya 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Well let me just warn you right now, optical in into the halo is not affected by computer volume control. I tried setting the windows volume to 0, soundcard volume to 0, and foobar volume to 0 and it went to 100% and hurt my ears pretty bad. When I emailed to ask why it doesn't work they told me because of legal issues with c-media, their chipset manufacturer.

 Not likely you will ever use optical in into the compass from a cd-player, but just warning ya 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




._

 

No issues there, that is how I would prefer it to work. I'm sending out to Active Digital Studio Monitors vis SPDIF that have their own Volume Control and there will be no DA conversions
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 But thanx for the info.

 .


----------



## Goit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Shahrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_There IS a difference in SQ between the STX and the Claro Halo. Have you even tried them both?_

 

A difference in SQ means that one is "better", they may sound different, but not better.

 And since we are not allowed to discuss DBT here, there is no more room for further discussion.

 I stand by my stance that they will not differ in sound quality. Almost all electronic hardware, once they get to a certain level, have the same sound quality.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_A difference in SQ means that one is "better", they may sound different, but not better.

 And since we are not allowed to discuss DBT here, there is no more room for further discussion.

 I stand by my stance that they will not differ in sound quality. Almost all electronic hardware, once they get to a certain level, have the same sound quality._

 

Lets go over a few points here that do not involve that bad word you almost said
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I have two Radios, 

 there is a difference is SQ.

 One is AM

 One is FM

 I like the FM because of X,Y, and Z.

 That has nothing to do with DBT. It is my assessment.

 Now you can have two Radios, both FM, A and B. and I can say they sound different, there is a difference in SQ.

 I like B because of reasons X,Y, and Z. That is not DBT. It is my assessment that i backed up with my observations.

 .


----------



## Goit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *les_garten* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Lets go over a few points here that do not involve that bad word you almost said
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I have two Radios, 

 there is a difference is SQ.

 One is AM

 One is FM

 I like the FM because of X,Y, and Z.

 That has nothing to do with DBT. It is my assessment.

 Now you can have two Radios, both FM, A and B. and I can say they sound different, there is a difference in SQ.

 I like B because of reasons X,Y, and Z. That is not DBT. It is my assessment that i backed up with my observations.

 ._

 

It is completely pointless, you are taking advantage of the fact that we can not discuss DBT here, thus I can't say anything in reply.


----------



## Shahrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_It is completely pointless, you are taking advantage of the fact that we can not discuss DBT here, thus I can't say anything in reply._

 

Goit. First test the 2 cards side by side, then we'll talk...


----------



## Goit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Shahrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Goit. First test the 2 cards side by side, then we'll talk..._

 

I don't need to, I believe in objective maagazines such as the Audio Critic, and if you say that you "hear" a difference, I disagree. Again, you are taking advantage of me not able to talk about DBT here, I'm tired of repeating myself.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I don't need to, I believe in objective maagazines such as the Audio Critic, and if you say that you "hear" a difference, I disagree. Again, you are taking advantage of me not able to talk about DBT here, I'm tired of repeating myself._

 


 I think you have no idea what DBT is. No offense, but you have never mentioned anything that approaches it.

 I listen to 2 cards or ten cards and tell you which one I like, that is nowhere near DBT. Look up DBT and come back...

 .


----------



## scytheavatar

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_ Almost all electronic hardware, once they get to a certain level, have the same sound quality._

 

But the question is, has the Halo reached that certain level?


----------



## Goit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *les_garten* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I listen to 2 cards or ten cards and tell you which one I like_

 

And I said that I don't accept your way of testing unless it's done in strict conditions.

 All I said originally is that they should have the same sound quality, they may sound "different" if one has amps that deliberately tries to color the sound, but there is no reason believe that one is any "better". Then I get told that someone has both cards and listened to both of them, thus I replied that it has to be done under DB conditions. But we aren't allowed to talk about this kind of testing here.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_
 I stand by my stance that they will not differ in sound quality. Almost all electronic hardware, once they get to a certain level, have the same sound quality._

 

Maybe one day you will get to hear some Nice gear, because this statement is so far from Correct that it is sad.

 .


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_And I said that I don't accept your way of testing unless it's done in strict conditions.

 All I said originally is that they should have the same sound quality, they may sound "different" if one has amps that deliberately tries to color the sound, but there is no reason believe that one is any "better". Then I get told that someone has both cards and listened to both of them, thus I replied that it has to be done under DB conditions. But we aren't allowed to talk about this kind of testing here._

 

Here's what you said,

 """There is no difference in sound quality between this card and the Asus.""""

 The next OBVIOUS question to ask was if you had heard both cards? You were asked that question.

 I didn't see you answer it.

 So let's ask it again for Clarification.

 Have you HEARD both cards?

 Then somehow DBT came into this and you couldn't answer questions.

 .


----------



## dantztiludrop

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_A difference in SQ means that one is "better", they may sound different, but not better.

 And since we are not allowed to discuss DBT here, there is no more room for further discussion.

 I stand by my stance that they will not differ in sound quality. Almost all electronic hardware, once they get to a certain level, have the same sound quality._

 











 I'm kind of feeling sorry for you right now because it must be hell to try to navigate through these forums & threads & feel like you can discuss much....or worse yet, that anyone else has a right to discuss much. 

 With logic & an argument like that you are sure to be a buzzkill to a vast majority of the existing threads.


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *dantztiludrop* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_










 I'm kind of feeling sorry for you right now because it must be hell to try to navigate through these forums & threads & feel like you can discuss much....or worse yet, that anyone else has a right to discuss much. 

 With logic & an argument like that you are sure to be a buzzkill to a vast majority of the existing threads._

 

Stomped da hell outta my Buzz!!


 .


----------



## scytheavatar

What's DBT anyway and since when are we not allowed to mention it in this forum?


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *scytheavatar* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What's DBT anyway and since when are we not allowed to mention it in this forum?_

 



 You have Blind testing

 Double Blind Testing (DBT)

 Triple Blind Testing

What is a Double Blind Test?

 .


----------



## scytheavatar

And since when are we not supposed to discuss about blind tests in this forum?


----------



## les_garten

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *scytheavatar* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_And since when are we not supposed to discuss about blind tests in this forum?_

 

Read the Sticky's

 How have you managed to stay out of Trouble this long!!







 .


----------



## Alydon

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *scytheavatar* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What's DBT anyway and since when are we not allowed to mention it in this forum?_

 

Yo scythe! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/do-not-discuss-dbt-any-other-forums-except-sound-science-forum-227350/#post2772550


----------



## Telstar

Very nice card 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 I wonder how it compares to the Essence STX (using analog outputs).


----------



## tom1l21

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Goit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The X-fi is superior to both of them for gaming. None of these two have hardware accleration, nor the creative Xram.

 There is no difference in sound quality between this card and the Asus.

 One is PCI, the other is PCIE.

 However, the Asus seems to be designed for 32ohm headphones and up, the Halo has a jumper that can make the card work better for headphones under 32ohms._

 

When you say "superior for gaming", what exactly do you mean by that? I use onboard sound for gaming, would the Claro Halo be much superior to that? I am also deciding between the HD212 and the HD595's.


----------



## leeperry

.


----------



## tom1l21

I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to this stuff so I really don't know what IMD is or if it pertains to gaming. Any suggestions about either this card or another? I mainly game and listen to HQ MP3's.


----------



## leeperry

.


----------



## erwinrommel

Currently a proud Claro Halo owner. I have to order from the website through e-mailing as they do not have an authorized dealer in my country (Singapore). I have swapped the stock op-amps with OPA2107 op-amps (U8 and U10) as I found the stock op-amps are too "metallic" for my taste. Previously I was using x-fi sound card with modded LM4562 op-amps which sound colorful, so switching to Claro with generic op-amps are a big no-no to me. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 My audio setup includes:

 speakers: Aego M 2.1 speakers using Canare 4s8 cables
 Headphones: Sennheiser HD555 (movies and gaming)
 IEM: Sennheiser IE7 (music listening)

 Planning to upgrade my HD555 to HD650 to bring this awesome card to its fullest poential.


----------



## tom1l21

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *erwinrommel* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Currently a proud Claro Halo owner. I have to order from the website through e-mailing as they do not have an authorized dealer in my country (Singapore). I have swapped the stock op-amps with OPA2107 op-amps (U8 and U10) as I found the stock op-amps are too "metallic" for my taste. Previously I was using x-fi sound card with modded LM4562 op-amps which sound colorful, so switching to Claro with generic op-amps are a big no-no to me. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 My audio setup includes:

 speakers: Aego M 2.1 speakers using Canare 4s8 cables
 Headphones: Sennheiser HD555 (movies and gaming)
 IEM: Sennheiser IE7 (music listening)

 Planning to upgrade my HD555 to HD650 to bring this awesome card to its fullest poential. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Have this card with HD595, sounds great! Definitely a noob myself when it comes to this stuff, I think I have to burn in my cans since they don't have much bass currently.


----------



## haloxt

It's really sad they put those generic opamps in there and just hoped people would take their recommendation and replace them with better opamps to get the sound they want. Fact is most people (me too 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




) are too bloody lazy to do any kind of modification even if it is as simple as popping out four opamps and popping four in. 4x lm4562's are vastly superior to the JRC4580 which holds the sound card from its potential.


----------



## leeperry

bass is anemic w/ the 4562


----------



## haloxt

True but it lets you see what the claro halo is capable of in terms of detail.


----------



## LuciferX

Im coming from this post: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/akg...ml#post5906149

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *oqvist* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_How much power do a headphone need? My 850W PSU have at least 250W on the line I connected the soundcard too. I think it´s sufficient 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.

 Do the Halo use the same opamps as well 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




. But well I think it´s mostly the DAC part that does the magic. And the amp section isn´t ruin anything that´s for sure 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

The DAC part of the Halo XT are not the best for K701? The power thats the card use from the PCI is not enough?
 I really like "XT" part of the Halo card with the 5/7.1 jacks, and the Essence STX is only 2.0 i think (the Essence ST with the daugther card is not launched yet i think)


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Im coming from this post: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/akg...ml#post5906149



 The DAC part of the Halo XT are not the best for K701? The power thats the card use from the PCI is not enough?
 I really like "XT" part of the Halo card with the 5/7.1 jacks, and the Essence STX is only 2.0 i think (the Essence ST with the daugther card is not launched yet i think)_

 

Somebody? Im really desesperate


----------



## tom1l21

Should I replace the opamps? I don't really know much about the card, but like to get as much as I can out of it. They run relatively cheap too. What are the benefits/dis-benefits of the lm4562 amps?


----------



## haloxt

It can be boring, 2D, and bass anemic, but it has a lot of pure analytical detail and it really shines on the claro halo I think because of the way it uses 4 opamps to reduce crosstalk. I don't really recommend the lm4562, the best of that family of opamps is the lm49860 but I think I read majkel say it needs around 15v to sound at its best which is probably quite above the claro halo voltage but if you are interested you should ask ht omega's customer service what voltage it runs at. One opamp that seems pretty well-liked is opa2107 and it may be a very good candidate for trying out in the claro halo. But you'd have to ask majkel or robscix (or that guy who keeps getting banned and making new usernames to talk with majkel) about possible candidates.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/opamp-thread-432749/


----------



## LuciferX

What do you people think about this combo?:

 HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier


Newegg.com - HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Sound Cards


 +

 AKG K 701 WHITE HEADPHONES


 My current setup is: Onboard card (ALC888 ) and JBL REFERENCE 410 BLACK, im from Argentina, so its a lot of money for an upgrade, i need to be 100% sure. By the way, sorry for my bad english!


