There seems to be a host of new sound cards coming out at the moment, and I'm in the market for one. But one thing that's bothered me is the poor support for Linux (my main and prefered platform). I'm looking for a card that's good quality for music (and games under Windows) and has an optical out (for recording music onto minidisc). Any recommendations? The new Soundblaster Audigy meets my needs, but I'm a bit unsure, especially as I've got a SB Live which crackles for the first second or so when playing under linux. :( The firewire port would be handy if it's a OHCI compatible one. The Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo II meets the bill, cheapest, but offers optical out. Hercules Game Theatre XP also supports what I need, but the breakout box is a bit on the big side. The problem with all the above is Linux support. I know the Game Theatre isn't supported under Linux, at least not well. From what I've found out the Audigy support is either promised from Creative or just use the existing EMU10K drivers (not ideal) and I've not been able to find anything out about the Fortissimo II. Cheers, Jamie -- Jamie O'Shaughnessy jamie.oshaughnessy@ntlworld.com