It's now possible and simple. I bought an Onkyo HTS over three years ago and it's made all the difference in the world when watching DVD movies! I wanted to be similarly impressed by my PC. I first got a Creative 5.1 card and later a Hercules Fortissimo 7.1 in hopes of hearing stuff out of five speakers. Those companies' products offered only false promises and awful drivers. At last, today, I plugged in a new HDA Xplosion 7.1 DTS Connect. It outputs either a continuous Dolby Digital or DTS stream though an optical connector.
Whether my mp3 files will actually sound better than stereo enhanced by the receiver's Pro Logic II remains to be seen (or heard). Still, just the test function of the noisy helicopter circling inside my living room nearly brought tears to my eyes.
I may have spent a lot on my computer in the last few months. Yet as the television ad for a hair colour says, "I'm worth it."