I'm kind of an audio person and never used on board sound. The heresy!
But I agree it's better now and acceptable for most people. You can always get a sound card later on, specially if you're on a budget.
Good thing is audio doesn't age like video does, and a good sound card will last until it disintegrates.
I heard the new realtek alc1150 onboard card is pretty good actually,will it sound good with Microlab solo 6c?