Hey guys, once again I'm back here asking for sound card upgrade.

I'm looking for an EnvyHT based card, with built in headphones amp. Currently I have a old Yamaha WaveForce card, which sadly will never see the light of 64bit drivers. That, and I think it's dying too...

Now I was going to get the AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1, however it seems that they are now discontinued - after waiting a month on my order, the shop called me and said the supplier can't get a hold on any since well, they have reached their end of lifecycle.

So can some one recommend me a card to look for? I need: sound quality, decent driver support so I can upgrade to vista, headphones amp is a must, and something apart from creative.

Big thank you in advance!

Price?

My recommendations always go to an AV710 with an external headphone amp...

Price - nothing over $400.

I was looking for an AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1 as well, and when I discovered it had been discontinued, I tried looking for a Prodigy 7.1 LT. Back in December, I emailed ESI (AudioTrak's distributor in the U.S.) asking them why I couldn't find the LT anywhere. Their response indicated they were having supply problems, as though not enough units had been manufactured. I decided to upgrade some other hardware first, so I don't know where things stand now.

My email also asked about future products from AudioTrak based on the Envy24HT chipset. ESI told me there would be a Prodigy 7.1 XT arriving sometime this year. However, I have since read on several forums that the XT might not be too widely distributed outside of Korea. But you might want to keep an eye out if you're not in a hurry. Try a search on Google if you're interested in more info.

A company called Terratec also makes an Envy24HT based card, Aureon I think it's called, but I don't know much about it. I've also read some good things about the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (also an Envy24HT card).

Do you need the surround sound capability, or would a stereo solution work?

I'm not too big on surround sound, since I have a good pair of Headphones I always use.

Also I think Audiotrak might be developing a new card, hence the lack of 64bit drivers for the normal 7.1 and 7.1 LT.

I'm looking for a card down in Australia, and so far had no luck.

@rayk

I can fully recommend the Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 LT, as i have just bought one myself, and i am simply blown away by the audio quality it delievers compared to my motherboards integrated AC-97 audio system.

About the availability of the Prodigy 7.1 and the difference to the LT model, then here is a quote from an Audiotrak rep i found on a forum :

"I am Ryan, sales engineer for ESI/Audiotrak US.
I understand that there have been much confusion due to the availability of Prodigy 7.1 and many of you have ventured to other manufacturers because of that. I would like to apologize for the previous confusion.
From December 2004, Prodigy 7.1 LT will be available. The sound quality of the 7.1 LT is better than the original(yes, I am one of the few lucky ones using it already) due to better noise reduction circuits that we have added. It uses the same AD and DA convertors and we have upgraded the driver significantly.
One feature that the LT version lacks is an optical input, which in my opinion was not used very often in the original Prodigy 7.1."

Source : http://htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7807

@Martin

Ok I see, any recomendations for online stores that do international shiping. I think I will have trouble diging one up in aus.

I am sure the E-MU cards will have drivers for Windows Vista when it comes out.

X-fi Fatal1ty or Elite pro

Sure, with new release of ESI MAYA44 (~100$) you can not do wrong...

Yeah I ended up getting the AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1 LT, very happy. Just gotta figure out what all those settings do ^^;

The M-Audio revo 7.1 is great when running on 32Bit windows, the 64Bit drivers are nothing short of crap for Windows X64 i'm having to use my onboard HD audio as its the only way to get a stable comp.