My son uses a Soundblaster Live Value which has an SPDIF out and runs this to a DAC (ART DIO or MSB Link). The sound through this combination is very good. He also has another sound card that was highly recommended for its digital out, but it doesn't sound appreciably better than the soundblaster. We compared these to a new Denon HDCD CD changer and ended up selling the Denon as it was no better as a transport or as a cd player. The only problem with the soundblaster is that it requires a mini plug for the SPDIF out. We ended up using a TV coax cable with a Radio Shack screw on mini adapter. We have also tried this combo out with a Monarchy DIP which yielded some improvement with the MSB but did not make a difference with the DIO.
