@DannyW75 - you rock, I am looking into the Amiron Home. The price tag is big, bit it is normally like that for the quality. Let me get this card via the upgrade program which seems to be a long wait first. From there we'll see what 2020 brings for options. 

It got a price drop on Amazon.com today. It is currently at 494.70. You will be very impressed with the headphone. It is a perfect upgrade from the HD650. You will be amazed if you use it for music, but also for gaming. It has excellent imaging, and a vast soundstage. You can detect where everything is located in games. It is also one of the most comfortable headphones on the planet as well.

Regarding the Nu Audio Pro 7.1, I am absolutely loving this sound card. The sound quality with the LME49720HA metal cans I put in the card is just amazing. I really do owe EVGA an apology for the way I behaved previously. I am sure you saw that I ended up with a defective card. The analog section of the first card I got did not function. EVGA stepped up, and cross shipped me a brand new replacement. This card has been completely flawless. EVGA made sure to make everything right, and their customer service was very impressive. I highly recommend this card to anyone. I upgraded from a Creative ZXR, and the Nu Audio Pro is an excellent improvement in fidelity. You will be impressed with the card. I don't think there is another sound card that exists that can match it. The only one that might would be the new Creative AE-9, but I can't say for sure, as I have not heard it.
 

Anything under $400.

EVGATech_LeeM

playboyer
Anyone know a good 7.1 speaker system?

What's your budget?

Anything under $400 if you know a couple.

playboyer

EVGATech_LeeM

playboyer
Anyone know a good 7.1 speaker system?

What's your budget?

Anything under $400 if you know a couple.

For our CES show this is what we put together:

• Front, Side, Rear speakers - Edifier R1280T at $99 per pair = $299
• Center Speakers - Edifier R980T at $69 per pair = $69 (Due to cabling issues, we only used one speaker out of the pair.  If you do a better job wiring than we had time for, you can use both speakers.)
• Subwoofer - Sony SACS9 at $199 = $199
• Total Cost = ~$570

To go a bit cheaper, you could instead use the R980T's for all speakers, or just the main 6 speakers, which drops the price around $90 lower.  You can also look for another active sub for a bit cheaper.  For the center speaker, you could swap it with a portable speaker, such as this Edifier to drop the price a little more.
 
Overall, there is a lot of room to build a 7.1 system, or even just start with a 5.1 system and add another pair into the mix later.  You don't need to buy a pre-packaged 5.1 or 7.1 system to make it work.  Just make sure the speakers are active, unless you plan on buying a pre-amp for the speakers or one for each pair of speakers. 

which card sounds better in the middle?
is there a difference between the cards in terms of sound balance?

EVGATech_LeeM

playboyer

EVGATech_LeeM

playboyer
Anyone know a good 7.1 speaker system?

What's your budget?

Anything under $400 if you know a couple.

For our CES show this is what we put together:

• Front, Side, Rear speakers - Edifier R1280T at $99 per pair = $299
• Center Speakers - Edifier R980T at $69 per pair = $69 (Due to cabling issues, we only used one speaker out of the pair.  If you do a better job wiring than we had time for, you can use both speakers.)
• Subwoofer - Sony SACS9 at $199 = $199
• Total Cost = ~$570

To go a bit cheaper, you could instead use the R980T's for all speakers, or just the main 6 speakers, which drops the price around $90 lower.  You can also look for another active sub for a bit cheaper.  For the center speaker, you could swap it with a portable speaker, such as this Edifier to drop the price a little more.
 
Overall, there is a lot of room to build a 7.1 system, or even just start with a 5.1 system and add another pair into the mix later.  You don't need to buy a pre-packaged 5.1 or 7.1 system to make it work.  Just make sure the speakers are active, unless you plan on buying a pre-amp for the speakers or one for each pair of speakers. 

Awesome thanks! BTW as for the Center/Sub output, I just need to buy a 3.5mm audio splitter or does the card come with one so I connect both the center and subwoofer?

playboyer
Awesome thanks! BTW as for the Center/Sub output, I just need to buy a 3.5mm audio splitter or does the card come with one so I connect both the center and subwoofer?

Yeah, we just used a 3.5mm splitter; both splitters went to a 3.5 to RCA cable, but it wasn't a straightforward connection to the center speaker.  Depending on the sub and your center, it might be better to use a different type of splitter, such as a 3.5 to RCA -> into the sub -> then out to the speaker if possible.  The sony sub uses a mono RCA in, but other subs have an L/R RCA.  In hindsight, I think I'd like to find a way to run the audio through the sub and out to the speaker instead.  But that might not be doable. 

Does the new Pro card, or the old one, allow for output over the headphone line and RCA outs at the same time? (same source)
 
Recently had to give up on an old Omega Claro Halo sound card being its PCI (not express) and no longer have a slot for it, but dual-outputs was one of the best things it did.