In search for soundcard & external DAC

[jondoe]

Hi everybuddy.
I currently have a emu10K1 card (LIVE).
I'm looking for a better one for my needs.
My main focus was for a audiophile or a rme card but these are kinda
expensive for my budget (& i really don't want a audigy2, or should I?).
Anyway, this is for stereo sound. I just saw the (delta?) revolution 7.1
card & thought it is good for 5.1.
Anyway, I want a GOOD card for stereo (up to 24/192) with some external DAC for CD quality sound. I guess using an external 5.1 DAC is hard due to dolby licenses.
So, to wrap it up, i got some good solutions for some external DACS here, on the forums but what about the soundcard ?
Any thoughts are welcomed.


PS
I might need one with linux/alsa support.