Desktop Audio--External Sound Card vs other options

[RgUgGg]

I work with Premiere Pro and Audition almost daily. I recently rebuilt my main production machine using an MSI motherboard. Unfortunately, the Realtek/Nahimic onboard drivers/DAC produce sound that is nothing short of abysmal.

Although I love my Grado headphones, I don't like wearing them for hours. When I'm giving my ears a break I route the sound through an Onkyo receiver. Plus, there are times I want to hear how a clip sounds in 5.1, so a pure USB/DAC seems not to be the best choice (although I could be wrong).

I would appreciate any opinions or advice regarding an external sound card I could route to the receiver. The receiver itself has several years on it and I assume recent DSPs would be superior, which is why I need an intermediate device.

Regardless, your thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

 

[americanaudiophile]

I would suggest getting a great sounding surround receiver (Marantz comes to mind) and connecting it via HDMI to the PC, You use the receivers' built in DACs for stereo as well as the surround sound processing when you need it.
A Bryston SP3 preamp processor and amp would be better but at a huge difference in price.