alexwoods
Karyn, understood and thanks. Any hint of what further problems could be in store? Latency, or something else? I wish I had bought a different sound card for sure, and I'll get something more appropriate when circumstances permit. I am however a little bit knocked over by how hard it was to get Sonar to work with what is after all the best selling internal card on Amazon. It's not a rare or obscure piece of equipment and it was just a giant pain in the ass to even get sound out of it. In my darkest hour I was considering returning Sonar and getting Reaper instead, as some Reaper users actually recommend the Sound Blaster. So while the SB may be a total piece of crap, it's a common piece of crap, and these compatibility issues don't reflect well on Sonar. 

You're right about it being popular. But for whom? Pro audio is a very small part of the computer market and is a niche product. Most people are unaware what a computer can do with sound. Games have a huge audience and then streaming sound is very big.
 
The needs for one are not the same needs for the other. Pro audio has requirements for multiple ins and outs. Various  bit depth and sample rates. Then latency is very important to most user of pro audio.  
 
SB cards are great for what they are ideally suited for but not for the needs of audio recording with multiple inputs and good mic pres. You get this with finding a company setup for this area of the market place. Not what is offered by Best Buy. The sales for a mass marketer of such gear would be pitiful and not very cost effective.
 
When you're ready to upgrade we are here to help.