[djjhawk]

Thanks but....

I uninstalled everything, Realtek and Creative. Reinstalled the Audigy 2 and it works just like it did before, which seems to be fine. After checking everything out and verifying the operation with REW, I reinstalled the Realtek drivers. As far as I can see everything works great without any problems.

If I would have thought about it a little more I would have realized there is no need for an analog mixer on the pcmcia Audigy 2. The pcmcia card only has 3 connectors available at the card edge. Two 3.5 mm connectors, one for Microphone In/Line In/Optical In and the other for Headphone/Optical Out and a third connector for a special speaker docking cable. Since the input jack can only be used for one device at a time, there is no need for an analog (duh) mixer.

Creative has also provided a recorder selection on the pcmcia card called "What U Hear", which can be used in conjunction with the surround mixer to mix internally generated signals with the single line-in connector.

Other Audigy 2 cards have multiple input connections and require the analog mixer. As it was pointed out earlier, the analog mixer needs some form of control to select multiple hardware inputs.

Thanks for your input on the card you suggested, I'll certainly keep it in mind for future reference. Looks like a good device for a good price. For now, I'm happy with the Audigy 2, especially for the 38 bucks delivered I paid. I'm not sure I would have bought it though, if I had to pay full price.