----------



## leeperry

.


----------



## haloxt

I have never heard the AKG K701, but since it is a headphone that received similar negative comments as my headphones (both are neutral studio headphones), I'd say there's a good chance you will like the combo because I like my pro 900 very much with the claro halo with 4x lm4562's. Claro halo can be quite uncolored which I think is a great combo with studio headphones. I'd also recommend getting free samples of lm49860 from texas instruments hehe 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I suspect the stock jrc4580's will be too colored to make the akg k701's happy.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I have never heard the AKG K701, but since it is a headphone that received similar negative comments as my headphones (both are neutral studio headphones), I'd say there's a good chance you will like the combo because I like my pro 900 very much with the claro halo with 4x lm4562's. Claro halo can be quite uncolored which I think is a great combo with studio headphones. I'd also recommend getting free samples of lm49860 from texas instruments hehe 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I suspect the stock jrc4580's will be too colored to make the akg k701's happy._

 

jrc4580 + K701 = Bad idea? What do you mean when you say "..be too colored to make the akg k701 happy" ¿?

 Im from Argentina, i think that "free samples" will not work here


----------



## haloxt

They should work there because TI sends it worldwide with free shipping if you don't use a yahoo email account. Because I don't think headphones whose strong point is their neutrality can shine with certain types of coloration.


----------



## LuciferX

HT Omega tells me:

*If you should consider to exchange opamp, we recommend OPA2132P(TI). 
 This is a dual type & DIP opamp. And you can use this opamps directly to Claro halo after pulling 4580 opamps out. This opamp provides richer sound. 

 However 4580 opamp provides good resolution. I suggest full using 4580 opamp first. *

 The claro halo admin 4 opamps, i should change the four or mixing 2 x 4580 and 2 x opa2132p will bring me the "best of 2 worlds" ? (richer sound AND good resoution?)


----------



## haloxt

It's all subjective hehe, a few people have tried mixing and matching but it is a loooong process and nobody knows how it will sound until they hear it. I think ht omega wants you to use 4x opa2132p. I will get some opa2132, thanks for the info 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.


----------



## ROBSCIX

OPA2132's
 OPA2134's
 OPA2227's
 OPA2107's

 All those would make a good match. The 2227 would have the most bass out of those listed.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_It can be boring, 2D, and bass anemic, but it has a lot of pure analytical detail and it really shines on the claro halo I think because of the way it uses 4 opamps to reduce crosstalk. I don't really recommend the lm4562, the best of that family of opamps is the lm49860 but I think I read majkel say it needs around 15v to sound at its best which is probably quite above the claro halo voltage but if you are interested you should ask ht omega's customer service what voltage it runs at. 
_

 

News: 

 I sent a email to HT Omega:


 Q: *LME49860 - 44V Dual High Performance, High Fidelity Audio Operational Amplifier <<< Will this OPAMPS work with the halo claro? I Heard that it needs around 15v to sound at its best, which is probably quite above the claro halo voltage. What is the maximium voltage that the card support?*

 A: _As you checked power supply, it supports +/2.5V to +/22V_






_Claro halo use 12V for power supply voltage to opamp. 
 Therefore, you can use that opamp without power supply problem.

 If you need more information, please let me know.

 Thanks.
 Sincerely,
 HT OMEGA – Tech Support _


----------



## haloxt

Nice, it will work then 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 12 is close to 15 so who cares. Btw I did some research and decided to get some samples for opa228p (from reading majkel on the opamp thread) and opa2132. Will let you know how it compares to lm4562.

 This is really weird, I go away from trying to improve my claro halo for several months and now I'm back 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 it won't sound as good as my main system but I am bitten by the opamp rolling bug.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_HT Omega tells me:

*If you should consider to exchange opamp, we recommend OPA2132P(TI).*_

 

ok cool! I've ordered these, I should get them early next week


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Nice, it will work then 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 12 is close to 15 so who cares. Btw I did some research and decided to get some samples for opa228p (from reading majkel on the opamp thread) and opa2132. Will let you know how it compares to lm4562.

 This is really weird, I go away from trying to improve my claro halo for several months and now I'm back 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 it won't sound as good as my main system but I am bitten by the opamp rolling bug._

 

That LME49860 will work and is not a bad opamp. The OPA2132 is very similar to the OPA2134 that seems to be found in a great many audio devices. 
 Most consider the LME4986 to be very similar to the LM4562...in regards to it's sonic profile.
 Post your results...


----------



## LuciferX

Diferences in bass/mediums/highs , quality, "type of sound" etc of this?:

 OPA2132

 LME49860

 LM4562

 Im already orderer 5 of each one


----------



## _Dejan_

Hi everyoone,
 Im buy Claro Halo XT sound card and I will be happy if someone can help me with good recomendation.
 I will use 6xRCA outputs to amplifiers(2x on main board and 4xon daughter board-XT board)
 2xRCA on main board to tweeter amplifier Hi pass xxxxHz(I don't know yet)
 2xRCA on XT board to MID amplifier - Low pass xxxxHz(I don't know yet) Hi pass 63Hz
 2xRCA on XT board to SUB amplifier - Low pass 63Hz

 Can someone recommend few OPAMP's which I can try? Or which is best for use on TW, MID and SUB... I know that this is hard to tell because this is subjective thing but from somewhere I must start 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 Thanks.

 Regards, _Dejan_


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Diferences in bass/mediums/highs , quality, "type of sound" etc of this?:

 OPA2132

 LME49860

 LM4562

 Im already orderer 5 of each one _

 

More is coming  

 LME49720NA

 LT1361CN8

 Please, can anyone tell me the diferences in terms of bass, mediums, highs, "type of sound", etc ?


----------



## haloxt

Oh my god :O I could've sworn opa228p was a dual opamp, now my sound card is gone 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





. Put it in the claro halo and no sound, looked up specs online and found out opa228p was mono then tried opa2132 and my old lm4562 and they didn't work anymore. First time I damaged my claro halo by putting mono opamps upside down on browndogs and ht omega gave me a free replacement hehe, great service. But I'm out of the opamp game now because I keep killing my sound cards.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Well, you have to be carful as your modifying the circuit.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm out of the opamp game now because I keep killing my sound cards._

 

ah!! bummer dude 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 just don't get baked when doing it and you should be fine?! triple check whether it's dual, and triple check whether it's properly seated.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Oh my god :O I could've sworn opa228p was a dual opamp, now my sound card is gone 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




. Put it in the claro halo and no sound, looked up specs online and found out opa228p was mono then tried opa2132 and my old lm4562 and they didn't work anymore. First time I damaged my claro halo by putting mono opamps upside down on browndogs and ht omega gave me a free replacement hehe, great service. But I'm out of the opamp game now because I keep killing my sound cards._

 

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

 In my country, a card like the Claro Halo cost me 1 month of work  ... if I kill my card .... I cut my veins!


----------



## haloxt

Be very careful to match up the notches on the opamps, that's pretty much the only thing you have to watch out for. It sucks I blew it up but what's done is done lol, hope no one else accidentally puts mono opamps into the claro halo.


----------



## leeperry

someone did on the STX, and it's still alive. different design I guess..


----------



## crea78

If anyone has the Beyer DT770 (consumer edition), how does this soundcard pair up with them? Also, can this card easily drive 250 ohm headsets?


----------



## _Dejan_

On monday Im order opamp samples and now I have it on desk 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 Im receive:
 5x LME49860NA
 5x LM4562NA
 2x OPA2107AP
 4x OPA2132P
 4x OPA2111KP
 4x OPA228P
 2x OPA228UA

 I waiting:
 2x LT1057ACN8#PBF
 2x LT1124ACN8#PBF
 2x LT1213ACN8#PBF
 2x LT1358IN8#PBF


 Now I must try which is best for my application with Claro Halo XT card


----------



## erwinrommel

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tom1l21* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Should I replace the opamps? I don't really know much about the card, but like to get as much as I can out of it. They run relatively cheap too. What are the benefits/dis-benefits of the lm4562 amps?_

 

You must change the stock op-amps as they sound pretty bad ('metallic' to me). Swapping op-amps is like adding some "flavours" (sound signature is the word) to your music so that it will sound livelier. 

 All 4 op-amps should be swapped. But it will be pretty costly. I spent SGD$78 on just two op-amps as I am on budget, but hey, there is a very noticeable change in sound quality!


----------



## ROBSCIX

Opamps are a very easy way to change the sound quality of a card; either upgrading it or changing it more to your personsl liking.


----------



## tom1l21

What is the best site to find these amps cheap? I hear eBay has them, but sometimes they could be fake or broken (from what I've heard). Are there any guides on how to install them properly and the sound that each different amp has? Do you have to replace all 4? Thanks!


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *erwinrommel* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You must change the stock op-amps as they sound pretty bad ('metallic' to me). Swapping op-amps is like adding some "flavours" (sound signature is the word) to your music so that it will sound livelier. 

 All 4 op-amps should be swapped. But it will be pretty costly. I spent SGD$78 on just two op-amps as I am on budget, but hey, there is a very noticeable change in sound quality!_

 

Whats opamps are you using / have you used (in the Claro Halo)?


----------



## _Dejan_

I have claro Halo XT and Im order few opamps trough free sample program...
 Currently I use:
 For SUB OPA2111KP(1x) and for MID&TW LM4562NA(5x)
 Im also receive:
 OPA2132P
 OPA228P
 OPA228UA
 OPA2107AP
 LME49860NA


----------



## haloxt

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tom1l21* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What is the best site to find these amps cheap? I hear eBay has them, but sometimes they could be fake or broken (from what I've heard). Are there any guides on how to install them properly and the sound that each different amp has? Do you have to replace all 4? Thanks!_

 

You can replace just two, but U8+U10 should be the same opamp, and U9+U11 should be the same opamp.

 There's already been some advice on what opamps to use in this thread, go back and read it. You should provide information on what kind of sound you want to have so people can give you advice. Also go to http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/opamp-thread-432749/ to read about opamp sounds and maybe ask. Let them know what kind of sound you like.

 You can order free samples with free shipping of many opamps directly from the manufacturer, just use gmail instead of yahoo.

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *_Dejan_* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I have claro Halo XT and Im order few opamps trough free sample program...
 Currently I use:
 For SUB OPA2111KP(1x) and for MID&TW LM4562NA(5x)
 Im also receive:
 OPA2132P
 OPA228P
 OPA228UA
 OPA2107AP
 LME49860NA_

 

Just making sure, but you know that the OPA228 are SINGLE CHANNEL? You will need to use Single-to-dual Op-AMP Adapter - DIP version (p/n 021001) to convert two opa228 to work in the claro halo? I let out the magic smoke by accidentally putting in the opa228 without using an adapter. Don't make the same mistake 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.


