I've been reading lots of threads here but I can't really determine if there is a sound card that is good for both hi-fi audio and gaming. I definitely want a card that does true 24bit/96KHz input/output since I'm planning on doing a lot of vinyl preservation and would like to turn this into an HTPC someday. any recommendations? my budget is up to $200.

Here are some cards I've come across, but I'm not sure which one would best fit my needs:

Creative E-MU 0404 PCI
Onkyo SE-200PCI
M-Audio Audiophile
ESI Juli@
Auzentech X-Meridian
HT Omega Claro

For good game integration, Creative cards pretty much own the market. I own and X-Fi XtremeGamer card and I've had very good experiences with it, it supports 24/96 and the drivers are stable. For a more serious vinyl-to-digital project I think there are better options. Also keep in mind your OS, not everything is supported on Vista yet, my X-Fi is useless on linux right now.

I'll be using XP 32bit, never 64bit or Vista.

Rats, which did you buy ?

I'm considering these:
Onkyo SE-200PCI
ESI Juli@
AUDIOTRAK Prodigy HD2
AUDIOTRAK Prodigy 7.1 HiFi

Rats!, Did you buy any of these?

Does anyone own any of these cards, how are they?

I basically need only high quality sound for my headphones (Sennheiser HD 555)...
Any recommendations?

I ended up buying the HT Omega Claro 7.1 and it's fucking awesome, but of course I don't have anything to compare it to other than my integrated sound. I connect it to my Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers, Audio Technica ATH-A500 headphones (via the Klipsch internal headphone amp), and the SPDIF optical out goes to my Onkyo receiver.

As a gamer, I assume you would want EAX and the like?
+1 with skelly831 for the XtremeGamer.

Eh...I didn't look at the dates on these posts...whoops

no, I don't play games, and if I do, I just need to hear, nothing else...