Thanks guys. I plan on using WMC 7 with the Shark 007 codec packs. From the little research I've done so far it sounds like I should be able to configure the machine to pass through bitstream audio as long as the hardware supports it.

The ASRock website states that their new system supports this functionality.

PeachTree 65se, PeachTree D5 and SVS SB1000 - Stereo
M80s, M22s, SVS PB3000