Comment 17 for bug 8107

My preferred soloution would be to add a file to /etc/modprobe.d/
that spcifies options to be applied when loading the ALSA modules.

One option defines the order in which ALSA devices are numbered.
By default, the default ALSA device is zero.

By setting this option you not only define the defalut device for ALSA devices,
but also the defalults for the simulated OSS devices.

To get my cards in the correct order, I used the following:

options snd_cs46xx index=0 # Videologic Sonic Fury card. (Default)
options snd_intel8x0 index=1 # Motherboard Nforce sound.

For reference, see for example:
 The "Troubleshooting" on this website:
    http://wiki.debian.net/?ALSA