----------



## _Dejan_

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just making sure, but you know that the OPA228 are SINGLE CHANNEL? You will need to use Single-to-dual Op-AMP Adapter - DIP version (p/n 021001) to convert two opa228 to work in the claro halo? I let out the magic smoke by accidentally putting in the opa228 without using an adapter. Don't make the same mistake 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





._

 

Yes I know that I must use BrownDog adapter with OPA228 and other single OPAMPS. Im order 2 OPA228UA which I will put on this adapter, but with OPA228P Im make mistake because Im think that Im order OPA2228P which is dual OPA228...


----------



## tom1l21

Quote:


 You should provide information on what kind of sound you want to have so people can give you advice. 
 

I'm mainly into techno (vocal trance in particular) with occasional pop/rock. I imagine that it is harder to notice the details in electronica type of music as opposed to instrument based such as classical. I do like some strong bass as it seems the original opamps are very light on bass or that could be my 595's.


----------



## tom1l21

Does anyone know how to record stereo audio (computer audio) with this card? It never records at the same volume that plays on the computer. I have set the volume in audio properties for wave channel to the highest setting and dont' want to set the master volume to the highest since when I hit play, i fear blowing out my headphones. Should I simply unplug them while recording? I am using audacity btw. Is the highest volume setting going to screw up the dynamic range or anything like that?


----------



## _Dejan_

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tom1l21* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Does anyone know how to record stereo audio (computer audio) with this card? It never records at the same volume that plays on the computer. I have set the volume in audio properties for wave channel to the highest setting and dont' want to set the master volume to the highest since when I hit play, i fear blowing out my headphones. Should I simply unplug them while recording? I am using audacity btw. Is the highest volume setting going to screw up the dynamic range or anything like that?_

 

As I know sound cards with CMI8788 are not good for audio recording. On line-in they need "more volume" as other cards...


----------



## gogusrl

So in conclusion, what`s better for some BeyerDynamic 990 pro 250 ohm headphones ? the STX or the Claro Halo ? I`ve been reading most of the 200 pages of STX discussion + everything in this thread but I still can`t make a decision. Newegg has both at 199$.


----------



## Crazy*Carl

I am considering this card, what headphones does it go best with?


----------



## tom1l21

I have a pair of NuForce NE-7M IEM's which I believe are 16 ohm's. I have my card set at the increased impedence because I regularly use my HD595's on my comp. Would it damage the NE-7M's if I didn't lower the imedence on the card? I obviously wouldn't listen to the NE-7M's on full volume, probably wouldn't even be able to reach 10%. But would damage occur even at low volume? Thanks!


----------



## haloxt

Crazy*Carl, your HiFiMan is probably better hehe.

 tom, I have used 19 ohm headphones with the claro halo at high impedance setting, and I didn't damage anything but you will have very little room to adjust volume, you will probably stay ~5-10% volume or something, and if you accidentally go from 5% volume to 100% your ears will be hurt and your earphones probably destroyed. How much room do you get to adjust the volume with the HD595 while the claro halo is set to low impedance setting?


----------



## tom1l21

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Crazy*Carl, your HiFiMan is probably better hehe.

 tom, I have used 19 ohm headphones with the claro halo at high impedance setting, and I didn't damage anything but you will have very little room to adjust volume, you will probably stay ~5-10% volume or something, and if you accidentally go from 5% volume to 100% your ears will be hurt and your earphones probably destroyed. How much room do you get to adjust the volume with the HD595 while the claro halo is set to low impedance setting?_

 

Thanks for the heads up. The first thing I did when I bought the xard was change the impedance, so I can't really say.


----------



## tom1l21

I tried the low impedance jumper setting and it isn't crazy loud. With my HD595's, I put it at 95-100% which is probably the loudest I want to listen to music. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it certainly was loud. For some reason, the quality seemed to be diminished with the lower setting. Is this true? I think my HD595's are 50ohm. If I use the 32ohm low setting on the Halo, is that ONLY allowing me to listen at a lower volume and will not effect performance whatsoever? It would be nice to keep it on the low impedance setting so that I can switch my IEM's in there if I am in the mood. But if performance/quality is diminished, I might as well just keep it at the high setting. Anyone have any ideas on this? THanks!


----------



## haloxt

Since no one else answered I'll say I think it should be identical sound quality but I don't know about electronics to say for sure. But if you believe in burn-in, switching between low and high impedance mode will reroute the signal through a new path and once it has burned in, whether for 5 hours or 50 hours, it should be the same quality as the other setting because both settings will go through the same length and quality/amount of components just one component will have a different value.

 I have had two claro halo's and I always noticed ~50 hours of burn-in for the whole card, then ~5-10 hours of burn-in once I switched the impedance setting. After that no more fuzzy sound.


----------



## leeperry

anyone tried discrete op-amps on this card? I'd like to use either 4*OPA-Earth or 2*OPA-Earth+2*OPA-Sun V2...not sure yet, but each dual discrete draws 56 mA


----------



## leeperry

ok I guess noone tried the OPA Earth?

 anyone can confirm if there's a fixed sample rate for analog output please? it only seems to be the case for S/PDIF, which is great news!


----------



## Slides

This may be a stupid question, but how do you connect your headpones (HD595 for example) two this card. I see to Front L/R inputs on the pictures of this card. What are those for?


----------



## haloxt

I think I heard majkel say the hdam's sound best at 10+v, so it might not be a good idea to put the opa-earth into the claro halo. Also 4 dual channel hdam's is probably too much for the way claro halo uses opamps hehe.

 The manual tells you where the headphone output is but here is a pic if you want.


----------



## leeperry

the HT Omega tech support(they actually have one, unlike asus) told me that it provides the op-amps with ±12V, and the Earth works fine on ±8.8V w/ the Prodigy HD2 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 and does it have a fixed sample rate in the drivers for analog output 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and does KS work on XP? it's using the C-Media drivers so that should work.


----------



## haloxt

I was contemplating getting 4x opa-earth's for the claro halo but decided against it because I thought it was at 5v, and not sure I could justify that much on the sound card.

 I don't get your question about sample rate for analog output, you mean if it can resample when outputting usb to an external dac? It can resample just fine if you're asking that. But I did notice a quirk with the SPDIF input on the claro halo, apparently they don't have the legal right to allow people to lower the volume when using SPDIF input from say a cd player or my mp3 player with optical output. It just plays at 100% volume and almost killed me.

 KS works on vista with claro halo so it should work on xp.


----------



## leeperry

well, the very irritating problem on Xonar cards is that they have a fixed sample rate for analog output...so whether you wanna listen to CDDA/DVD/DVD-A and want to avoid SRC, you always have to select the right rate in their dumb GUI(that needs 3 resident apps)...it gets VERY odd after a few days.






 from what I see in the drivers screenshots of the Halo, you indeed have to set a fixed sample rate for S/PDIF...but not for analog? so it's automatically bit-matched then? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 the generic VIA drivers of the Prodigy HD2 Advance have an "auto" sample rate button for both analog and S/PDIF...and they completely forbid SRC(like M-Audio/RME/Echo Digital/etc..).

 if you play a 44.1KHz file in DS, then simultaneously try to open a 48KHz file in KS w/ foobar....you get an error message stating "can't set hardware sample rate", which is the way it should be 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 If ppl wanna resample, they need to use DirectSound...something the Asus engineers failed to understand 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 PCI Bus pinout shows that cards can indeed be fed with ±12V: PCI Bus Pin Out and Pinout Signal Names


----------



## haloxt

Someone should try to verify for you because sometimes ht omega's software is fishy, I'd test it except my software is gone after I killed the card.


----------



## leeperry

didn't try RMA again? coming clean with their support worked for a guy on newegg's customer reviews...maybe it was you the first time, though? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 oh well, I should get it next week...I'll find out soon enough.

 Besides, the 2*OPA-Earth are mind blowing on the HD2..so there's no hurry ^^


----------



## haloxt

What are you talking about in your first sentence?


----------



## leeperry

Customer Reviews Of HT | OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Retail
  Quote:


 I ordered this from newegg the first day it came out (I was that happy with my claro+) and it was perfect until I fried some components by putting new opamps upside-down on browndog dual-to-single IC adapters just two weeks ago (don't be like me swapping opamps -_-). I contacted the company HT Omega to ask if they could send me their schematics (lol) but they could not, but they said they would see if they could get me a new sound card replacement. I got the RMA number in the same day I contacted them. Free replacement card and free shipping EVEN AFTER admitting that I murdered my sound card, how much better does customer support get?


----------



## haloxt

Yeah rofl that was me, now I've killed two claro halo's. Would be funny if they send me a second replacement for free but I couldn't ask lol. I was considering buying another just to roll opamps but couldn't justify it.


----------



## leeperry

well, don't get high before rolling op-amps and triple check everytime that all is in the right position, that's what I do 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 you could ask them how much the RMA fee is for this problem....besides, hardly anyone has this card on this forum, we could share op-amp rolling impressions


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_BTW, can you run a few tests for me please?_

 

If i understand well, you need that i play a file with 44khz using DS and a 48khz file with KS in foobar .... i dont have KS, i have ASIO, is the same for you?


----------



## leeperry

yes please, you can get the KS plugin for foobar here: foobar2000: Kernel Streaming support

 is there a fixed sample rate for analog output? what happens if you play a 16/44.1 then 24/96 or 16/48 in a row in foobar+KS w/o pressing STOP?

 you're on XP SP3, right?


----------



## LuciferX

First TEST USING ASIO (48) + DS (44.1)




 MY PC + FOOBAR CONFIG




 No errors, the 2 songs are playing ok

 Sorry, im using Win7 since yesterday 

 EDIT: The 48k file is in 24 bits


----------



## leeperry

ok ok, muchas gracias for the test!

 but W7 has a fixed sample rate in its system config(that you've set to 24/192) so it makes things even more complicated...oh well, from what I've seen I should be doing fine as there doesn't seem to be a fixed sample rate in the XP drivers


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_ok ok, muchas gracias for the test!

 but W7 has a fixed sample rate in its system config(that you've set to 24/192) so it makes things even more complicated...oh well, from what I've seen I should be doing fine as there doesn't seem to be a fixed sample rate in the XP drivers 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

But if i use ASIO that system config has to be ignored

 My 2nd test was: MP3 320K 44.1 using ASIO + PCM WAV 48k 24 bits using ASIO, the 2 files sound perfect.

 In the Claro Halo control panel the only place to change "KHZ" is this:







 Let me know if i can run some more test for you


----------



## LuciferX

*MORE TESTING :Using KS + DS:
*

 PCM WAV 48k <<< sound ok (KS)
 Mp3 44.1k <<< Mutted  (DS)


 The KS mute all other sound, but i dont recevie any error ...

 ASIO > KS for me 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





 EDIT: ONE MORE TIME:

*ASIO + KS:* Both files sound ok without mutting


----------



## leeperry

ahhhhhhhh, is there an "auto" sample rate in the drivers where you've set 192kHz? but anyway they are different on XP, if you disable S/PDIF you don't have to set a sample rate anymore apparently : 





 KS is muted because it runs in exclusive mode I think..it wasn't the case on the Asus cards though, and they use the same C-Media drivers


----------



## leeperry

BTW, you guys also tried this kind of adapter to plug headphones on the line-out? 3.5mm STEREO FEMALE to 2 RCA MALE - 15cm Premium Cable - eBay

 it was much better on the STX, hopefully the TI HP amp will sound better on the Claro Halo


----------



## LuciferX

Nope: 

 Salida Analoga: (Analog/Line Out in english panel ?)

