HT Omega Claro vs Claro Plus

[XRadianceX]

Hello HardForum-ers, first off, I am new here, and new to, well, good sound, I just happened upon this site through my various Google searches for answers.

As to my question, I just purchased the Logitech Z906 5.1 system, as an upgrade from a much older 5.1, and have an old $45(at the time of purchase) Creative Soundblaster card.
I am looking for a new card, and the HT Omega Claro has the best reviews on Newegg (My computer source for years), however, there is both the Claro and the Claro plus, with a $20 price difference, and the only difference I've found being the op amp on the plus. I'm not exactly sure of the purpose of an op amp, but I don't want to miss out on better technology and better sound.

So to summarize - Will Claro Plus provide additional benefit to my listening experience for 5.1 Surround (Games/Music/Movies) or is the Claro an acceptable high-level sound card?

I'm looking to purchase ASAP, so I appreciate expedient responses. Thanks much!

 

[Procyon12]

the op amp is for mains analog stage only.
i wouldnt wory about it unless your going to be feeding a nice pre amp or using headphones.

in fact, if you are gonna use digital, i would drop down to the Striker.

 

[DualOwn]

dont buy the striker, its a 16bit sound card with low hz.

my onboard sound is capable of doing 24bit and 192000hz, so if you're going to purchase aftermarket sound card make sure it does 24bit and at least 96000hz.

i would get the claro plus if i had to choose, they are amazing with music and movies, not too sure how they perform in games though, but i do know that their latest drivers have added "game mode" so it should be good.

 

[Procyon12]

dont buy the striker, its a 16bit sound card with low hz.

my onboard sound is capable of doing 24bit and 192000hz, so if you're going to purchase a sound card make sure it does 24bit and at least 96000hz.

i would get the claro plus if i had to choose, they are amazing with music and movies, not too sure how they perform in games though, but i do know that their latest drivers have "game mode" so it should be good.

a) and what 24 bit 192k sources do you have?
b) i said if you use digital. on digital the specs of the two cards are the same. dvds will function as pass through just fine, and DTS connect is 16/48 1.5mbps on all three. the only difference in specs is if you use the digital to transport it to a high end stereo DAC..which he's not doing.
c) the striker does 24/96 on analog.

 

[DualOwn]

a) and what 24 bit 129k sources do you have?
b) i said if you use digital. on digital the specs of the two cards are the same. dvds will function as pass through just fine, and DTS connect is 16/48 1.5mbps on all three.

it doesnt matter, what if he chooses to get headphones down the road or something else.

he never put the striker on his options list so i dont know why you downgrading his purchase.

 

[Procyon12]

it doesnt matter, what if he chooses to get headphones down the road or something else.

than the extra $100 saved would quite frankly be better spent on an outboard dac or headphone amp than spending it now to maybe use it later. IF he were interested in that. he asked about 5.1 performance. i gave my opinion on cost benefit ratio on 5.1 performance. why is this hard to understand.

he never put the striker on his options list so i dont know why you downgrading his purchase.

he wanted to know if spending the extra money would benefit his 5.1
i gave the information, along with information about where it would benefit.

second, i offered an opportunity to save some money. i dont see how this is a bad.

 

[XRadianceX]

Sorry, that was information I should have included.

I will be using analog (I believe I read that digital bypasses soundcard DAC and speaker DAC is considerably less nice?)

And I have no intention of using headphones for any reason other than not waking people up very late at night, which is not often.

I'm not sure I even know what a pre-amp is, so that probably won't be an issue.

Will those be the only benefits of the Plus?

I am pretty dead-set on the Omega Claro at this point, with a price I'm willing to pay and very positive reviews. I'll keep checking back to this until I order tomorrow afternoon if anyone else has any extra input. Thanks in advance guys!

 

[x1234x]

Here is a comparison chart:
http://www.htomega.com/faq18.html

I myself have the Claro Halo XT and there is quite a noticeable difference between it and onboard audio. I have the Corsair SP2500 though. I got lucky and snagged it up for $50 off CL. It was totally worth my ~2 hour bus ride!

You can't go wrong with either of the sound cards.