M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound hanging/stuttering from time to time

hey guys,

i just bought a new M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard to enjoy great sound in a foobar2000 + flac combination.

i've successfully installed the Vista 32bit drivers in compatibility mode and everything worked fine until then.

after starting to listen to music, i've experienced that from time to time (doesn't matter if i do something with the PC or just leave it there only playing music) the sound starts hanging (and it sounds like stuttering) for 1-3 seconds. then it comes back to normal...and a few minutes later it happens again. it's VERY annoying...

tried playing with WMP (wasn't happy about it) but the same happens.
tried vista 64bit drivers but couldn't install them. tried old Windows XP SP2 drivers, installed fine but no sound.

any1 got any ideas?
am i the only one who has this issue? did i buy a broken soundcard?

please help.

thanx alot in advance

m-audio are not very 'windows' friendly. they really haven't released a decent driver for xp x64 yet, let alone vista. great cards for linux and apple though, and xp 32bit. i wonder if any of the E-MU options in this price range would fair better...you could always go usb/firewire gear for recording...

hmm, ok.
i'll get rid of this audiophile, then. i really liked the sound of it...until i heared that stuttering, which i cannot avoid :/
read all the troubleshooting info provided by m-audio forums...still i think it's stupid to stop for example windows gadgets in order to get your soundcard working :/
so no m-audio for me. won't trade this OS (even if it's so beta) for a soundcard.
asus xonar, here i come!

super choice. i'm looking at the auzentech x-fi forte atm...