I'd say, personally to a large extent that might be somewhat opinion based, and/or depend on the specific sound card. Worse, while 'ideal' gear would sound the same on anything, some gear sounds the same.
The worst ones could sound terrible - even with a 'premium' codec chip - but that depends on implementation. That said, 'all' you're looking for is a simple line level output for each channel, and you should have the amplifier bit that does the heavy lifiting.
To most people the feature difference is the big thing - premium sound cards may have things like headphone outs that handle higher impedence headphones (The creative ones certainly do! - and I seem to remember they are designed around that.).
That said, even as someone slightly snobby about audio, I'd say 'get the cheap one first'. They're essentially disposably priced. Try it with your gear, listen to it, and decide if you like it.
I've actually used the onboard sound card and compared it to a 'better' sound card designed for music editing - the differences even with really good kit on the other end are slight and you really need to listen for it to tell.
Usually, yes, they are made with higher quality parts. There are military grade and above capacitors and many other components. Many of the higher grade parts resist EMI or EFI or etc to higher level than cheap parts. – cybernard – 2016-08-05T00:43:58.553
“There are military grade and above capacitors and many other components.” Really? On a sound card? I think the case is more likely that the lower cost sound card uses cheaper components and the the brand name card might use normal quality components. – JakeGould – 2016-08-05T00:53:37.633
"Quality" dosen't mean insanely pricy. Unless you're going for wierd boutique parts 'military' grade and 'better quality' components are only a small part of overall costs. Double the cost on a 5 cent component wouldn't result in a few hundred dollar difference, even if you had a hundred of em. With resistors, the difference is carbon vs metal oxide and brands. With electrolytic caps , its japanese vs chinese ones and so on. Its still only a small part of overall price. – Journeyman Geek – 2016-08-05T01:41:18.463