looking for new sound card for audio editing

creative cards are the best there when used right. most likely you heard what you heard from some snobs. however, unless you are gaming i would advise you look elsewhere than creative as you don't need the kind of power the creative cards offer.

i am not the best with other cards but m-audio, auzentech and turtle beach are names i have heard of. m-audio AFAIK have some good DAC's and other high quality compnnents which will be good when quality of sound is what matters. also some of these cards unlike creative can out put a surround sound signal over a digital connection in case that is what you need. oif course since you only need stereo that won't matter.

perhaps someone with more knowlegde and hopwfully no unimformed bias against creative will answer although don't overlook the x-fi etreme music as it is a good card i believe. i am happy with my card although i am primarily a gamer.

Emu and M-Audio both have a range of cards starting at £50 and working up. Emu has patchmix (download a manual to see what it can do) but last time I looked no linux support so M-Audio scores there. I've got an audiophile 2496 and have been really impressed with the quality.

What exactly do you mean by 'audio editing'? That's a pretty wide umbrella.

With most audio editing tasks a fast CPU will be more important. If you get even a £/$50 card to cut down on CPU cycles and likely interference from your mobo then that's all you'll need.

I work with the onboard sound on my laptop when I'm not at home, and that suffices just fine (unless I'm recording anything).

At this point the OP really needs to reply with what exactly he means by 'audio editing' - do you mean recording, remixing, sample chopping, mastering? What??

@Kstrat - I listened to your recordings, you really need to use less gain, the distorted sounds are far too indistinct (partly to do with the voicing of the amp also). Bust out your De Ville again and invest in a chunk of Tube Screamer! (Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I know musicians like input)

It's not an issue with USB2.0 and FireWire.