I'm after a sound card with balanced analogue output that actually works in Vista (x64). I've currently got an E-Mu 1212M and I've had no luck at all getting it to play nice along with an X-Fi. Beta E-Mu drives are available but they're a joke, and knowing creative, they will continue to be a joke for a good long time (the E-Mu website says Q4 for availability of final drivers, but that means nothing, as it said Q3 a couple months ago, and Q2 before that...) So for now the 1212M has been popped in a dedicated music PC (running XP), but its generally a bit of a faff. So now I'm in the market for a new card, but pro cards with full Vista x64 support appear to be thin on the ground. An ESI Juli@ was the natural choice, however it appears that it only has beta drivers. Many people seem to have luck getting it to work in Vista, but the same goes for the E-Mu, so I'd rather stay away. I don't need massive amounts of I/O, just balanced stereo analogue output (two sets would be even better), preferrably in a single slot card. External is also an option, but then i may as well just get a DAC. Bit of a specific/obscure requirement then, but just putting it out there in case anyone has been here before...
I cant offer much advice on sound cards, however I can confirm that the ASIO4ALL drivers do work under Vista 64bit, so if there is a lack of ASIO support from your sound card drivers (as was my case), then these ASIO4ALL work well, now have 2 stereo in and 8 stereo out via ASIO, limited by the IO's on my sound card.
