...ok asking on behalf of a friend. He's a up n coming DJ/Music Technician thing, that like splices, remixes, edits songs etc. He wants a soundcard that will provide superb sound quality and for under £50, cheaper the better. The card doesn't have to be 5.1 or 7.1. He's (apparantly) hooking the card up to an amplifier, which'll lead in 2 bookshelf speakers. These are big buggers, and very loud, so the sound can't get distorted etc. Any suggestions? I was thinking a audigy platinum pro zs. Are there any specialist cards? Thanks.
Actually something based on the VIA Envy chip would be what you want. Chaintech and MadDog have some pretty cheap cards that run under $50 USD. I believe the Chaintech is the AV-710. It's running for $25.00 at Newegg, and Gainwards Hollywood@Home 7.1 is $28.00 same place. Both use the VIA Envy24 HT-S. I'm not sure if you can find an M-Audio card within the price range or not, but those would also be a good choice.