 - HP/2/4/6/7.1

 - 44.1/48/96/192


 SPDIF OUT (Salida SPDIF): (ON/OFF)

 PCM/Dolby Digital Live/DTS Interactive/ SPDIF "En bucle de retorno" (loop?)

 Sorry, i dont know how translate everything 

 What i dont understand if the "SALIDA ANALOGA" KHZ item is for SPDIF or for all sound


----------



## leeperry

salida analog es "analog output"...but you're running W7 so it's a resampling feast anyway, no worries


----------



## Slides

Are there instructions on how to get ASIO and KS with this sound card and foobar2000? I have no idea what KHz or bit rate to select.


----------



## ROBSCIX

The Halo uses stock C-Media drivers and they do not offer auto sample rate adjust.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Slides* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Are there instructions on how to get ASIO and KS with this sound card and foobar2000? I have no idea what KHz or bit rate to select._

 

Usually depends on what your media is. If your just using MP3,CD audio etc..then 16/44.1 is probably fine.


----------



## Slides

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Usually depends on what your media is. If your just using MP3,CD audio etc..then 16/44.1 is probably fine._

 

Ok, but how? Do I have to use Resampler DSP with foobar and ASIO/KS or just set it in the Claro's drivers?


----------



## foaming at the ears

Just wondering: has anyone performed a test for Claro's ability to send a bitperfect stream via coax/optical (with either Claro/+/Halo) [using WASAPI]? Unfortunately I do not have the hardware myself to do this.

 I've owned the Claro+ for about 6 months and what I like about it is that it can send audio through the analog and digital at the same time (I believe so, anyway; in Windows 7's Control Panel/Sound, both "Speakers" and "S/PDIF Pass-through Device" have blue bars next to them).

 The main reason I am curious about Claro's bitperfect ability is that I am seriously thinking of an external DAC upgrade, and I want to stick with the SPDIF route as opposed to the USB route. My preference comes from the fact that with USB, I'd have to go to the Control Panel to change my sound device every time I switch between headphone mood and speaker mood (I can create a shortcut to the Control Panel's Sound controls, but still...).

 All of my FLAC is 16/44.1. As many of you have mentioned, you can pick 44.1 in Claro's GUI. Then in Windows 7's control panel, you can pick 16 bits in the Advanced tab for S/PDIF Pass-through. Then, using Foobar's WASAPI output set to 16 bits, is the Claro close enough to bitperfect? 

 Thanks for reading my circuitous writing!


----------



## leeperry

WASAPI exclusive is supposed to be bit-matched and fully bit-perfect(bypassing the fixed samplerate you have to set in the windows audio config)...a friend of mine w/ a Realtek(over ATi HDMI) tried it, each time his receiver was picking up the right sample rate...well until Realtek broke it in the last drivers, but it works fine w/ older drivers.

 Whether C-Media did it right remains to be proven, though.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_WASAPI exclusive is supposed to be bit-matched and fully bit-perfect_

 

Like ASIO I think

 Only if you dont use a Resampler right?


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_bypassing the fixed samplerate you have to set in the windows audio config_

 

And the Claro Halo KHZ Analog Output Setting?


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Like ASIO I think

 Only if you dont use a Resampler right?_

 

well, it's a mixed bag...this is fully windows drivers dependent.

 ASIO/KS are not automatically bit-matched on the Asus Xonar cards...the Asus drivers engineers thought it was really smart to put a fixed sample rate for analog output 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Apparently, HT Omega didn't do the same mistake...on XP at least. Can't tell for Vista/7.


----------



## foaming at the ears

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_And the Claro Halo KHZ Analog Output Setting?_

 

Hey LucerferX,

 On my Claro, the khz setting is only for the digital output (it's under the "Analog" section, but the dropdown menu specifies digital).

 Unfortunately I can't verify this with any equipment, but I have changed the "Audio Digital" from 44.1 to 192khz, and there is no difference. I think it's purely for the SPDIF Out.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *foaming at the ears* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hey LucerferX,

 On my Claro, the khz setting is only for the digital output (it's under the "Analog" section, but the dropdown menu specifies digital).

 Unfortunately I can't verify this with any equipment, but I have changed the "Audio Digital" from 44.1 to 192khz, and there is no difference. I think it's purely for the SPDIF Out._

 


 Why they put "Digital Output" in Analog Section? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




*I have a theory:* If i use Foobar with ASIO, but without resampler, then the audio output must be equal to audio format KHZ (For example, a PCM WAV 48000 HZ or a MP3 with 44100HZ) because do not exist anything that "change" the sound quality and specification .... 

 But, if the claro halo do internal re-sampling this can be wrong. 

 In this theory the Win7 setting and Claro Halo Panel (so is for digital output?) is bypassed, and that again can be wrong .... 

 Any ideas how to prove it?


----------



## Slides

Just got my Claro Halo and using them with the HD595 set to high impedance. Not that impressed so far and I'm moving up from onboard sound, which was a little too colored for my taste but had good volume and definition. 

 I don't feel like I've gotten $200 worth of an upgrade.


----------



## leeperry

try to roll op-amps maybe? you could use some OPA2132P/LT1364/LM4562NA...the card could also need some burn-in.


----------



## tom1l21

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_BTW, you guys also tried this kind of adapter to plug headphones on the line-out? 3.5mm STEREO FEMALE to 2 RCA MALE - 15cm Premium Cable - eBay

 it was much better on the STX, hopefully the TI HP amp will sound better on the Claro Halo 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			



_

 

What would be the point of that adapter? It wouldn't take advantage of the onboard amp either right?


----------



## Slides

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_try to roll op-amps maybe? you could use some OPA2132P/LT1364/LM4562NA...the card could also need some burn-in._

 

Not sure I want to spend more on this right now. What are the ideal foobar settings when using ASIO? Resampler or other DSPs?


----------



## leeperry

I dunno, mine is still stuck in the mail...I'll get it early next week if I'm lucky.

 well, OPA2132P and LT1364N8 are free if you ask for free samples 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 what OS do you run? you'd be better off setting 44.1kHz in the drivers and disable all DSP in there...then in foobar use KS on XP or WASAPI exclusive on Vista/7, and that's it! no resampling whatsoever.

 but I think I read haloxt saying that this card needs 50H to burn in, so let it burn! the STX/ST were the same actually, it takes a little while to sound good...cap burning in, etc.


----------



## Slides

I have win 7 64 bit. Is there a link to were all this kHz business is explained? Also, what's WASAPI and how do I enable it? I'm using ASIO right now.

 Not sure if I agree that the sound solid state hardware actually needs to burn in, but may be it does. One thing I can say is that already my ears are getting more used to the halo.


----------



## leeperry

there's a plugin for foobar, well w7 is even more complicated because it also requires that you choose a fixed sample rate in the audio config apparently?! I can't remember seeing anything like that when I tried vista on my M-Audio Audiophile USB...so maybe it's W7 thing.

 caps do need to burn in, at least that's what I've always found out...sure, brain burn in doesn't hurt either


----------



## Slides

I thought the sample rate in the driver control panel for the halo was only for the digital out?


----------



## leeperry

not quite apparently...change it on the fly while playing a track, it will glitch up..just like on the Asus Xonar serie(same DSP/windows drivers).


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_not quite...change it on the fly while playing a track, it will glitch up..just like on the Asus Xonar serie(same DSP/windows drivers).

 C-Media is clueless when it comes to audio drivers 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Seemed to work fine for me and others in the ST/STX thread. Perhaps it is just user error and you need something a little simpler.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Slides* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I thought the sample rate in the driver control panel for the halo was only for the digital out?_

 

The sample rate adjusts the analog sample rate. According to other posts some just leave it set to higher bit depth and allow it to resample. Peopel said the SRC engine is transparent and they cannot hear any difference anyway. I guess you would need to test for yourself and compare bit perfect or resampled.
 If your just using FLAC etc, I would just leave it set for 44.1
 It seems some are confused as cards using these chipsets are bit perfect. However, they do not adjust based on the input so the card drivers do not have auto sample rate adjust.


----------



## leeperry

I like it so far!(in KS on XP SP3) the DIP8 sockets were the worst quality ever on the Xonar Essence(pressed and very loose = very poor actual contact, my first ST even had some completely black connectors...I had to send it back for RMA), on the HD2 they were machined but definitely not as tight as on this Claro Halo, it took quite some energy to take out the stock JRC4580...and they are half gold plated too, can't hurt 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 the RCA connectors also look top notch, some ppl change them on the HD2: Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 Sound Card

 sound seems more in focus than on the HD2, need more time to burn my brain on it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 also, the XP drivers don't require any resident apps...and I don't get a nasty loud POP on my headphones when I turn on the system like on the HD2..thank you Mr relay


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tom1l21* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What would be the point of that adapter? It wouldn't take advantage of the onboard amp either right?_

 

Asus on the STX gives an adapter like this to plug headphones on the line-out...they even advise in the manual to do so ^^

 I'm currently listening to my cd1k plugged with the STX adapter(borrowed from a friend) on the Claro Halo line-out, and I like it...I've got more confidence in the two discrete op-amps to drive my phones than in a $2.25 TI chip


----------



## leeperry

BTW, you can use the RCA and the HP out simultaneously...meaning you can get Dolby Virtual Speaker/Headphones and all the DSP effect on the RCA out, quite useful if you have an external HP amp 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I'm currently listening to DH on the RCA out, to clear things up.

 you can also stack as many DSP's as you want simultaneously: DTS Neo 7 / DH / Prologic IIx/ EQ, etc etc...quite fun


----------



## ROBSCIX

The adapter is for connecting up 3.5mm gear in case the user has "PC" type speakers or you have cans that don't need the extra amplification. The are very common adapters and easy to find. The line out should give you better sound quality compared to the amp chip but you might need the extra power. You can also connect up your own headphone amp o the line out.


----------



## leeperry

oh yes, and it does DDL/DTS interactive realtime reencoding over S/PDIF...I don't think I saw anything like that on the STX/ST.

 so you can output lossless TrueHD to Reclock and then send it as 1.5mbit DTS to your amp over S/PDIF.

 anyway, SQ is great on the line-out w/ the discrete op-amps


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_oh yes, and it does DDL/DTS interactive realtime reencoding over S/PDIF...I don't think I saw anything like that on the STX/ST.

 so you can output lossless TrueHD to Reclock and then send it as 1.5mbit DTS to your amp over S/PDIF.

 anyway, SQ is great on the line-out w/ the discrete op-amps 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			



_

 

Both the STX and ST have the DDL enocder for the digital output. Not too many people use it though as it is a waste of the analog muscle. THhse eoncoders are common on cards that use those chipsets.
 Converting TureHD to plain DTS? 
 Why would you want to take a lossless soundtrack such as a TrueHD track and convert it to DTS using a lossy encoder?
 Both of the encoders are lossy, you should read up on them.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Slides* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I thought the sample rate in the driver control panel for the halo was only for the digital out?_

 

Are you using this card or considering it?


