Asus Xonar Essence ST or HT Omega Claro Halo

[Mark3Max]

Hi guys
I've been reading some reviews on both of these sound cards and I'm looking for some opinions and feedback on which is better.
I know most everyone here likes the Asus cards , but I've been reading reviews raving about the sound quality of the Claro Halo.
Both cards are the same price and specs(as far as sound quality) 24 bit and 192khz.
So Which one do you think is better?

 

[Mark3Max]

"BUMP"

No feedback on either of these soundcards?
I thought maybe someone would give feedback on the Asus card , but no one has the Claro Halo card?

 

[r3uz0r]

I have the asus essence stx and absolutely love it! It performs rly rly well and I love those asus drivers. I must say that I have gaming headphones and some people told me because of that, I dont hear everything or in the best quality that the card can deliver. Im still researching if thats true.
I never read anything about the other card you posted, so I cant speak about it, sorry

 

[Mark3Max]

Thanks for the reply and feedback r3uz0r,
Yeah so far I can't find anyone that has the HT Omega Claro Halo, I've read some reviews on newegg and amazon that say it sounds better than the asus card . But I've learned not to trust the reviews on these sites because most of them have no experience with the other product they compare it to.
I think I might just get the Asus , but I will do more research before I make up my mind.

 

[Goldskis45]

For gaming, Asus
For music/ movies The Omega kills all...
That is it, plain and simple.

 

[Mark3Max]

Thanks for the reply Goldskis45,
What model of the Omega card do you have? I noticed it's not in your signature.
This is what most of the reviews I've read say, more or less , but they don't give any more info.

 

[Goldskis45]

My sig is my workstation.
My home computer is currently mutating. I have an "eClaro" It rocks my system pretty hard.
(I did quite a bit of work to get it to sound perfect)
But in all reality what sound card comes 100% perfect out of the box.
You should always tune to your system and environment.

 

[kully1972]

The essence ST is definitely a great card but I`m afraid my Auzentech hometheaterHD just blows its socks off in terms of sonic perfomance and gerneral all-round sound solidity.
Auzentech by far make the best and most affordable sound cards yet they have a poor distribution here in the uk. I managed to get mine second-hand by pure luck on ebay.
The dedicated headphone output on the essence ST is particularly useful and having owned one myself its a definite step towards audio nirvana.
I now have an offboard DAC and headphone amp by NUFORCE which is even better.....it goes on....just like PC building.
BTW have a masssive collection of 24/192/96 flac rips and some linn recordings plse feel free to message me if u want me 2 send u a recording or two.
kind regards

 

[kully1972]

Actually I had better retract my last paragraph owing to copyright infringment laws! :huh:

 

[Mark3Max]

Thanks for the reply kully1972,
It's hard for me to believe that Azentech has a better sound than the asus card. Azentech has a creative x-fi chip and the asus card actually has better specs of the three cards(Asus Zonar essence st , Omega Claro Halo and Azentech Home Theater HD).
I guess it's a personal preference thing , I wish I could get all three cards and decide for myself which one sounds better to me.
I have a Sound Blaster Recon 3d Fatality professional, (that I bought a few months ago),that I'll try first, then maybe I will get the Asus card.
Thanks for the replies and input all.

 

[kully1972]

U had better believe it- its a night and day difference.
The sound of auzentech is way more smooth,natural and solid and although it uses the same processing chip as the xi-fi it has alot more customising on the output stage using high-end capcitors and better op-amps. The DAC is prob better too.
ANd besides they`re german and we all know about german engineering!

 

[Mark3Max]

I don't doubt your claim that they sound good, If I could find one I'd try it out.
But apperently their distribution is really bad , I can't even find one here in the U.S. . I've found one online and according to the reviews I've read they have some driver issues.

I'm not sure who told you they were a German company, their world headquarters are in San Jose, California according to their webpage.

 

[kully1972]

I`ve never had driver issues with my hometheaterHD although the installation does feel dated and I think they rarely update their drivers and have poor support but then again I`ve never had problems.

Seriously give them a consideration as they`re streets ahead of the competition and they really do give u a flavour of a `high end` sound.