(hey... that was a rap... "Any bedda pre 'n A da Dee for too-siczdee")

I'm ready to buy an M-Audio DMP3 pre with 2496 card. Price then Sound
Quality then stability are main factors. For $260, Is there a better
option for digitizing large diaphram Neumann mic and elec. guitar to
1ghz PC running XP? (what about E-MU)?