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_not quite apparently...change it on the fly while playing a track, it will glitch up..just like on the Asus Xonar serie(same DSP/windows drivers)._

 

Ah, I think most cards would "glitch up" if you tried changing the sample rate while playing a track. Why would you do this? I mean aside from trying to get the card to freeze?


----------



## leeperry

I love new toys ^^

 discrete op-amps are really amazing to drive headphones, Kingwa is really the king of "WOW"


----------



## LuciferX

leeperry if you have some time can you test using OPA2132P in the Claro Halo?

 (4 x 2132 and 2x2132+2xdefaults[4580])

 So ... you are not using the amplified headphone out? Why?


----------



## leeperry

BTW, some photos I took of the huge caps(noise filtering from the PCI bus I guess?):



 same brand as you can find in Corsair PSU's I think? so big 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and the top quality RCA outputs: 


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_if you have some time can you test using OPA2132P in the Claro Halo?
 [..]
 So ... you are not using the amplified headphone out? Why?_

 

well, this soundcard runs the same DAC as the HD2, and both op-amps are used LPF for both polarities from the DAC...I know how OPA2132P sounds there, it's nice! but it can't touch LT1364 if you only use IC's...or LT1213(my current favorite, it's like a LM4562NA on steroids...it does everything the same, just better!) if you run 2*Earth as final buffers IMHO.

 JRC4580 is a good guy too but well, Earth crushes it...I didn't want to try the stock 4580 or try anything else, because I wanted to have a good first impression going from the HD2(running the same op-amps)

 well, I've never really liked that TI $2 chip, the friend who lent me the STX cable also doesn't like it..but he has a RSA Hornet amp, that costs like $400 or so.

 you should really try two Earth on your card, these are the same as the old Burson...and they sound most spectacular! it's a night and day w/ OPA2132P, and this chip is already very nice to listen to.

 Earth turns any equipment into a top notch audiophile grade PRAT machine...the new Burson is prolly even better, but it's too damn pricey and it requires a cap and some soldering....ah, deal breaker!

 anyway, the drivers don't require a fixed sample rate for the analog output(unlike the Xonar cards) and KS works perfectly fine on XP SP3....and the background is as black as can get


----------



## LuciferX

ÐÂ½¨ÍøÒ³ 1

 This is the page were i can buy it right? Cost? I need some good link to LT parts, because samples never comes ....


----------



## leeperry

yup, there's a link for shipping costs on that page 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Earth gives a tubey/euphonic sound, so you might as well try parts from TI to feed it like the OPA2107AP...I'll try it some of these days, this combination should be nice.


----------



## leeperry

I'm currently running the OPA2107AP+Earth, they work very nicely together...one brings a clean & clear DAC post-filtering, and the other a tubey audiophile output buffer


----------



## mojave

I just found out from HT Omega that this card is just like the Essence cards in that it can't provide bit-matched output for all sample rates. Both 88.2 and 176.4 are resampled.

  Quote:


 Thanks for interest in Claro halo XT. 
 By the way, I’m afraid that 88.2 and 176.24khz files will be resampled as Claro halo setting. 
 You can choose 96 or 192khz, and these signal will be re-sampled 96 or 192khz. 

 If you need further information, please let me know.

 Thanks
 Sincerely,
 HT OMEGA – Tech Support


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm currently running the OPA2107AP+Earth, they work very nicely together...one brings a clean & clear DAC post-filtering, and the other a tubey audiophile output buffer 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Perfect! TI always send me samples!!! How do you compare 2107AP+EARTH vs LT1213+EARTH ?

 Can you explain me the connections in red?


----------



## ROBSCIX

The connection in red are for grounding you can just connect them to a PCI screw or other grounding point. Helps improve the sound quality.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Perfect! TI always send me samples!!! How do you compare 2107AP+EARTH vs LT1213+EARTH ?

 Can you explain me the connections in red?



_

 

the 2 discrete op-amps have a ground wire, I've used a nut, a bolt and an extra wire...then added electrician tape around it, and plugged the extra wire to the top screw of the card's backplate.

 you can also try to leave it ungrounded, but Earth sounds better this way.

 yep, OPA2107AP is good stuff, it matches nicely w/ the Earth tubey sound 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I'm not exactly sure how it sounds against the LT1213 as I've currently put back my HD2(this Claro Halo is not mine), but all we aim at is feeding the Earth w/ a clean/clear/natural/balanced DAC output...OPA2107AP does the job beautifully(you could also try the stock JRC4580)


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *mojave* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I just found out from HT Omega that this card is just like the Essence cards in that it can't provide bit-matched output for all sample rates. Both 88.2 and 176.4 are resampled._

 

yup, the VIA Envy24 drivers also don't support it...the ESI EWDM drivers do support it, though(they also have an "auto" sample rate option that forbids SRC, like on the VIA chips).






 but honestly, I only have one DVD-A from Seal that's 88.2kHz, so I can live w/ that


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_2107AP+EARTH_

 

OPA2107 would be 95% as good as OPA827(that I've also tried, and this one sure is nice...but it needs adapters, and I tried it on browndog's that seem rather low quality, especially in an EMI hostile environment like a PC case): OPA827, is it sonically comparable to OPA627? - diyAudio
  Quote:


 OPA2107: 95%. A worthwhile improvement on 2132.
 2 x OPA827: 100%. The best opamp I've yet tried - I suspect that for nearly every application, these will be limited only by other parts of the signal chain. 
 

if you have soldering skills(or know someone who does), try the 827 on these high quality adapters: SOIC to DIP 8-pin Convert PCB Adapter - eBay

 and don't let haloxt put them backward on your card


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Perfect! TI always send me samples!!! How do you compare 2107AP+EARTH vs LT1213+EARTH ?

 Can you explain me the connections in red?_

 

You can check in the opamp thread and ask others as there are many around that have been testing opamps for many years.
 If you have questions that would be a great place to talk about opamps and post your own findings based on your testing.


----------



## leeperry

hehe, and that spamming bot keeps sharing its cluelessness..God bless the ignore list my sons 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 anyway, yeah...the HD2 is more laid back/distorted and the Claro Halo is clearer/more focused and more "in your face", so it boils down to personal preferences.

 the Claro halo "sharpness" is fantastic in movies, giving a livelier sound...my friend bought the XT version for movies, he will be thrilled to use it w/ Reclock in 24Hz


----------



## haloxt

You can make an emi shield for the sound card by wrapping a small cardboard box with aluminum foil and then wrap that entirely in tape to insulate it, then ground it to the case.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You can make an emi shield for the sound card by wrapping a small cardboard box with aluminum foil and then wrap that entirely in tape to insulate it, then ground it to the case._

 

Yes, IIRC this type of sheilding is called a "faraday Cage" and should prevent any EMI/RFI from interfering with the cards circuitry. Although these types of interference are always factors for audio circuits, some think they are much worse then they actually are.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_How do you compare 2107AP+EARTH vs LT1213+EARTH ?_

 

well, did some more rolling...the LT chips sure are really cool stuff.

 LT1124ACN8 has a very clear sound...way too clean by itself, but it gives some coffee to grind to Earth.

 SS is amazing, distortion is inaudible, bass is good, vocals are upfront, stereo localization is spot-on...it's like an undistorted LT1364CN8 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 LT has so many really nice chips...from my limited sampling, they sound "airier" than BB IME.


----------



## Slides

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Are you using this card or considering it?_

 

Using


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Slides* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Using_

 

Do you hear any artifacts during any resampling?


----------



## leeperry

majkel says that the LT1028ACN8 and AD797B(available as DIP8 if you search well) are some of the best op-amps for audio: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/aud...-v-2-a-397691/

 you can easily put them on the Claro(w/ 2*Earth as final buffers to make them shine even further):






 you'd have to solder them on the adapters, though...or solder some sockets if you have enough room in your case.


----------



## Slides

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Do you hear any artifacts during any resampling?_

 

Not really, but I might not now either way.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Slides* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Not really, but I might not now either way._

 

Just doing a bit of a poll. Some seem to make a biug deal out of resmapling yet don't really understand the topic, so I am asking people with certain cards if they hear any negative aspects of resampling. Your answer is basically what others have said also, in that they really hear no difference.


----------



## LuciferX

What about using a RCA splitter + 3.5mm STEREO FEMALE to 2 RCA MALE cable? I want to test my headphones not using the TI amp, but i dont want to lose the front RCA out (connected actually to my front speakers). Quality will be worst?


This

 +

This


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What about using a RCA splitter + 3.5mm STEREO FEMALE to 2 RCA MALE cable? I want to test my headphones not using the TI amp, but i dont want to lose the front RCA out (connected actually to my front speakers). Quality will be worst?


This

 +

This_

 

The line outs might be of higher quality but I will look over the specs again. Edit, based on the specs the lien out and can out would probably measure pretty mcuh the sound and if they soudn any different that might be due to the coloration of the TI headphone chip. I would just say try them both out and use what sounds the best to you.
 The line outs will not provide any amplifications so if your cans need extra power you might want to use something else such as a external amplifier.

 Why are you using the adapter you linked to at the top? Are you splitting the signal between two devices?

 You should be able to connect the bottom cable to the RCA outputs on that card and then connect up your headphones.

 Am I misunderstanding what your trying to do?


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The line outs might be of higher quality but I will look over the specs again.
 The line outs will not provide any amplifications so if your cans need extra power you might want to use something else such as a external amplifier.

 Why are you using the adapter you linked to at the top? Are you splitting the signal between two devices?

 You should be able to connect the bottom cable to the RCA outputs on that card and then connect up your headphones.

 Am I misunderstanding what your trying to do?_

 

I dont want to lose my front speakers (actually plugged in RCA Front Output), i dont want to connect/disconnect constantly


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_This

 +

This_

 

the second one will do the trick(even though it's 75 ohm, that should only be used in video cables)...a friend of mine is using it on his STX, he didn't hear any difference over the stock cable.

 and so far I'm very much enjoying LT1469IN8 as DAC LPF and then OPA-Earth as final buffer...they make up for a nice combo, 1469 is less colored than 2132P...and it's been engineered to be used on DAC outputs. Supposedly LT1028ACN8 would be better, I'll try them later on.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I dont want to lose my front speakers (actually plugged in RCA Front Output), i dont want to connect/disconnect constantly_

 

OK, if you want to split the signals from the RCA's then you need TWO of that first adapter you posted. You connect one adapters to each RCA channel (L&R). 
 This will give you two outputs for left channel and two outputs for right channel.
 Connect one set of outs to your speakers and the second set of outs to you second cable/adapter then to your headphones.
 Does this make sense?
 There are many ways to get the right connections you need but since you posted these adapters we can work with those.

