Claro Halo XT PCI Sound Card

This card ROCKS!!! I'm so glad that I went with the HT Omega Claro Halo XT instead of getting another Creative soundcard. They really outdid themselves on this one. The craftmanship is excellent. I've only had this soundcard for about 3 weeks now,so I'm still getting used to it.. but the sound quality is incredible. When I first saw the box, I wasn't to sure... but when I opened it up, all of my doubts about buying this card fanished. I totally recomend this card. It's not for beginners though.. but more for the audiophile.

The card is simple to just get installed and working, but the bundled software (to control the effects, EQ and environment) is terrible. Some days it works, but mostly it does nothing, and when it does nothing, it's nearly impossible to troubleshoot. I've had this card for over a decade but just started using it with Windows. I thought everything would work. HAHAHAHA! Very frustrating, do not buy.

as an audiophile i was looking for a sound card that met my needs; and I must say that this card hit all but one. To keep this review simple, this card has a toslink in and out. You can use the toslink for a lot of things but I link to use it with my sonos! This is something that a majority of sound cards do not offer in today's market. In addition to this feature the sound quality on this card is great, I have owned many sound cards from Asus, Creative and the now "Out of Business" Azuntech. Out of the 10 sound cards that I own this one has the Best sound quality right out of the box. It also has the ability to tweak your own sound with OPPO Amps. The only con I have for the card is the software is not easy out of the box, just like any thing that is new you should read how to use it. Don't expect the user interface to teach you how to do things.PRO'sAmazing SoundToslink In and OUT ( also called a OPT IN / OPT OUT or SPDIF IN / SPDIF OUT )Swapable oppo amps7.1 surrond sound ( with daughter card )Con'sSoftware is something that takes a little time to learn ( this is true of every new sound card)

VERY old interface,lack of PCI express connection,current driver support only goes up to 8.1 OS. NOTHING for Windows 10---as of yet(1-27-15.) I wish...that they would GET on-board with what is "current". PLUS,Microsoft is constantly(IN dxdiag) saying that their drivers are NOT "certified" by Microsoft;which, "ALL" of this is getting to be VERY old..as is their interface connection. Contacting them...seems to be waste of time..unfortunately. And,recently PROVEN to be "DEFECTIVE"!!!!!!

I combined this purchase with a Seinheisser HD598 and the two sing beautifully together. The headphone amp really increases the output and the card itself has great quality. Just be sure to set the jumpers on the board to reflect the impedence of your headphones! If you have higher than 32 Ohms on your headphone the manufacturer recommend you swap the jumpers on the board!

The sound of this sound card is spectacular. Much better than the ASUS Xonar DX. The only drawback is that it has a PCI connector, nowadays there is no board with this type of connection, you would need an adapter.

Overall a superior product. Small amount of hum following installation but tolerable. Easy hardware install but 2nd board is tight fit so need to plan it out a bit. Be sure to download newer drivers prior to install. Controls are helpful in control panel. Very tight audio performance.

By far the best sounding Sound Card I've ever heard or owned. Simply Freaking amazing sound. And built very solid. One simple word WOW!!!Exellent job HT Omega for such a fine product. The best part about it. Is that is built here in the USA ;)