Which sound card should I get?

I'm going to be buying a new sound card in the next month or so, and was wondering what everyone thinks about which card I should get. I want 5.1(at least) output, probably dolby digital, and have it sound real nice(oviously). I would also like to keep it under $100. So what would you guys reccomend? Any ideas besides creative? What about Hercules Game Theater, or M-Audio Revolution, or Turtle Beach Santa Cruz? Which would you reccomend, or is there something else?

thanks,
Kent

I'd recommend the M-Audio Revolution, my friend has it and he knows his music since he's got a whole studio setup. the sound is amazing..

I have a turtle beach santa cruz and I think its awesome. I would recomend it to anyone. Havent really heard any of teh other 1s tho.

i would get the Game Theatre XP because of all the things you can do with it. also it looks sweet, the external rack.

If you are a late night gamer and like to use headphones you can just plug them in the headphone port, no need to unplug the speakers. This is a cool feature i found in the Fortissimo 3 and the GTXP would have the same feature

i have the herc digifire 7.1,and i love it.also has 2 external and 1 internal firewire ports.alittle cheaper than game theater and i've heard others say the digifire sounds better.got mine @ compusa fo 80 bucks.

I say why waste your money,
if a cheap sound card gives you better sound ?
I have heard from many people that the cheap Soundblaster 128 PCI is one of the best, also if you compare it with much more expensive cards.
I have just got one, and WOW it plays so good,
I newer imagined my MP3 could sound just as good as my prof CD player

The SB128 is only a 16-bit 48kHz card with a SNR below 90db. How that can compare to a pro quality CD Player, or for that matter "much more expensive cards" is beyond me.

BTW Kent, if your concerned about sound quality, go with the M-Audio. If gaming and connections are your thing, then either the Herc or Turtle sould do nicely.