Of course the box saying "Creative" is one thing that will keep me away anyhow. I've been Creative free since 1995 when I grabbed a Turtle Beach Tropez Plus over an AWE 32.

For me it has been the opposite. I've had to work with Creative ever since Gravis decided not to extend their UltraSound line of soundcards once the windows '95 era began. Sure, they tried with the ultrasound PNP, but that card really didn't cut it.
Damn, I loved my GUS (max) card. Probably the best soundcard I've ever owned. (not taking into acount modern frills like digital IO, but purely based on sound quality)