Sound card/ alternative

Recently some random hit my mbp and the fairly large speaker wire plugged into the headphone jack got hit and i'm pretty sure it messed up the headphone jack on my mbp. Now you can't plug things all the way into the jack and i hear static... i called apple and they said its accidental so they wont cover the repair, duh.

So, since the repair will cost a **** load, i'm wondering if there are alternative ways to plug in my speakers/ cans into my mbp. Either a soundcard that plugs into this PCI e 1x slot on the side i believe it is, or maybe a usb device, i would rather something that stuck into the PCI slot though. i use both my usb ports fairly often.

do you guys know anything i can do?

if it uses firewire ports, then thats good cause i dont have anything that uses those ports.

You can buy a USB soundcard for $50. It has a port to plug your speakers into, and if you plug it into a USB hub with your other USB accessories, or can hook everything up to the MBP with a single USB cord.

I use a Creative Labs Soundblaster card and it works great.

i didnt know that the creative labs soundblasters were compatible with mac's

are you referring to the Creative Labs Xmod USB Sound Card? thats the only thing i can find from them that is mac compatible

Here's what I use. It was $50 at all the major US electronics stores for the longest time. They are a little harder to find now--perhaps they are being phased out.

Creative USB Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External Sound Card - EAX enhanced

The software/drivers are Windows only, however, these are only required for 5.1 sound. If you just want 2 channel stereo sound, no software is required--just plug the box into the USB port and plug your speakers into the box. It works perfectly.

My goal was to have high end speakers on my MB when at my desk, but without having to plug in a headphone jack. I use a USB hub to attach several other devices, so I just plugged the sound card into the existing hub. One cord from the hub plugs into my MB and minimizes the desk clutter.