Well, if you think about stuff like latency inherent in the protocol, that does make sense. It's not that "USB is bad for gaming," it's that USB isn't as good as onboard or PCI-based sound, because of the increased latency and, in many instances, cheapness of the hardware - those $10 sound card dongles aren't known for high production quality.

If you're wanting to play games in 7.1 surround sound, a USB dongle likely won't cut it, but if all you care about is hearing what's going on in-game, many of them would provide satisfactory, but not necessarily exemplary, service.

And to understand the answer, one must consider the vantage point from which those who filter the news are viewing the world.

It's up there.

Less-than-poetic version:

Dude, think about who is doing the filtering - people with power. Once you realize that, it's easy to see what "good" they feel will come from the practice - keeping the proles fat, blind, and complacent.

Lol, good point. Also worth asking if the plug is fully seated, I've made that mistake once or twice myself.

If you're not concerned about pro-level audio equipment (ie, just want something with decent sound), I'd recommend going to a site like Amazon, searching for 'usb sound card," and reading the reviews.

Personally I don't know much about the non-pro-audio stuff, as I don't ever buy or use it.

My old, circa 2008 Gateway machine wouldn't let me record the audio stream (aka, "What You Hear") with the onboard audio, had to install a discrete card to get that capability.

That's about the only useful thing I've done with a PCI sound card in the past decade.

Maybe.

Higher quality headphones, specifically ones that have their own amp, would probably work better, though.

Woah, watch your step around this post, ladies and gents; my Sarcasm Detector is going off the charts!

Even then, you're not going to be using a PCI Soundblaster card, but rather a purpose-built audio interface device. And you sure as hell won't be buying it from Creative. At least, not if you care about your sound.

... which are, by definition, discrete audio devices.

... For less than several hundred bucks, yea.

I mean, sure, right now you could probably get an R-pi or BeagleBone Black, a couple small, hi-res screens, an NFC shield, etc. and cobble together your own solution; but when all is said and done, would it be any cheaper than just using a Galaxy S3?

Hey, mebbe we're onto something here...

Really? I've got an old SB X-FI from, like, 2001 I think, and even though it spends most of its time in a dusty shop I've never had a problem with it.

For the average user, onboard is just fine.

For a power user (gamer/developer), onboard is probably good enough.

If you're an audio pro and/or you're building a semi/professional audio rig, onboard isn't going to cut it 99% of the time.

FWIW, plug in sound cards are actually more common than a lot of people think, because a lot of people seem to think that if it doesn't go into a PCI slot, it's not a sound card.

The Rocksmith cable, with its built-in discrete audio unit, is a prime example, one that I use almost daily.

Don't know about the iShinies, but according to this ad, er, link, from TFS, someone will be making one for Android devices.

I'd hardly consider a device that requires use of a $300+ smartphone to be "cheap," and definitely not free.

Still neat, though, because it shows off the depth of cool stuff you can do with cardboard these days.

If history is any indicator? Minimum 2 weeks paid vacation, er, "suspension."

Obviously we all got into the wrong lines of work.