Quote:   +1 on this.  I have a PSIII + Stage III Cullen modifications and it is very, very nice.  

Entry-level: 258----------- Alien (1) AOL Picollo DAC (1) Apogee Duet (5) Asus Essence ETX (5) Audio Alchemy DDE v1.1 (1) Audio-gd Compass (21) Audio-gd Compass - FUN (4) Audio-gd Sparrow (2) AUNE mini DAC + amp (1) Bantam (1) Behringer DEQ2496 (2) Behringer SRC2496 (1) Beresford...

Awesome!!!  Count me in!  :)   Excellent timing as I am really wanting to audition some gear before I buy my first setup.  Looking forward to meeting you all!     --Chris

My setup at home is comprised of B&W 703s for main channels, HTM7 center and 705s for the rear and ASW 700 sub, powered by Rotel 15-series processor and amplifier.  Just couldn't justify the cost of the 802Ds... Well, I could but behaved myself. :) 

Thanks everyone for the input and you have made several good points... No, I have not looked at the LCD-2 until you mentioned it and will add it to the list.  I was doing a little math and $5-6k is a lot to spend without hearing anything in person.  Since there are no CanJams nearby I will try...

Hello everyone,   First, I must say these forums have been a source of information overload and the cause of me staying up till the wee hours of the morning sifting through posts. It's been very enlightening!  Now, for my question which will hopefully not touch off a religious war...  ...

So, if used for listening to music on decent speakers, which card would be the better option: the Forte or the Essence STX?