Hi mikeh,
I've been watching this thread (and your previous one which mysteriously disappeared
) with great interest. If I remember correctly, you started off by stating that your primary interest was "Hi-Fi/Music". That being the case, I assume that, like me, you have no interest in AV recievers, Dolby 5.whatever or DSP in general. You want a rock-steady and stable digital signal to feed your Hi-Fi stereo DAC. This, in turn, is feeding an amp and speakers which are to some extent revealing and accurate, and whose prime purpose is music reproduction. If so, then we are on the same journey and I can share a few experiences.
I'm running an M-Audio Delta DiO 2496. I believe that gately is mistaken about it's features. Mine has 6 sockets;S/PDIF coax digital input & output, TOSlink optical digital input and output, and a pair of RCA analogue outputs. It definitely has an onboard DAC. (see
http://www.midiman.net/products/m-audio/dio2496.php). I've been using the analogue output to feed my personal workstation system consisting of a Cyrus2 |PLS| PSX driving a pair of Monitor Audio Studio 2s. Not high-end by any means but still a respectable piece of kit.
I was very impressed by it's analogue output. I thought it was more or less on par with my main, home CD player until... The Cyrus developed a fault and I took it to a repairer who is also an agent for ME (a respected Australian audiophile amplifier manufacturer). He was kind enough to lend me an entry-level ME integrated amp as the repair was going to take several weeks. Unlike the Cyrus which, though I like the sound, is a bit on the "warm and wooly" side, the ME is VERY accurate and revealing. Comparing the analogue output of the M-audio to my mid-80's vintage Sony CDP-557ES through the ME, the CD player is much better (it's had a few tweaks over the years).
Ultimately that's irrelevant because like you, I will also be using an external DAC for my main home system. (In fact, the Apogee DA-1000E-20 that I picked up on E-Bay for a song should be arriving any day now
.)
I will continue to use the M-Audio analogue outputs for my personal sound system. It's mainly for background music rather than "serious" listening. With the Cyrus amp, it's fine, but if you go up a notch or 2 in amp quality, it's definitely not. This is why I strongly disagree with Matt's advice earlier today to spend any extra money on an amp or speakers. The components must be in balance. If the source is not up to scratch then a "better" (more revealing) amp will just show up the defects, and cause fatigue.
I ultimately want to use a laptop, plugged into the home network to drive the main stereo system in the living room (small, quiet, inexpensive for a 2nd hand one). So, my holy grail is to find a reliable USB digital source. I've looked at the Edirol UA-1D but am put of by the long list of incompatible USB chipsets. I've also red some threads on other forums that it modifies the signal. M-Audio have recently released their own version called the Sonica. I was very excited about that until I discovered that it only had optical out, so it's no good with my Apogee.
The other important issue is general stability. I've heard various reports of M-Audio cards having problems with Windows 2000 and VIA chipsets. Of course I'm running both (Murphy's Law). Occasionally I get a loud buzz for 2-3 seconds while MJ connects to CDDB. Sometimes, the sound becomes crackly (usually after some installs) and needs a reboot to fix. I can't say that it's totally stable, but if used on a dedicated Hi-Fi source machine that doesn't run lots of applications or connect to the web while playing music, I've found that I can trust it.
If I can't manage the USB option, I'd consider using another M-Audio in the living room as a digital source. Besides, it's not as if there's much to choose from. Most of the higher quality "pro-sumer" gear is full of features that I have no interest in and certainly don't want to pay extra for (8 or more channels, ADC, DSP etc.) The M-Audio Deltas are the simplest and cheapest option.
Hope that's helped.