[linux-audio-user] Recommended soundcard similar to ESI juli@

Hello, I use a crappy nforce audio onboard sound. With that I'm not able to get low latencies (I'm now at 180 ms, and still get xruns, delay exceeds and some times x-server nvidia-glx (?) crashes, although I applied Ingo Molnars patch for complete rt capabilities on amd64 dapper). Now I want to get a new audio card with harddisk recording, midi, and midi capabilities and DA/Spdif. I had a look on the ESI Juli@, M-Audio Audiophile 2496, EMU 1212M, and I would prefer the Juli@, but I don't know how good is the card support in alsa. I read the changelog of 2.6.12-rc1 by Jaroslav Kysela <perex<at>suse.cz> http://kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/testing/ChangeLog-2.6.12-rc1 <perex<at>use.cz> [ALSA] Added ICE1724 - ESI Juli@ code (not complete) + AK4114 code + AK4358 Serial BUS drivers,AK4114 receiver,AK4XXX AD/DA converters ICE1712 driver,ICE1724 driver Initial incomplete driver for ESI Juli@ cardcards based on ICE1724, AK4114, AK4358 and AK5385. The ICE1724 and ICE1712 main files plus some drivers are also updated (cleanups and new callbacks). Signed-off-by: Jaroslav Kysela <perex<at>suse.cz> I also read some messages, that the Juli@ is not very good supported yet. Does somebody have experience with that card, or can somebody suggest an other card for medium hobbyist/semi-pro requirements? Kind regards Gerhard Gaußling