Ah MDV...sorry, I missed this!
Brill!
IMO you have really chosen well...I know I'm biased, but that is a nice set up,,,and man, you've get a heck of a lot of quality there for a very modest outlay. I reckon you've spent the right dosh on the right priority without a doubt: and that Rode mic too! I can see you're going to have a good weekend and I look foward to you going"wow!"
Had I seen this thread earlier, I would have said don't get swayed by the free Cubase software: I know several Cubase users who are guitarists(and no disrespect to Cubase users) who breathed a sigh of relief once they bought a Cakewalk product.
This only leaves you the easy bit: speakers. Yes, you can use the Creatives, though you'd need jack to minijack connectors from the Emu outs to the 5.1s. Obviously you only need to hook up the front pair, as you'll be working in either stereo or 2.1(well, stereo with a woofer if you want...though the woofer will skew your ears a bit bass-heavy).
Make sure(obviously!) you "tell" your pc that you're working in stereo and not surround.
As I said on your other thread, I did actually record a whole CD using just the front speakers of a Creative 5.1 as reference monnys..and the referencing is all you'll really need them for to begin with....the added benefit of your new card is that the breakout box will allow you to take outputs to your Creative speakers as well as, say, your home stereo: this way you'll be able to listen to your stuff for that CD-referencing-mix.
Feel free to pm me if you wanna and if you think I can help.
