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[HMS Odell]

looking to get a new one, for a couple reasons.
1) mine's starting to crackle on the right side (sure it could just be the little jack that needs cleaning, but it's a built-in card and dammit all i do is listen to music so i want it to be wonderful.)
2) eventually i'm going to get some klipsch promedia 5.1 speakers and i want them to sound wonderful as well.
3)i might use it for recording as well.

so i've been looking into the creative soundblaster audigy series and m-audio. any advice?

[Mockery]

depends on your budget really...

I'm still running a Creative Soundblaster Live, so I can't really comment on the newer cards, except they're not cheap... My cousin had an Audigy 1 and returned it because he said the sound was crap, went back to Live with a partial refund...

I can direct you to some reviews, for the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 and the Creative Audigy 2 ZS

As far as speakers go, I CAN personally recommend the Logitech Z-680 system, especially as far as value goes. These should be going fairly cheap just about everywhere, as the superseding model has been released (same power, slightly better controls.) And POWER!!! These have about twice the rated power as the Klipsch speakers, I believe (500w RMS, 1000w Peak Max Power Output.) The sound is unbelievably awesome. Crystal clear, perfect. I have had them up as loud as possible, and while I thought my house would fall down and my ears would run away to hide, there was no sign of distortion whatsoever.
One niggle: I have to have the sub down to almost zero level as it is "too powerful."
Enough raving from me, anyway. I don't have the Klipsch model, so I can't compare directly, but I know the Logitech Z-680 set Rocks. Hard. I bet they'll cost about half as much, too.

[HMS Odell]

from guitar amps i've learned that rated power isnt' always reliable as one would like it to be, and instead is used by companies as a marketing tool, and you have to actually listen to the amps (in this case speakers) to find out how loud they really are. personally i'm not a fan of the the z-680s - my friend has them and the bass was just too boomy for me. i mean, i love it compared to using my amp, but the klipsch are godly.

oh and thanks for the reviews. it was taking me awhile to find them.

[nihilist]

I've got about three different varieties of the Audigy 2, and I cannot complain.  There are far more "pro" cards out there (think Terratec), which I intend on trying, but aside from the awesome reviews, I don't have any actual experience with them.

I've got a nice 5.1 Klipsch setup, and good god but I'd never give it up.  Very nice quality, though the sub is a little flat.

[Mockery]

Yeah, see, with the Logitechs you have to turn the sub DOWN to achieve a balanced sound, you always have bass on tap for those moments when the Spaceship skims over your head in Star Wars, (for example). Apart from that they have an onnboard hardware decoder for Dolby Pro Logic 2 Music and Movie, plus Dolby Digital and DTS Digital from SPDIF. Plus, I bet they cost about half as much for about as good sound, as I said before.

Allow me to re-iterate: I have never heard the klipsch system in action, partly because it's almost unavailable in Australia, so am unable to compare directly. All I can say is the Logitech Z-680 system rocks my world/house/neighbourhood and I am extremely happy with the performance, for the PRICE at which it comes.
I still bet it's about half as cheap as the klipsch system, and I assure you Logitech are no slouches when it comes to audio engineering.

[nihilist]

Considering what the Klipsch cost, I should have just bought two really big Cerwin Vega speakers.  Really big ones.  :p