 Let me know if it works out for you.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I dont want to lose my front speakers (actually plugged in RCA Front Output), i dont want to connect/disconnect constantly_

 

first, try w/ that cable...there's a good chance it will sound better than the built-in headphones amp.

 so, then you could use this kind of switch box between your headphones and your speakers: Newegg.com - Plantronics Audio Switch 3.5mm Connector Speaker to headset switch

 I used to own one, it's just a switch..there's no electronics in it.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_OK, if you want to split the signals from the RCA's then you need TWO of that first adapter you posted. You connect one adapters to each RCA channel (L&R). 
 This will give you two outputs for left channel and two outputs for right channel.
 Connect one set of outs to your speakers and the second set of outs to you second cable/adapter then to your headphones.
 Does this make sense?
 There are many ways to get the right connections you need but since you posted these adapters we can work with those.

 Let me know if it works out for you._

 

Thats the idea! Do you think that i gonna lose some quality? (Because im using a lot of adapters/cables)


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Thats the idea! Do you think that i gonna lose some quality? (Because im using a lot of adapters/cables)_

 

It should work fine according to what you want. Although I am unsure about your cans as they may need extar amplification. If you find they do you can just pipe one of the line outs to an external amplifier.

 As for losing quality, you should be fine aslong as your not using very cheap adapters.
 Hope this helps.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Thats the idea! Do you think that i gonna lose some quality? (Because im using a lot of adapters/cables)_

 

a switch is a far better option...keeping both connected on a permanent basis could 1)ruin your headphones if you increase the sound too loud in windows 2) your K701 will pick up RF noise from all those wires, and a possible ground pollution from your speakers amp.

 if I were you, I'd plug one of this to the RCA out of the claro, and use the second adapter you mentioned to your K701...1 position of the switch to your speakers amp, one to the K701.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Ruin your headphones?
 Go and study up on line level signals.


----------



## leeperry

not to mention that you should output 0dB full bit-perfect audio to your speakers amp...it's better to keep the volume control in the analog domain whenever possible(as the AK4396 only has a 256 steps internal volume control), so keeping both connected simultaneously is not a good option(no matter what Stevie the robot tells you 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Thats the idea! Do you think that i gonna lose some quality? (Because im using a lot of adapters/cables)_

 

I should clarify the setup a bit more so you have a better idea of what is going on.

 You have two set of connections going to two different points but, when your using the headphones your speaker will be off. Full signal will be going to the headhones.

 Now if you turn on the speakers you will have signal going to the headphones also, so you could always just disconnect them if it is a worry for you. Just use a longer, RCA to 3.5 mm cable so it is within easy reach.

 I think you may need and external amplifer for those cans. Line level is not meant to drive headphones with high power requirments. If you did go with the external amplifier for your cans then the system basically works perfect.
 If you use phones, you turn on the phone amp and run off the speaker amp.
 If you use speakers, you turn ont he speaker amp and turn off the phone amp.

 If the can amp is not something you need, you can get a in-line headphone controller.
 There are many ways to do what your asking and this is just one of them.

 Good luck with your setup.


----------



## leeperry

just because it's a thread about the Claro Halo, and mostly aimed at ppl who actually own it(as opposed to giving dumb advices to newbies)...I've left it burning in in a secondary computer since I've received it, and trebles have tamed down nicely I'd say.

 HT Omega decided to put tons of solid caps, and these things sound pretty harsh in the first days 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and the discrete op-amps add a nice warm touch, but well...I can't stand using IC's as final buffers anymore


----------



## ROBSCIX

@Lucifier, let me know if you get your problem sorted out and how you decide to hook everything up.
 Good luck.


----------



## LuciferX

A quick question, if i change opamps, the headphone out will change the sound? or this part of the card only use the TI amp? If the opamps only affect the Front Line Out im gona try adapters in Front line out to my speakers and headphones ...

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_@Lucifier, let me know if you get your problem sorted out and how you decide to hook everything up.
 Good luck._

 

Tomorrow im going to buy a RCA to 3.5 mm cable


 PD: This week im going to start rolling opamps (if i have some free time). I need to decide what to test first:

 Opa2132p, LM4562na, LME49720na, LME49860na

 Im thinking in 4 x 2132p and 

 2x4562(U8+U10) + 2x2132p(U9+U11) in first place. 

*Some advice? (first time in my life rolling opamps)*


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_A quick question, if i change opamps, the headphone out will change the sound? or this part of the card only use the TI amp? If the opamps only affect the Front Line Out im gona try adapters in Front line out to my speakers and headphones ...



 Tomorrow im going to buy a RCA to 3.5 mm cable


 PD: This week im going to start rolling opamps (if i have some free time). I have to decide what to test first:

 Opa2132p, LM4562, LME49720na, LME49860na

 Im thinking in 4 x 2132p and 2x4562+2x2132p in first place. Some advice? (first time in my life rolling opamps)_

 

I have been rolling opamps for many years now. Quite large collection seems I am always testing something new. I thought you have been working with opamps for awhile on your card as I seen quesitons of your in the opamp thread.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I have been rolling opamps for many years now. Quite large collection seems I am always testing something new. I thought you have been working with opamps for awhile on your card as I seen quesitons of your in the opamp thread._

 

Im learning everything before i try it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 And more important: my free time is so poor ....

 So, some advice/opinion about my first selection?


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_A quick question, if i change opamps, the headphone out will change the sound? or this part of the card only use the TI amp? If the opamps only affect the Front Line Out im gona try adapters in Front line out to my speakers and headphones ..._

 

PD: My question is still unanswered


----------



## ROBSCIX

Have you not changed any opamps at all?


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LuciferX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_
 PD: This week im going to start rolling opamps (if i have some free time). I need to decide what to test first

 [/B]_

 


 FLAC > FOOBAR (ASIO) > HT Omega Claro Halo XT (Opamps: *4 x OPA2132P [TI]*) > AKG K701 Reference Headphones 








 My first impression: More Bass, less harsh highs, i like what im listening! The voice has more .... "body" ?


----------



## ROBSCIX

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.


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *ROBSCIX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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


----------



## ROBSCIX

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.


----------



## LuciferX

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


----------



## InFn-0

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.


----------



## leeperry

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?


----------



## InFn-0

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??


----------



## leeperry

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.


----------



## InFn-0

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


----------



## leeperry

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.


----------



## ROBSCIX

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.


----------



## InFn-0

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


----------



## haloxt

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.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Just grab dual version of the Audio-GD Earth.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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


----------



## InFn-0

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.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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._

 

You can always start swapping out with IC opamps which offer much better specifications then any of these units. Some like the sound of the discretes and some do not. 
 There sound quality is subjective at best and you may or may not like them.
 Get you card home, listen to it and then if you think it needs some changes to the signature post back and some of the opamp experts can give you some ideas about units that might help you get what your after.


----------



## haloxt

leeperry, I used all three hdam's with my audio-gd compass.

 Agree with robscix, the audio-gd hdam's have very crazy measurements and they sometimes sound that way if you pair it with a bad combination. Just know that they aren't really neutral.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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._

 

two OPA-Earth cost USD45, so I'm not sure where those $300 come from.

 anyway, the stock soundcard sounds good...but if at some point you wanna dig deeper, you can get some nice LT1124ACN8...these chips are really great and only cost a couple of bucks each. they're also dead easy to swap 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 LT1364CN8 is also a great chip, especially w/o discrete op-amps as final buffers.


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_leeperry, I used all three hdam's with my audio-gd compass._

 

oh, cool! what did you think of them? I found Moon distorted as hell, Sun-V2 lacking some tonal nuances...but Earth sure was nice.

 the new burson(w/ a mundorf cap) is like an Earth on steroids...if you want low distortion, put an LME49722MA...and suffer 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 the old burson was made by A-GD, the new one definitely isn't...and is a major improvement(ask Slash47 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)

 ..and how would you compare the Claro Halo and the Compass?


----------



## LuciferX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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._

 


 Dont worry, you should start doing easy things, i have changed my opamps for first time about 5 day ago, im using free samples for TI ... (4x2132P). My next step is get 2107 and mix them with Opa2132p to test how sound changes. The only thing you need is check a "dot mark" and halfmoon form of the opamp


----------



## ROBSCIX

Orientation is the important part of installing them. If you install them backwards and apply power you will destroy the opamps and possibly damage the circuit. 
 Usually all opamps and opamp sockets are marked with dots or notches in the socket to show you the proper way to install them.


----------



## haloxt

I've only compared them using lm49860 and lm4562, but compass has better soundstaging but not as analytically accurate and flat as claro halo which imo is the sound card's strong point. I prefer claro halo+my power conditioner over compass without a power conditioner. But with a power conditioner on both I prefer the compass, but I don't think the difference is enough for me to say it is worth the upgrade, and I could live with claro halo with a power conditioner.


----------



## leeperry

I can't stand the LM/LME chips tbh, they kill the low end bass.. that's no good.

 and I find it pretty ironic that you mock discrete op-amps but swear by a power conditioner tbh 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 while being blindfolded, could you tell whether the conditioner's plugged? I've checked its datasheet, it kills EMI/RFI like every $15 surge protection plug? it's not quite an online UPS that recreates a perfect sine wave, is it?


----------



## haloxt

You know half of what you say makes no sense to me.

 I don't mock discrete opamps. I merely stated that audio-gd gave unique sound signatures to their three hdam's that are not neutral.

 I don't ask you for blindfolded proof about your opinions on audio like you do on almost every thread I've seen you on. Maybe I should start trolling you back by asking for blindfolded proof for everything you say? And what's with all these random questions? You say you've checked the datasheet, are you referring to the datasheet of the furman ac-215? If you have read its datasheet then I don't know why you have to ask me these questions. It is better than any $15 emi/rfi surge protector, and no it's not a UPS or create a pure sine wave, it's furman's entry level power conditioner and I think it is excellent bang for buck for both the compass and the claro halo sound card.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I can't stand the LM/LME chips tbh, they kill the low end bass.. that's no good._

 

You don't like the LM/LME's..are you sure?

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_wow I've just put the LM4562, I'm stunned 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 major improvement over the stock 2114, wider soundstage, no saturation audible whatsoever, very very very clean and chirurgical sound 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Well I guess there is your opinion on the LM4562 now what about the LME49720's?
  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_but w/ some LME49720HA + some lossless remastered audio in KS, the SQ on the STX is simply out of this world_

 

Looking through the STX and ST thread there are pages of posts like this...


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_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._

 

When you decide, here is some units you might consider:


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *haloxt* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_it's furman's entry level power conditioner and I think it is excellent bang for buck for both the compass and the claro halo sound card._

 

well yeah, power conditioners...ppl tend to neglict these too much, you're absolutely right! I'm sure it matches the sonic synergy of your "custom power cables"(from your profile) quite nicely 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 That's too bad I didn't read your post in full...but I agree, if I had killed twice the same soundcard because each time I installed the op-amps upside down like you did...I'd also have it pretty bad. I feel you


----------



## InFn-0

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leeperry* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_two OPA-Earth cost USD45, so I'm not sure where those $300 come from.

 anyway, the stock soundcard sounds good...but if at some point you wanna dig deeper, you can get some nice LT1124ACN8...these chips are really great and only cost a couple of bucks each. they're also dead easy to swap 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 LT1364CN8 is also a great chip, especially w/o discrete op-amps as final buffers._

 

I was actually talking about burson opamps. The BURSONOP-71484(Dual Discrete Op Amp Modules, pair) cost $180 a pair, so 4 of them would be 180 x 2 = $360 right?


