dvd-audio play external usb sound card solution

hi all,

maybe others, like me, are interested in playing dvd-audio on their entertainment laptop - after a fair amount of research i found some solutions and thought of sharing them with you. i didn't choose the soundblaster audigy while configuring my system, preferring the more quiet and audiophile solution of an external sound card, and only after receiving the system noticed the absence of the PCMCIA slot. there are probably two usb sound cards on the market that can play dvd-audio (that also fit within a decent budget), one being

 - audigy 2 nx (it only plays at 24 bits / 96 kb sampling), and,

 - audigy 2 zs video editor (plays at 24 bit / full 192 kb sampling rate).

they both feature clean over 100db s/n ratio. only the video editor has rca's, and they're fairly hard to find. try ebay creative store.

hope it helps.

thx,

aR.