Sound card to replace Delta-44 and Xonar?

Currently my computer has 2 sound cards:
 
1) M-Audio Delta-44 (with OMNI I/O box) - for Sonar only
2) ASUS Xonar DX - for everything else (games, listening to music, etc.)
 
I have 2 cards because the Xonar has high latency and fewer inputs, which makes it bad for Sonar... but the Delta-44 is not ideal for gaming (I think because of lack of certain sample rates or onboard processing).
 
I've been using this setup for the past 5 years or so, and am getting increasingly annoyed at the following issues:
 
1) I need to switch headphones each time I want to use Sonar.  The pair I have attached to the Delta-44 sound different from the ones I have attached to the Xonar, so when I listen to my songs on the Xonar, they don't sound as good as they did in Sonar.
 
2) The Delta-44's OMNI I/O box uses US power, and since I'm in New Zealand, I need to run a converter for it.  This ends up wasting power, which turns into higher power bills.  Not the end of the world, but annoying. 
 
3) The Delta-44 is picking up noise from either my power supply or video card (or something else in the computer); the Xonar is not.
 
4) The Xonar has an annoying UI (when switching between headphones and surround sound speakers) and poor ASIO behavior.  It hasn't had new drivers in years, so I have lost hope on it getting "fixed".
 
So now I'm thinking about getting a single audio card to replace the Delta-44 and Xonar.

Here are the requirements:
 
Must-haves:
1) low latency
2) low noise
3) ability to record at 16 bit / 44.1 KHz
4) good for gaming  (whatever that requires)
5) headphone port on front of computer or breakout box (not at the back of the computer)
 
Would be nice:  (but not required)
6) 2 pairs of stereo inputs [4 mono inputs]
7) surround sound output
8) 1 or 2 MIDI in/out pairs
9) ability to record at 24 bit / 96 KHz
 
For those of you who use a single card for both Sonar and gaming/movies, do you have any recommendations?

I use a Tascam for DAW stuff and the onboard audio for everything else.  I have each of their outputs piped to a Samson C-Control matrix.  Simple to enable/disable/switch between the inputs and the outputs for different sets of speakers/monitors/sub.  I HATE unplugging/re-plugging and such, so the $99 was well worth it for me.
 
 

In my scenario, it doesn't matter about the access as much because once connected, the C-Control is where speakers and phones get plugged in.

Thanks for the info!  I read a little about the Focusrite.  It's not that expensive, and seems to have good latency.
 
So, is USB the way to go these days, rather than PCI?  (When I bought the Delta more than 10 years ago, USB was considered too slow for an audio interface).

I used a collection of cheap USB and some onboard audio until 7 years ago when I shelled out $400 for a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 (Firewire, 8 input preamps and lots of other I/O). My computer MoBo has digital I/O and I also run that via optical I/O thru the Saffire for grabbing audio off web streaming and CD/DVDs. 
 
Save your $$ and just get something good...the Pro 40 (above) is still on market, now for $499...these things don't go obsolete like computers. Good audio is Good audio. 
 
If I had to replace it, I would probably go with USB, but at the time, USB3 was not available. The Firewire with a high end i7 processor is all you need...Focusrite and Tascam seem to be the hot brands in the mid-range price bracket at the moment and for most of the last decade. 

I've done more research, and it seems like USB is the way to go.  So now I'm trying to pick a brand.
 
1) RME gets the most recommendations, but those things are very expensive!  Since I actually do very little audio recording, RME seems like total overkill.
2) MOTU is also recommended, but, again, it seems like overkill.
 
3) Focusrite has been recommended several times, and seems to have options at a decent price.
 
4) M-Audio is what I am using now.  My Delta-44 is about 15 years old, so I'm sure technology has advanced since then.  Although my Delta-44 picks up the computer noises, that doesn't mean an external M-Audio card will have the same problem.  Still, it's natural to have an instinctive aversion to whatever brand is currently giving problems.
 
Any recommendations?
 
I'd love to find something for less than $200 USD.  Once we go above that, I have to start paying import duties and GST, which are 20%.  Otherwise, I'll have to buy something here in NZ, and prices here tend to be a lot more than 20% higher than those in the US!

Tripecac
I've done more research, and it seems like USB is the way to go.  So now I'm trying to pick a brand.
 
1) RME gets the most recommendations, but those things are very expensive!  Since I actually do very little audio recording, RME seems like total overkill.
2) MOTU is also recommended, but, again, it seems like overkill.
 
3) Focusrite has been recommended several times, and seems to have options at a decent price.
 
4) M-Audio is what I am using now.  My Delta-44 is about 15 years old, so I'm sure technology has advanced since then.  Although my Delta-44 picks up the computer noises, that doesn't mean an external M-Audio card will have the same problem.  Still, it's natural to have an instinctive aversion to whatever brand is currently giving problems.
 
Any recommendations?
 
I'd love to find something for less than $200 USD.  Once we go above that, I have to start paying import duties and GST, which are 20%.  Otherwise, I'll have to buy something here in NZ, and prices here tend to be a lot more than 20% higher than those in the US!

 
You can pick up RME PCI cards dirt cheap and they still develop drivers for them!  (9652 and 9632)