I notice that the Asus k8v series literature talks about 20-bit audio
on their card. I had assumed that means that one could actually play
20-bit audio with the right magic, but am now starting to have my
doubts.

Does the sound on the k8v show up as 20-bit capable under ms-windows
(or similar)? It seems that none of the 3 BSD's or Linux know
anything about a 20-bit mode for the south-bridge. I'm beginning to
suspect that the codec is indeed 20-bit capable, but the VIA VT8237
south-bridge can only do up to 16-bits. It would be great to hear
that it is 20-bit capable and one can play 20-bit audio under
ms-windows.

-wolfgang
--
Wolfgang S. Rupprecht http://www.wsrcc.com/wolfgang/