And so, I survived the trip around the beltway and back, with a new sound card (pci-e), a new firewire expresscard and an optical audio cable for the sound system. In theory, I should have fixed all the issues I’ve got with hardware in one trip to Microcenter. And I got good Chinese food from Seven Seas while I was out there.
Since part of the point of this exercise is to be able to Skype with reliable sound, seems appropriate somehow.