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

Pros: The best rated sound card on Newegg and it's amazing sound quality in both music and games.

Cons: It's PCI interface is the reason I'm not purchasing it.

Other Thoughts: Stop making high end products on a dying interface.

Pros: EVERYTHING about this card is awesome. The software that comes with lets you adjust everything. I would say this has been the best purchase I have made for my pc. I recommend this to anyone who truly appreciates music and great sound. I hear every little sound whether it's music, gaming or movies. It's expensive but you really do get what you pay for when it comes to this product. If you are thinking about purchasing this, just go ahead. You will not be disappointed.

Cons: Price

Pros: The clearest , crisp sound what this card produces. And it is LOUD! I owned a few other cards nothing comes close to this one. I got the bundled extra card with it, kind of "high priced" together, but i use my computer for movies and music , it is like my treasure chest. Movies are sound just like you would be in the theater. I own a Klipsch 4.1 with it , it is 12 years old, but still kicking so the combination of the two is just a great match. I only would recommend it if you have a high output speaker system with it, the minimum of a 4.1system otherwise it is an overkill. Works beautifully with Win7. No conflicts at all. There is not much to update as it comes wit every possible decoders available today. At the time i was choosing between the Asus, HTO and Creative Lab and have no regrets to buy it. Highly recommend it just a pure pleasure to listen to any music or watch on line movies. The second you turn it on you know what did you purchased. It will justify the cost.

Cons: None what i could think of . It is a big card , make sure you got room in your case for it.

Other Thoughts: It is a tough decision of course to pick the right card. With out naming the "others" there are some driver and sound issues what bugging down the competitors cards. It was taking me a couple of weeks to decide, after i read all the issues with the similarly priced sound cards. Yes i was looking for the deal myself, and sometimes sales can fool you . Two weeks of research and i end it up with the HTO. Before you but your card just Google "driver issues" or "sound issues" and name the card you would like to buy. Many unhappy person will make you easier to choose your selection. All companies will tell you their card is the greatest ever. Of course its up to the people to decide up on.

Pros: almost two years after having this card, the left channel stopped working so sound was only coming from the right. I figured I was out of luck because the warranty was probably up. I contacted customer service and they told me they would try to fix it. Within a week I had a brand new card shipped to my door. AMAZING customer service and sound quality from this company.. cannot beat it.

Cons: nothing.

Other Thoughts: I did a lot of research on sound cards and it was between a top ASUS card and this one. I decided this one because of all the great reviews on customer service. I am so glad I did. Also - don't let my review of the channel stop working discourage you. I havn't heard of too many problems with these cards ever happening and the sound quality is superb.

Pros: up to 600ohms impedance
Dual RCA Outs
24-bit 192 khz DAC
swappable OPAMPs
Has the qualities of audiophile equipment in the convenience of your computer

I am currently running a 250-ohm Beyerdynamic DT880 and I will tell you that there little bit of static at the beginning of songs has disappeared, the mids and highs are even crisper than I had ever imagined or thought possible, the bass is now more impactful than ever before.

Cons: I wouldn't consider these cons but the DSP modes such as Dolby Digital Surround 7.1 and EFX are all gimmicks if you plan on running headphones. The regular mode is the most NATURAL sounding with high-impedance cans. These Dolby DSP modes are meant for people with surround sound theaters and not headphones.

Other Thoughts: Wise investment that saved me a ton of money while considering more pricey solid state amps to drive my power sucking Beyerdynamic DT880s. I love the beauty of running RCAs to my 4-channel Rolls HA43 Pro. There is no sacrifice in cheaper cables for me

Pros: *Sounds great, *easy set up, *streamlined simple interface (Other popular sound card software these days is all bloat-ware), AND *great customer support.
I email for help with other audio software and had immediate personalized support. The problem ended up being with the other software not this sound card, but HT Omega tech support still helped me.

Cons: none yet, I'll update if I have any.

Other Thoughts: This sound card is twice what most other sound cards go for, but it is worth it.

Pros: Sounds good.

Cons: A little expensive and PCI only.

Other Thoughts: I love this sound card, but why it was only available on a PCI card when I bought it in 2012, I don't understand. PCI is almost completely obsolete and I was lucky to have one on my Crosshair-V. With the PCI slot being in the middle position of my expansion slots and the top of the line graphics cards now using 3 slots, there is no way I can use one 3-port graphics card and my sound card at the same time which means I have to get a different sound card that will work with PCI-e or build my PC in a new case, and I'm currently using a HAF-939.

Pros: This is a beautiful sounding sound card *if* you have a reasonably good amp and speakers. All the praise this card gets about its sound quality in the reviews is well deserved. I find it sounds best with older recordings that weren't compressed to an inch of their lives like modern recordings are. You just get better separation, better articulation, and the sound stage is much clearer. Not so much with newer recordings which even this sound card can't make sound great.

Cons: Mine went belly up after only 14 months. I'm an IT Pro, have been since sound cards became readily available in the early 90s. I've owned a large number of various sound cards from really cheap ones to fairly expensive ones and I've supported a great many PCs with sound cards at the various places I've worked at. In all that time, I've never had one go bad, even with bad handling and questionable storage. Case in point, I have a 12-year old Sound Blaster that still works. It's a wonder to me, then, how this card, which I've taken very good care of, died in such short a time (and, of course, just after the warranty expired). I can't say I'm especially eager to dish out another $200 to replace it.

Other Thoughts: Another disappointment: the drivers for this card haven't been updated since 2010.

Pros: I bought this card to replace my Striker 7.1, specifically for the headphone amp. I wasn’t getting any true stereo separation from either my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers or my Grado SR325si phones. I e-mailed HT/Omega tech support & within one hour I got a response from Jason at HT/Omega. He walked me through some troubleshooting steps & after a couple exchanges, he decided to replace the card. I received a NEW card, still in the original retail packaging, within five days without having to give him a credit card number or going through the hassle of a cross ship. Kudos to HT/Omega for a wonderful customer service experience!

Cons: Don’t know if I got another bum card or it’s some driver issue. I can’t see both the Klipsch & Grado components both being faulty. I just ordered a pair of Audioengine A5+ speakers to test with the card, so I’ll see what happens.

Pros: Installing was super simple.
I download the latest drivers instead of using the cd.
I would recommend doing this.

I honestly was at a loss for word when I first put my headphones on. Simply amazing.

This is my first audiophile grade sound card, and was always told that it was just a bunch of hype surrounding sound cards like this.

Well I'll be the first to say it's not a bunch of hype.

If you have the headphones or sound system to take advantage of this sound card I would totally recommend it.

Cons: No EMI shielding. This isn't that big of a deal, but it sure wouldn't have hurt anything with this price tag.