USB Sound Card Adapter $3.19 at Amazon

Why does this thing keep getting listed here? You can pick these up any day, any time, from ebay for <$3 (one available right now for as little as $2.36). And if you're a real penny pincher, you can just post a bid and sooner or later win one for probably <$1.

^ I'm thinking the amount of time to do that could be put towards saving more money on something else instead. Also, some of the lowest cost sellers ship from overseas so you have a long wait and end up checking back on it wondering when it will arrive.

At this price point, they're ALL coming from overseas. Most of these resellers are just using psuedonyms for the same importer anyway. I bet many are just fronts for Meritline. Bought several myself from eBay, most came within 7-10 days.

This is really 2.0 not the "7.1," which is "virtual." Not sure why anyone would need this. I don't see devices which don't already have audio features so basic. A true 5.1 or 7.1 USB sound device would be interesting.

Here's one reason you might want one:

http://www.tinkernut.com/archives/2387

I was frankly amazed how well it worked and how good it sounded over my Onkyo AV receiver and speakers. There are several models on eBay, and you definitely want this one w/ the CM119 chipset. More volume, better sound.