Stereo / 5.1 dilemma

[daitheflu]

I've recently bought an amp and speaker setup and at the moment i'm using the onboard sound from the mobo.

I've been looking at the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 as a pure stereo sound card. But in the future i would like to have a 5.1 setup. So that would mean i'd need a new card.

Would i be better with the M-Audio or a HDA Digital X-Mystique for example.

 

[daitheflu]

After a closer look the 2496 has S/PDIF digital I/O with PCM and AC-3/DTS passthrough. The 2xRCA output should be better than the analog 1/8" outs from the revolution which would require a 3.5mm to twin rca phono lead.

So by choosing the 2496 over the 5.1 evolution i'm just giving up the EAX support which is not a priority whereas music quality is.