Last time I talked about how I blew out the PCI slot in my computer. Originally, I thought I burned my sound card, but replacing it with a new one produced the exact same symptoms. This meant that if I wanted a sound card at all, USB was going to be my only option. Combine that with the fact that newer computers are doing away with the PCI expansion slot (being replaced with e-PCI) and it appears that if I want to buy a soundcard that is somewhat future-proof, then USB is the clear choice once again.

This Creative E-MU 2020 external sound card looks like a nice option. It has a few essential inputs, trim knobs and a mic pre-amp, all without needing any power other than what the USB provides. I’d buy this today if I had the money. sale prices hover around the $130 mark , so if that’s too rich for your blood, then there’s always this:

M-Audio makes this little USB audio input box. It doesn’t really say that it’s a USB sound card, but I think it might be more than a mere interface. It costs about fifty bucks, so it is definitely more geared towards the penny pincher than the pro audio type. This one comes with some interesting software- virtual stomp boxes, and 3.5 gigs of audio, which I would hope are music loops.

This is probably the cheapest external sound card that I would buy. Remember, finding great prices is great, but you might just get what you paid for. Since I intend to use the sound card for recording music, I don’t want something that looks more like a thumb drive than a sound card!

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