How about the creative audigy soundcard? Rumour has it it's a nice one, though I don't know how nice for recording. Maybe it's more oriented towards that whole dolby sorround thing, for watching movies or playing games. You might want to check em out.
Dr. Simon,
What is a near field....whatever, I've forgotten the exact words you used and I'm not cancelling the compose box to check it out. And what are the advantages of it over "normal" speakers? And you can get a bit technical (but not too much! :eek: ) if you want. I did physics in uni, so some things might sound strangely familiar. :D