I've been recommended the HT OMEGA STRIKER and HT OMEGA CLARO, but the CLARO costs nearly twice as much. Is it that much better? If anybody owns one or the other, I'd like a bit of advice. I've also heard good things about the ASUS Xonar series. If possible, I'd like to spend no more than $150, but recommendations under $100 would be fantastic as well. All I ask is that it works under Windows Vista x64, and provides me with great quality sound over the onboard 5.1 I have right now.

I have about 40% of my music collection as lossless FLAC files, and I play/watch high-definition games and movies on my PC, so I think I'd benefit greatly from a jump over onboard sound. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Edit: I apologize for errors in the title! *Seeking, *(eventually).

Same qoestion xD
E-MU/Asus/Creative ???

Hehe, anybody have any advice for me? I could really use it.

I bought an Asus Zonar DX a couple months ago, and I've been really pleased with it. It blows the onboard sound of my 680i out of the water, no contest. Music and movies sound great through my Bose Triports (even though the headphones themselves become uncomfortable after prolonged periods. i.e.- 2 hours or more) .. I really have heard things in my songs that I'd never noticed before.

The only problem you might encounter with the Asus cards is that they're unfriendly with some older Nforce chipsets. I had to wait a while for a BIOS update that would enable my 680i to support it. But all the newest boards should be fine with it.

So look at the Asus lineup. They've got the DX for a mere ~$80, but there are higher range sound cards too. Including a couple that were just released and support High-def sound and HDMI and such, if that's your thing

Cheers

Alright, I will definitely look into the Asus Xonar DX. I've heard good things about the Xonar line, and hey, I might be able to save a little cash by getting one of these too!

One more question though, does anybody here own HD555s? I'm looking for owners so I can ask opinions. I've heard they don't really offer much bass, which I'm a fan of. Rather, I like to be able to hear the bass guitar in a typical rock/metal band, rather than just the vocalist, drumset, and lead guitar. Can any owners here vouch for me?

Check out the latest in the Xonar line: Asus Xonar Essence STX. *drool*

I own a pair of HD555s and I can say that they handle bass really well. A good chunk of what I listen to is metal and I can say that my hd555s haven't let me down yet. There are times even when I'm listening and I can feel the force of the bass vibrate the air around my ears.

You won't be dissapointed with these headphones

I bought the HD555s for the soundstage, really. It's quite wide. They're not as comfortable as my old HD590's (those were a bliss), but they sound pretty good.