----------



## leeperry

burson's are not cheap, prolly too expensive for a first buy...make baby steps, first some nice IC's, then some Earth, and then some burson's...each will be a major leap 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 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.


----------



## InFn-0

Thanks , that helps a lot, i ll just have to look forward to getting my sound card first, and then we can think about more additions


----------



## pzm9pzm9

Has anyone tried Coaxial Out from Halo? 
 I suppose you need to buy that special 2-pin coaxial cable for coaxial out. 
 My concern is the sound degradation of heaving 2-pin connection. Also, since 2-pin coaxial out is located inside the card, how do you manage the cable out of computer?


----------



## leeperry

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Thanks , that helps a lot, i ll just have to look forward to getting my sound card first, and then we can think about more additions 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			



_

 

np, let us know about your findings 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and you know the saying: _"welcome to head-fi, sorry 'bout your wallet"_





 I've got a sound engineer background and have owned these SONY headphones for almost 15 years now...nothing touches the Burson as final buffer, bar none. I'm writing this post from heaven as we speak 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *pzm9pzm9* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My concern is the sound degradation of heaving 2-pin connection. Also, since 2-pin coaxial out is located inside the card, how do you manage the cable out of computer?_

 

HT.Omega has a very swift and capable tech.support(even the usual naysayers will have a hard time contradicting me on this), maybe you could drop them an email..they'd know


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *pzm9pzm9* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Has anyone tried Coaxial Out from Halo? 
 I suppose you need to buy that special 2-pin coaxial cable for coaxial out. 
 My concern is the sound degradation of heaving 2-pin connection. Also, since 2-pin coaxial out is located inside the card, how do you manage the cable out of computer?_

 

Some of the newer cards have internal S/pdif headers for connecting to GFX cards.
 Is this the only S/pdif output on the card?

 "My concern is the sound degradation of heaving 2-pin connection."
 I am not sure what you mean by that...


----------



## pzm9pzm9

yes. I am currently using S/PDIF (tat is optical) to connect to Dac. Halo has headphone jack out, RCA out, S/PDIF out, and coaxal out (that is located internal) isn't it?
 I wanted to know if I could use that internal coaxal out to my Dac. According to their website, that coaxial cable has 2-pin connector on one end. Has anyone used that cable to connect Halo to external device like Dac?


----------



## ROBSCIX

You can try looking around for a S/pdif bracket, they are out there for use on Mobo onboards. If you fannot find one, you can make one very easily as you said there are two pins, you have a signal and a ground.
 If you want to build one and need some help let me know and I will give you some information asthey are very simple.


----------



## haloxt

The claro halo has spdif coaxial output but you must buy the optional 2 pin to coaxial adapter. If you are worried about sound degradation from using such an adapter, you can do what les_garten did which was turn it into BNC which is supposed to be even less jitter than coaxial 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.


----------



## ROBSCIX

You can make the brackets or buy them. I doubt you would get much sound degradation from a simple bracket.


----------



## pzm9pzm9

Thanks guys. The brackets seems cheap and easy. Where do you connect brackets to? the internal 2 pin sockets for coaxial?
 Also, how in the hack can you guys built yourself such bracket!!!! I don't even know how to soldering so building something like that won't happened to me ever.


----------



## ROBSCIX

You would connect to the internal pins but if you already have an external digital out you can just use that.


----------



## LuciferX

Anyone has tested 4 x OPA2107 in Claro Halo? Im using 4x2132, using 2107 will improve sound quality?


----------



## ROBSCIX

Many would consider the OPA2107 to be a better opamp then the OPA2132.
 The only way to know is to test and see how you like them or how they go with you gear.


----------



## InFn-0

ok guys i have some simple questions about opamp rolling. after reading through some threads in the forum i have come to a conclusion that either i will get the LME49720 or the OPA Earth from Audio GD. Now the first question is, do i need 4 opamps or 3 opamps? and i read on the Essence STX tweaking page that installing LME49720 on them is somewhat problematic, the adaptors and etc. Do i have to get those adapters if i want to put them on Claro Halo also?? And finally, if you guys have tested both OPA Earth and LME49720 , which one would you recommend?


----------



## InFn-0

also the headphones i have are akg k601 and my music tastes are mostly rock/metal , techno/trance, pop, 80's ballads and some classical.


----------



## leeperry

I posted photos in the previous pages that should give you a good overview of what ya need to do 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 there's no better/worse op-amp, there's only combinations that you could either like or dislike...depending on your gear and tastes.


----------



## ROBSCIX

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *InFn-0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_ok guys i have some simple questions about opamp rolling. after reading through some threads in the forum i have come to a conclusion that either i will get the LME49720 or the OPA Earth from Audio GD. Now the first question is, do i need 4 opamps or 3 opamps? and i read on the Essence STX tweaking page that installing LME49720 on them is somewhat problematic, the adaptors and etc. Do i have to get those adapters if i want to put them on Claro Halo also?? And finally, if you guys have tested both OPA Earth and LME49720 , which one would you recommend?_

 

The LME49720'a are easy to install on soundcards. The LME49720NA is a DIP8 chip and snaps right in. The LME49720HA which is a higher grade metal can opamp requires an adapter to use on a soundcard.


----------



## InFn-0

Something which has been bugging me is that both the adaptors and LME49720HA have long pins in the bottom (which have to plugged in the opamp sockets). Do i need to shorten them down or something?

 Thanks for the replies


----------



## ROBSCIX

No, the adapters sit flush against the socket.


----------



## Exidous

Curious if anyone has had issues with the Halo (XT) not being able to provide enough juice for their cans? I am using the D5k's and if I don't use my external amp (millet max) the overall volume and power is just underwhelming. Is it relatively safe to try the High setting with 25 Ohm headphones? The quality of the sound is quite good although a bid harsh on the highs but I still have the stock opamps.

 What you guys think? I do have a couple different op amps in the way to try our but that won't fix the power issue.


----------



## haloxt

I think they say do not use high gain with headphones under 32 ohm but it's probably safe.


----------



## carickw

I am no audiophile, but enjoy listening to high quality music and audio in general. I am thinking about buying the Halo but am unsure about a couple of things. First off, does the front audio use AC97 of HDA. The HT Omega site says that it is AC97 which is surprising considering the price of the card. For use with UM3xs, how does AC97 compared to HDA. I think for 2 channel, AC97 is still greater than CD quality, no? 

 The second question pertains the the optical input. I have a T260HD and would like to be able to use either 2.1 speakers or my headphones to listen to it as the speakers on the monitor are crap. The 3.5mm out of it has a lot of noise/static so it is also out of the picture. Would I be able to forward the sound from the monitor to either my speakers or headphones using optical out of the monitor and into the sound card. 

 Thanks


----------



## haloxt

Not sure about HDA vs ac97, what's the difference anyway?

 The volume will be automatically set to 100% if you put optical into your sound card which can lead to you blowing out your headphones. In other words, DON'T DO IT. When I asked them they said they never got the licensing to make that function or something like that.


----------



## carickw

so the optical in is basically useless? How does this card compare to the ASUS Xonar Essence ST. The major reason I didn't want that card was due to the lack of optical input. However, if it doesnt work well on this card then it may be a better choice as it definitely supports HDA front panel.

AC'97 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Intel High Definition Audio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Basically HDA supports higher sampling rates and quality.


----------



## cal8949

i just got the halo soundcard and I'm really interested in putting new op amps in it, but I just don't know where to start. I am thinking about getting the OPA2132P because that's what ht omega recommends but is there any other one i should try out? is there any type of guide for selecting op amps?

 can any one get free samples from ti?


----------



## ROBSCIX

There is a opamp thread in the DIY section. I would ask around there for suggestions.


----------



## newdoughboy

Hey, guys, I've had my Halo for a good while now, and I just got my K702 2 weeks back. I have about 150hours of burn in.

 My question is that which switcher position is the one to activate the amplifier on the card? I tried switching them around, but I hear no difference. I am very confused, and some songs sound underpowered.

 Can someone have an actual picture of the card in the right configuration, and possibly explain to me why I don't hear a difference.

 Thanks!


----------



## ROBSCIX

Do you have the manual or can you download it?


----------



## newdoughboy

I have the menu, but it's schematics, which doesn't give me the over picture, it just shows the 2 different positions.

 The biggest issue is that I don't hear any difference between the 2 settings. And I feel like some songs are underpowered


----------



## cal8949

I'm pretty sure the there is 2 jumpers for the impedance setting and the are located right by the headphone jack. the jumpers should say j14 and j15


----------



## newdoughboy

I definitely changed the wrong ones, I changed the ones on the right of the oxygen chip

 So it was in the position shown in the pic,
 now i changed it so both are up.
 I don't hear any changes still

 ?

 burn-in required?


----------



## cynan

I just got the Claro Halo. I've only ever tried it on the high impedance setting, but I'm getting plenty of volume. Even with the HD650s (300 ohms), I can't listen to most music past 75% or 80% without things getting painfull in a hury.

 I find it curious to hear reports of this card being undervolumed. I'm comming from an X-FI, which, though loud enough to drive the HD650s, did not have as much volume as the Claro Halo.


----------



## cynan

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?


----------



## taisho

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.


----------



## reidcc

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


----------



## Minitrox

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


----------



## germanium

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


 


 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.


----------



## germanium

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.
> 
> ...


 


  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.


----------



## faverodefavero

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.


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## Edwood

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

   
.


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## OpTicaL

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?


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## Edwood

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


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## leeperry

edwood said:


> .


 

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


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## Edwood

Quote: 





leeperry said:


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


 


  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.


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## leeperry

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


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## Edwood

Quote: 





leeperry said:


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


 


  14.49mb vs. 17.3mb?  Not much bloat freed up there. 
   
  Been perfectly happy with the latest HT Omega drivers.


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## leeperry

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


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## newtophones07

Quote: 





leeperry said:


> 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??


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## Edwood

Quote: 





leeperry said:


> 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


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## Edwood

Quote: 





newtophones07 said:


> 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.


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## leeperry

newtophones07 said:


> 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.
   


edwood said:


> 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.
   


edwood said:


> 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.
  


edwood said:


> 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.


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## BirdofPrey

edwood said:


> 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?


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## 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.


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## 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.


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## 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.


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## 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!


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## openwheelracing

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


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## 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.


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## 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.


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## sch1omo

Quote: 





openwheelracing said:


> 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.


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## 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!


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## sovereignty68

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


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## Edwood

I'm still using it.  My favorite sound card thus far for games.  Especially after OP amp swapping to ridiculous overkill levels.
   
  -Ed


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## thechiquinhodj

Not score liked this soundcard by short frequency response, see these tests: http://sound-cards-review.toptenreviews.com/


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## Edwood

Quote: 





thechiquinhodj said:


> Not score liked this soundcard by short frequency response, see these tests: http://sound-cards-review.toptenreviews.com/


 

 Huh?


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## eugenius

I recently got a Claro Halo XT for HTPC duties (movies mainly). I'm using a Harman Kardon Signature 2.1 power amplifier and Jamo C80 series speakers. 

