Hi, everyone!

I have finally grown tired of my onboard sound cards. I have used them for ages, but have for quite some time now felt that they don't cut it for me anymore. The sound quality is more than questionable and does not do my ripped flac-s justice.

Nonetheless I have been reluctant to buy an external card for the longest time, primarily due to extra costs and the fear of hardware incompatibility.

But now I have made up my mind and want a good sound card for a reasonable price. This card will not be used for gaming, just music and may be an occasional movie or two.

Could someone please recommend a sound card with an affordable price tag, good sound quality output and full support in linux?

Thank you in advance!

I started at the alsa website and then scanned through newegg.

I can't promise it will work but consider cards with c-media 8738 chip. Previously saw some as low as $14.

The c-media site directs to alsa-project for driver indicating its built in.