He's probably a Prime user and you aren't. 

  Consider getting the OEM version of the card or the Omni, which is the same thing, just external.    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1I0QYK/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EZT7RE4/

  That's a very subjective viewpoint. You're right though, it is emulated surround sound using a stereo source in most cases. The front page will give you a better idea with the demo videos and you can form your own opinion then. 

  From what a few people have said that have tried it, the original Modi wasn't really worth it over using the DAC built into the Z. I don't know how much better the Modi 2 is, but I can't imagine it blowing it away and making it suddenly worth the extra cash.    As for your second question...

  Another possible option is Sound Blaster Omni or Sound Blaster Z fed into a Magni. These both use SBX Pro Studio over Dolby Headphone. 

Thanks guys, cheers.

  Forgive me if something changed with the rules and the OP wasn't updated, but shouldn't you not mention that site here?

I've done it plenty of times, no issues here on Windows 7. 

The Samson has cardioid pickup as well as omni-directional. It and the Snowball both have a cardioid, cardioid with -10dB, and omni-directional switch. The gain is Windows/Mac OS controlled for both, but there is a firmware tweak for the Snowball to change it to low or high gain. 

  The Samson Go-Mic and Blue Snowball are the most recommended on the PC forums I visit. If you wanted to go a little higher, you could grab a Blue Yeti or AT2020.        IIRC it's only a timed exclusive. 

  I thought it was buy one, get one 25% off.

  The D03K should also work if you can find it. 

  The Omni will output surround through the optical out to your Modi. The connection to the PC is the only thing that is USB on the Omni. 

  Are you getting the optical Modi? Stillhart said that he couldn't tell the difference between that and the Sound Blaster Omni's DAC (obviously YMMV). If you were to grab an Omni and use the headphone out to a Magni or better, you could save some cash and have a guaranteed surround sound...

  Audio-GD NFB-11 or NFB-15 would be great. If you wanted to step up your price range a little, the Compass 2 also has a lot of praise and more input options. 

Cowboom is pretty popular over here in the US. They're owned by Best Buy. I've bought many things from them and have never had a problem. The items usually come in better than described condition. Also, they have fantastic customer service if you do have a problem. 

It's not a bad idea if you're looking for an all-in-on solution, but the modular aspect of separate components can't be overlooked. 

  Very odd, but good to know, thanks. I edited the previous post to avoid confusion if anyone actual bothers to search this thread. 

  Removed the wrong info, see post below from Stillhart. 

  That's good to know. I don't have Contracts, but I do have Silent Assassin and Blood Money, so maybe I'll try them again some day. 

  I tried playing Codename 47 recently and just couldn't do it. The controls and interface were very...off putting and didn't have a good feel. I haven't tried Silent Assassin yet, but if it feels similar, I would also avoid it. Blood Money is worth playing from what I've heard. If you like...

  It looks like you can get an E12 off both sites, but you would still need a DAC. I would send an email/PM to @Kingwa and find out how much shipping is on a NFB-15 and then evaluate if saving up the extra would be worth it. That being said, I don't know all the ins and outs of audio stores or...

  What can you find?

  The Sonys probably had bloated bass. I would guess that the HP100 has more accurate bass, which is far more preferable for me and others. The Omni could tighten up the bass a bit and maybe even add a little ommph. If you can drive them louder, that will certainly help. 

  If you want virtual surround sound for the gaming part, you can get a Creative Sound Blaster Omni and use that as your DAC for the time being and feed the signal out to the amp. It would allow you to get a nicer amp since you can pick up an Omni for around $50. In the future, if you wanted to...