I went from an Audigy LS to an X-Fi XM. One hell of a difference Ill tell ya, really blew me away. Then I decided I needed new speakers and bought some Klipsches...even better. Great card...although a bit pricey. I found it worth the price.
Yeah i agree - i heard an X-Fi finally earlier today at my good friends house. When i go to Mexico i won't be able to mess with the X-Fi unless i come across one for some odd reason - i guess you never know. I'll be laying miles of cat 5 and other network cables and switches for months and it's likely the only thing i will have to toy with is my laptop while i'm not working.