Be careful about welcoming flaming, there are some very skillful practitioners on here but they don't get the opportunity to practice their skills very often so inviting them might prove too tempting to some .
I can't add anything much to this but I too would be interested in opinions. I recently built my own HTPC under advice from an expert and I used MoBo ASUS P8H67-V with sound card ASUS Xonar Essence PCI card. I can advise that I am very happy with the SQ but it may not be applicable to your requirements.
Cheers,
Dave.
DaveK.
My System:
Power: Belkin PF40, Custom.hifi.cables Hydra and DC PSUs.
Sources: Self built HTPC with Xonar ST sound card, NAD T585 multi disc player, Sony BDP-S350, Squeezebox Touch, Techncs SL1210 (mod'd) + Nagaoka MP30, Thomson Sky HD box.
Amps etc.: 2 x Mini-T amps, MF-X10D Valve buffer clone, StanDAC 7520/Caiman (mod'd).
Speakers: Mission 774s with added super tweeters
Cables: best I can afford and likely to change except Homar's RF attenuated co-ax's and Mark Grant USB and HDMI cables. I also like silver i/cs and speaker cable.