I am spending about $150 on a new soundcard primarily to listen to music. I already have the SB Live for games/general purpose apps. Please post your thoughts on these soundcards. Thx.

I think most people in this forum recommend the following cards for music listening:

1. Terratec EWX24/96
2. M-Audio Audiophile 2496

I did not put them in any particular order!

From what I understand they are EWX, 6fire and Audiophile2496 based on the Envy24 soundchip (now owned by VIA). The 6fire just has a newer revision.

Check this.

The Terratec dmx 6fire (lite) only costs about 10-15€ more than the aureon sky. The aureon sky doesn't support 24bit digital in/out. From what others say, the 6fire is a very nice soundcard. I'm not sure if the aureon boasts other features though. SK1 will know more. I do believe however that the 6fire is targeted at the professional sector while the aureon series is more consumer oriented.

I checked out the Aureon and it looks like a gaming card. It supports 24/96 on the SPDIF interface but not in the analog side.

I really am confused..
The page says "The Aureon 5.1 Sky offers pure, first-class sound for your PC! With real 24 bit / 96 kHz technology for recording and playback and an excellent frequency response..."

And then the details say "8 / 16 Bit recording & playback at up to 48 kHz (mono/stereo)"
...

And yes, 6fire is a very good choice.

The Ext connection says:

# 3 Line Outs, stereo (3.5 mm) 24 Bit / 96 kHz
# Line In, stereo (3.5 mm) 24 Bit / 96 kHz
# Microphone In, mono (3.5 mm) 24 Bit / 96 kHz

Not clear if they do or don't support 24/96...

i'm pretty sure i'll buy a 6fire (lt?) quite soon. i miss my old terratec card - and i gotta support our local german manufacturers

I got a 6fire lt and i am very content with sound quality. It's poor that it has no digital out for its price but thats the only major flaw I can think of.

I own the dmx 6fire. Can't remember, was digital out the only difference between it and the light version?

I've had a DMX fire in my PC for some time now (they're not very popular over here in the UK - most people go for the SB Audigy). Great card - can't say any more than that

The difference is the breakout box which comes with a hefty price tag. It has digital out, midi outs, and some more. I didnt need that so I bought the LT version. One thing missing mentioned above

Hmm the Terratec website mentions it has digital i/o. Could you clarify?

"1 digital stereo input and output (TOS link, optical) at the MXR module - 24 bit/96 kHz"

http://terratec.net/products/6firelt/6fire...elt_details.htm