Good cheap stereo soundcard?

[Jammrock]

I have built myself a chu moy headphone amp. While not exactly high end, I don't think it is any worse (probably better) than headphone amps in even expensive breakout boxes (IF they do have headphone amps and not just a pot across their line out). Assuming this is true, I just need a card with good line out. And if it's not true, please tell me so

I am happy (mostly) with the 6fire (Envy24 non-HT chip, breakout box, drivers mostly just work if I don't want fancy game 3d sound, which I don't) - but it's not mine anymore and is going to her.

Ah, if you have a headphone amp then you're set

The M-audio Revolution is supposed to sound very nice and is not that expensive. I've seen them online for as low as $85 USD for OEMs.

Beyond that I don't have any other recommendations in the sub-$100 USD market.

[Dr Mordrid]

Second the M-audio Revolution for most systems. Matrox is disclaiming them for use with their RT.X100, but that's a minor issue for 99.9% of people.

Dr. Mordrid

[satgeek]

I second the fortissimo 4, cost should be around 40-50 euros. It has envy24HT chipset and very good
Wolfson dacs.

[Nowhere]

Oh, I'll just add to my post that you could go, az, to hydrogenaudio.org , do a search for "chaintech" (in Audio Hardware subforum) and see for yourself.
But there's one minus - the card is totally unavailable in PL...so who knows if DE is any better :/

[Jammrock]

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=40601&hl=chaintech

I believe he wants you looking at that thread.

[Nowhere]

Yep, among many other...somehow (because the one you linked to talks only about searching for card that can perfectly pass digital signal to external DAC, and that is not what az is doing...)

[az]

Not available here. The Hercules Fortissimo IV seems OK, or a used Terratec Aureon 5.1 Sky (Terratec have changed chips sometime during production of the Aureon 7.1, and the different Aureon cards aren't necessarily related despite bearing the same family name...)... gah! The 5.1 Sky is the same card as the Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 (except that the prodigy has optical outs and apparently two more channels). I think I might be getting a 5.1 Sky used.

[az]

...or not (because it's not available and I'm not sure if the 5.1 fun is different hardware or only different bundled software. Problem is, Terratec do make some cards that are really crappy and some that are really good. The only thing they have in common is that their drivers are never perfect ). Fortissimo IV then. After I've moved by the end of the month