wow, thanks a lot for all the info man, its very useful. I don't have the studio monitors yet, but I already bought some adapters for my emu 0404 to use with my current setup. when i get my studio monitors, i think ill either make an interconnect, or just make my self a breakout cable. i remember reading a tutorial somewhere on how to make one...it didn't seem to difficult, i think i can probably do it. anyhow, if i were to use the standard breakout cables on the emu 0404, i would need a 1/4 stereo to 2 1/4" mono to use with most studio monitors.
Thanks a lot for the advice on the Event monitors. I have heard there pretty awesome for the price. I saw on newegg that they had the m-audio bx8a's going for about $340 or so which seemed like a really sweet deal to me. Samson seems pretty decent for the price, and they are on sale on most sites, so thats pretty tempting too... i would like to keep it under $300, but if there is an awesome deal for a bit more, ill take it.
Also, I haven't been very up to date on computer audio since the emu 0404 was the best option for two channel music and movies at under $100. has anything changed? how does the X fi series of cards compete? did some super card come out that i am not aware of
I want to thank all of you for the advice and info