Is anybody else using the sound cards from M-audio?

I like to store / play my music and other media with a PC. I guess that technically means I'm using M-80's as computer speakers... lol

Anyway, I wanted an audio output that someone put more than a buck or two into. It was also kind of important in my case to find something that plays well with Linux. So, I got the M-Audio "Audiophile 2496" sound card, which I've been listening to for about 4 hours now.

Needless to say, it does have a really nice, clean sound. It isn't exactly hard to make a DAC that puts out a clean signal at audio frequencies (compared to doing the same with, say, a speaker or power amp).. but there is definitely still a difference vs. most of the other signal sources I have -- including things like the blu-ray player.

So, is anyone else using these cards? For that matter, is anyone else goofy enough to use a Linux PC as the core of their AV system?

I've had a couple M-Audio devices. They were brilliant.

I've found that most desktop sound cards haven't changed alot over the years. Some support more/newer types of game coding but for the most part, the sound quality is pretty indistinguishable.
I've used M-Audio in the past and Asus and Creative Labs.
All good stuff.
Some features vary b/w them like type of connectors in and out, surround sound options, etc.

A friend of mine uses a linux setup for all his home entertainment needs and streaming. He loves it.
Surprised why he still bothers to use windows for his main computer.