Thank you all again.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier: Before spending money on an
up-market soundcard (even though I recommended one), at least give the
one that comes with your PC a chance; you can always add a better one
later, as long as you end up with a free PCI slot, or perhaps USB2
connection.

I was all set to upgrade my PC soundcard until I connected it to my QUAD
33/303 system. Apart from the mains hum, the sound quality was excellent
(certainly good enough for my ears) and this is using an IBM system
aimed primarily at business users, so the sound chip is probably a
relatively lowly one.

So I changed my PC speakers, and now I'm in Nirvana.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk