I haven't got the sound card yet. Just hooked up my Z5500 with the Optical cable to the Asus P5Q-E. The sound is great. I know that Z5500 can't stand a chance in front of HTiBs but what else can you expect from a multimedia speaker system ? I've heard Onkyo 3100 / 3105 / 5105. Also heard JBL Cinesystem 133 but still none of them can give you the theatre effect like Logitech does. Not bcoz I've Z5500, but I fell that way. I know it's subjective but still I'm not gonna misguide anyone. Don't just read reviews, go for auditions. Different people, different needs, different quality, different perspectives. I've seen people who knows nothing about sound but they spend 40K just bcoz the speakers, amp. look good. They just don't care about room size and other factors that really depends for the sound quality. They don't even know what are High / Mid / Low. I'm noob but many forum members have sound knowledge about the sound technology. If I had a budget of 40K, I would wait for few more months, collect some more funds and get Wharfedale or Tannoy or Jamo(as they're available in Kolkata).