The Software:

     The software CD includes the driver powered by Xear 3D, the demo program which includes the Helicopter: HRTF 3D positional Sound tool and the C-Media Play3D Demo, and Media Rack.

     The software shows the installation version as 1.00.0032.  As of this article there was no driver posted on the HT Omega website.  The packaging shows the Claro is only supported in Windows XP and Windows 2000 with SP1at this time.  No Windows Vista support is listed, though I am sure it is just a question of time.

     The Xear software provided is common across most C-Media cards and remains one of the more full featured software suites out there.  The Main Setting tab provides the core setup for your Claro allowing you to choose between an analog output like the 6 channel setup shown here, or a digital S-PDIF output.  The digital audio options are shown in the drop down for your convenience.

     From this screen you can also choose your DSP mode.  Here you can see the Dolby Prologic IIx settings including the potion to individually tune the volume of each speaker and the ability to set the delay for the surround channels using the sliders at the lower right.  The four buttons below are used to test your settings using a sound test, positional audio and a music demo track.

     The 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter allows you to fine tune the sound stage to simulate 7.1 on a smaller system.  Each sound channel can be virtually moved and the volume adjusted to optimize the sound field.  Even the location of the listener can be moved during tuning.

     In the DTS NEO:PC mode shown here, again you can select from a music or cinema experience and fine tune your center gain to best utilize your center stage for playback.  The Cinema setting is shown here.  For this image I was listening to some music in 5.1 and the audio status meter is now active as well.

     The Mixer tab provides all the familiar playback and recording adjustments. Advanced settings for things like Mic boost and S/PDIF settings are also available.  The Mixer also allows for multiple channel monitoring.

     The Effect tab offers fine tuning to suit your listening environment.  Simply choose from the four preset environments the setting that best matches your setup, select a matching environment size, and use the 10 band graphic equalizer to fine tune the output to suit your taste.  User defined settings can be saved for future reference.  When I first started testing I noticed a slight drop in the highs while connected using the analog 5.1 settings.  After testing several of the presets, I was able to get the full range back to my liking.  With a little Rush running I naturally gravitated to the Metal setting but several of the settings sounded quite good.  The impact of the equalizer setting is more pronounced than you may be used to from other suites that allow only minimal changes to the factory set sound levels.

     Here is a closer look at the variety of pre-defined environment type you can choose from.  There are a staggering 23 settings to play with.  Environment settings can be fun, but does anyone really use these?