I want to roll some op-amps in it and I have some questions:

1) What's the voltage this card runs it's op-amps at?
2) I see there's an I/V and a buffer position on the HALO card and just three dual opamps on the XT daughter board. What do the op-amps on the daughter board do, I/V or Buffer?
2') If the do I/V, are those outputs buffered with another opamp/buffer? I want to run the same opamps/buffers on all channels if possible. 
3) I noticed there are two buffer sockets, is one for the stereo out and one for headphones? If it is, it makes sense to use different buffers there ... 

I was thinking about AD797BR on adapters for I/V (seems a safe choice) and for buffers I don't have any idea ... BUF634? Please specify if you actually tested the op-amp in this sound card if you recommend one ... 

Thanks!


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## eugenius

In the mean time I received some answers from HT Omega (which I might add, seem to threat their customers well and actually respond to questions well and fast). The answers:

- The Zout of the headphone jack is 8ohm.
- The Zout of the rca's is 150ohm. Both acceptable I think, unless you have Grado's and you like super tight bass.
- The card runs it's op-amps at 12V.
- The opamps on the XT are buffers.
- The recommend the LME49790NA and the OPA2132P. They have users reporting success with OPA627 (ha!) and users asking about AD797 but no reports with it.

So, can I use AD797 all around and BUF634 in the buffer position on the main card? What are some safe (tested) opamps for this card?

PS: Is this thread dead?


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## TheWood82

I am on the cusp of getting this sound card.  I do not have onboard S/PDIF on my motherboard, and I'm trying to use this for connecting to my Astro MixAmp with A40's, along with being connected to my speakers via RCA.  Also, I may be trying to capture sound via S/PDIF off my PS2 once I get a good video capture card.  My questions are, is this going to be good for that sort of set up?  Would I get better game sounds if I plug my headphones into the card (I didn't see Dolby Headphone supported)? 
   
  My limitations on other suggestions are:
  -It must be a PCI card
  -I'm not moving away from my A40's.  They're easily my favorite headsets, ever.


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## lttlfld

Has anyone used the 598s or MA900s with the Claro or Claro halo for gaming?


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## eugenius

I recommend the LT1364 for this card, It really brings the midbass punch and it sounds for the lack of a better word, more analogue. It's miles better than the stock JRC4580D especially on headphones, I really didn't expect that from a simple opamp swap.


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## newdoughboy

How ridiculous, I might have you beaten.
 I have recently purchased the SS Audio discrete opamp.
 4 of them from ebay. Looking forward to them coming in the mail soon.


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## newdoughboy

Supreme Sound (Burson) Audio V5-OPA Dual Opamp Impressions with HT Omega Claro Halo
  
 Let me start by stating that this is my first review of an audio product. I am an audio enthusiast, being that I spend tons of money on decent audio gear. I can tell what sounds good to me, and that generally falls in line with the general consensus amongst fellow audio enthusiasts. So take from this what you can, especially with my lack of audio vocab.
  
 Equipment wise, I own/have owned HT Omega Claro Halo, K702, HD650, K550, Beats Studio, SE535 Reshelled (CIEM), Xiaomi Piston 2, TTPOD T1-E, Xuelin ihifi960, Blox BE03, Brainwavz S5, Bravo Audio Ocean, PreSonus HP4, Racoon SG-300. So I get a good sense of what I can get in terms of sound quality for the extra cost. My favourite combination is Foobar with ASIO playback to HT Omega to my K702. Source is very important, and most of my music is in FLAC.
  
 The fact is, after upgrading from the stock JRC to Burr Browns, things got a tiny bit better. I only noticed that the music was a bit more dynamic, hence more bass. I didn't really think my ears can hear the difference of a "better" dac or opamp. My dual wolfson DAP was fantastic, but not significantly better sounding than my Claro Halo. So I thought, why not give opamp rolling another shot. Many people sang praises for AD797BRZ and Muse01/02, but they were all pretty expensive or sort of complicated. Either sourcing them or the authenticity. So I figured if I was going to spend big bucks (relative to the sound card $200), then I would go full out and try the Supreme Sound V5-OPA. I figured that would be the end game unless I really disliked their sound. There wasn't much information on the V5s, and what I did find was a bit vague and based on the V4. Reading through many forum gave me one simple conclusion. Burson Audio is a highly regarded/respected company when it comes to the quality of their products and customer service.
  
 Purchasing these were very easy through Ebay. I purchased 4 of the Dual Discrete Opamps, and they were shipped out promptly. The delivery was a tad slower than their Ebay estimate, but their staff was very good to keep me updated.
  
 When I first got these, I was a bit shocked by the size. It was a whole lot smaller than I expected, which is very good because I do not need to mod my case. Without moving the extension sockets that came with the V5s, the whole card is under 4cm. So it fits in dual slot format.
  
 The test will be kept simple; I will be listening to 4 songs all in CD quality FLAC. I will be listening to the OPA2134PA,  then V5-OPA after 50+ Hrs Burn-in (I've read that it does make a bit of a difference)
  
 Song Selection
 1. Lady Gaga - Starstruck (Feat. Space Cowboy @ Flo Rida)
 Massive bass in the beginning with lots of synthesized notes
  
 2. Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
 An older simple recording with great vocal harmony and instrument accompaniment
  
 3. Within Temptation - Somewhere(Black Symphony)
 My favourite female-female duet, live with symphony
  
 4.Andrea Bocelli - Dare to Live (Vivere) Duet with Laura Pausini
 I love duets and harmonies, you probably already caught on. Andrea and Laura's Vivere just contains pure pleasure covering highs and lows. The strength and the beautiful placement of their notes is just breathtaking.
  
                 OPA2134PA
 Lady Gaga - Starstruck (Feat. Space Cowboy @ Flo Rida)
 The bass in this song is very powerful, with good impact. It reaches very low and vibrates in a way that makes you really feel it. Though strong, it is quite muddy in the sense that you KNOW it's there, but it is not tight enough to precisely know exactly when one bass note ends, and   another starts. Nevertheless satisfying, like when I first heard the Beats by Dre Studios. The high synthesized notes are very delicate, and accurately observable within the soundstage. They bounce around with great energy, but they are what I would call "sharp" to my ears. Whether the correct term is harshness; it's just that they fatigue my ears very quickly. Overall, this song is not as enjoyable on this system as out of a phone into the Beats Studio. It is just not very musical as the voices and the synthesized notes do not merge well; and each element sounds like they are doing their own thing.
  
                 Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
 This song starts for me with very unique presentation. The piano lightly enters near center, then followed by the guitar from far right, almost 3 O'clock. Then comes in Simon and Garfunkel from above center; I have always described it as if they were singing to us from heaven. Right after 30 seconds, the guitar becomes louder and moves toward 1:30, then enters the percussions. Once again, I find the guitar high notes to be quite sharp/harsh to my ears. I also find that the instrumentals lack detail; I know they are there and the notes that are played, but it doesn't sound like I'm right there in the recording room. This might be a bit high expectation, but I find many songs to give me this kind of pleasant presentation. Overall, the instruments just do not sound real to me. In a way, it could be that most of my complaints are just that the K702 are sometimes just too analytical for some recordings.
  
                 Within Temptation - Somewhere(Black Symphony)
 Even though this was mixed from a live concert, the soundstage feels intimate and close. Parts of the song you can tell that there are cheering fans and such, and those moments broadens the soundstage. Aside from those moments, it feel like you are the only audience onstage as these amazing vocalists sing to you. The only negatives comes from the instruments again; it just sounds like the symphony and other instruments are behind a curtain, and a bit too far away from the vocals.
  
                 Andrea Bocelli - Dare to Live (Vivere) Duet with Laura Pausini
 The song is simply stunning to the ears. The piano notes are very clear and realistic. Their voice is just so powerful and rich. The cymbols are light and crisp. The instruments are very much involved in the song, just must softer to let the voices shine; therefore, there isn't much bass to discuss here. At this point, it seems like we see the pattern that the highs extend well, but in a way that is just too sharp/harsh.
  
                 V5-OPA
                 Lady Gaga - Starstruck (Feat. Space Cowboy @ Flo Rida)
 This song received two major changes after the swap; and both to me are improvements. First the bass became much tighter/quicker which cleaned up the low end significantly. It made the OPA2123PA sound bloated and lazy; however, it almost feels like the song is progressing a little quick. I don't quite understand that observation, but I do find the song more energetic. Second, The high synthesized notes seemed to sparkle a little more, whatever that means... I guess it could be a little more detail, but mostly the sharp/harshness has been removed. Lastly, the        soundstage seemed to have tightened a bit. Just a little so that a lot of the notes and voices are overlapping in source; this created a more musical listening experience.
  
                 Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
 The instruments gained a fair bit of detail; where the individual percussion hits differentiated    from each other, and the guitar notes had a lot more natural string sound. It doesn't make these instruments the best sounding I have ever heard, but it is a great improvement over the OPA2134PA. Another example is how it is easier to differentiate the kick drum from the low bass notes.
  
                 Within Temptation - Somewhere(Black Symphony)
 Even though the voices were already very well presented, the V5s made them just a little more intimate and immersive. The "curtain" / extra distance between the instruments and singers have been significantly diminished. The band/symphony is still behind Sharon and Anneke, they just complement each other better. The highs do not sound sharp/harsh at all, but it may even sound a little pulled back. I have not decided whether that is an improvement or not.
  
                 Andrea Bocelli - Dare to Live (Vivere) Duet with Laura Pausini
 This song was already pretty perfect coming out of the OPA2134PA, it has been simply refined by the V5s. The V5s are just able to pick up a little more detail, and control the highs better.
  
 In summary, I feel that my observations of the 4 songs between the 2 opamps are very consistent. I did not notice any significant differences of the 50+ Hrs break in. The highs were simply too harsh coming out of the OPA2134PA, and were removed completely (if not a little bit pulled back) by the V5-OPA. There was significantly more detail retrieval from the V5-OPA, and the bass is more controlled. The bass did not lose any impact, just cleaner. Ultimately, I am a value based guy so I must talk about cost. These opamps costs $130 per pair, about $70USD each after shipping. Together they cost more than the sound card that they go in. It feels more like a transplant, instead of a minor upgrade. The key point to note is that, I cannot imagine life without my HT Omega Claro Halo. I just love its sound and capabilities. So if I had the money (Obviously I found some), I would definitely do this upgrade. No regrets.
  
 My next upgrade to my sound system, which may be my end game would be a OPPO BDP 105 with KEF LS50. But that will be when I get a major promotion 
  
 Thanks to anyone who stuck with me until the end of this review.

  
 Here's the link to the OPAMP Thread. MORE PICTURES THERE
  
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/784790/burson-supreme-sound-audio-v5-opa-d-v5-opa-s-review/15


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## eugenius

I have the XT and I swapped all 7 opamps. I had burson opamps in a previous DAC and they were good, but for a sound card it's probably not worth it.


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## newdoughboy

Well, You tell me what will make it worth it, and I will see if it's affordable


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## pichu

I would like a solderless Op-Amp suggestion for this card. The Bursons looks nice but i cant justify spending $250 on an op-amp upgrade on a sound card. Any suggestions for solderless op-amps that are cheaper but much better quality than the stock op-amps on the Claro Halo?


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## newdoughboy

They have the cheaper v5i which has been getting great reviews. Email them for the price of 4 dual. Im sure it will be better than 250


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