I used to plug a Macbook into the hi-fi via a long mini jack to phono lead. Not exactly hi-fi and one day the plug snapped, leaving half the jack inside the Macbook’s headphone socket.
Two hours of painstaking work later, I decided I needed a decent USB soundcard, but one that wouldn’t break the bank. After a bit of searching online, the Behringer UCA202 looked ideal. And for me it is. It sounds better than the built in sound output (as you’d expect) – in fact it sounds very good indeed to me. It has RCA sockets for analogue input and output, a headphone socket with volume control and an optical output for good measure. It’s also small enough to tuck away and be unobtrusive.
All for under 30 quid. And six months on I’m still pleased with it. I’ve even used it for a live gig. If you want a second opinion – here’s a much more detailed review!