external 5.1 USB sound card options?

Hi All,

I'm one that usually does copious amounts of research, reading alot of reviews before I make any purchases. On something like external sound cards though, its a bit hazy because audio tastes are so subjective.

I'm looking for an external sound card primarily for listening to music (alternative/indie/rock/metal, you get the idea)... with decent capabilities in movies, and for light gaming. So far I've looked at:

Hercules Pocket Muse 5.1
Creative Audigy NX
Creative Audigy ZS
Philips Aurilium
Zalman ZM-RSSC 5.1
M-Audio Sonica Theater 7.1

Optimally, I'd get the Audigy NX because of its numerous favorable reviews... but if there's a cheaper option that is very good with music, I'd very much like to know about it before I spring US$85 on a soundcard. Any comments from people with experience?

Thanks,
Sandeep

 

I have the PCMCIA version of the CREATIVE and can say that you have much less load than the USB version (used to have one). It is connected to the PCI bus and compared to the USB the CPU load is several times smaller and you have one more USB port free.
Go for it, it's a very nice device.
R.