Roland Octo-Capture Vs VS-100

Last week I bought the Octo-capture , I find it sounding great with instant Playback. No problems what so ever, But its kind a waste for me, something like the Mackie Blackjack would of been perfect, but with there non stellar drivers and Cakewalk being the most finicky program ever with driver support , I will stay away, Even though I contacted Mackie and they are releasing a W7 64 bit driver soon , I still will stay away..  The Roland for my type of recording is kinda useless, all I needed is 1in 1out, I record only Vocals and Keyboards , which the keyboards go through a patch bay, and the Vocals go through my focusrite Ad/Da converter ,Via S/pdif  so the other 10 ins are useless for me nothing will ever get hook up... 
 So I am toying with the Idea of returning it for the VS-100 which is the same price.
I been doing some research on the Octo and the Vs , Some say they use the same converters but from what I gather , The VS models take there pre's from RSS m-400 and when you look at the year that was released vs the Octo one must say There is no way Roland used the same components but who knows, The SNR is 114 on the Octo , and 110 on the VS units. Im no expert in this field ,This is why I love to know what you guys think, Has any compare the 2.. 
A question about the Vs is it possible to use the sd Card to record the main out while using the Daw? I read somewhere were thats no possible. 
what  I would of loved to have done was get the Mackie and spend a few dollars more and get the Gaia too. but stability and sound quality are a must, So I have a few weeks the decide as I have 30 days to return or exchange which I just might return for the heck of it and try the Vs out myself..  what problems I have....  

 Thanks John

Thanks Windsurfer..

The Sd card would be a nice addition if I could of used it to record the main Outs . Weird that you can't , But not a deciding factor , I dont think..Also the fact that I'm sure ACT will work 100% better , And of course the fader is making me think I would use the VS more so than My Octo..  

 Now After reading this just makes me Thinks Again about the blackjack..And knowing there releasing new drivers soon..http://www.harmonycentral.com/docs/DOC-1621

For $150.00 I think Im going to just get this at Sam Ash Tomorrow and Compare the Octo against it. 

John,
 
I could've written that first post... I, too, was torn between the VS-100 and Octa-Capture - determined to stick with Roland, especially knowing about Sonar's "pickiness" toward drivers.
 
I was leaning toward the Octa (because of the better pres).  Then, while reading about some less expensive interfaces, came across really nice reviews for the TC Electronic Konnekt 6... Found a retailer on Ebay selling them for $150 ($50 off normal street price), so I made up my mind right then and ordered.  (I'll have it tomorrow).
 
I also was tempted by the Mackie unit, but I have not been impressed with them since they abandoned Tracktion and their Onyx FW 400/800 interfaces, and I feel like any interface you get from them could be discontinued at any moment.  Have not heard good things about their support staff either.  (This wasn't always the case.  Under Greg Mackie, they used to be a great company). 
 
Back to the Konnekt 6:  Like yourself, I feel like $150 isn't too bad a risk for getting a small, quality interface.  After I've had some time with it, I'll post about my experiences with this unit and Sonar.  If you have time, please do the same with the Blackbird. 
 

Thanks JonD I will let you know my findings about the blackjack if I pick it up tomorrow .. I also looked at the Lexicon ionx but don't know much about it with sonar.

Just grab a secondhand frontier Alphatrack and call it aday. Those 8 preamps WILL come in handy.

For anyone interested in the Octa-Capture but doesn't want to put out the bucks.  Roland has released other versions of the "Capture" - Quad-, Tri- and Dual-Capture.

http://www.rolandus.com/products/productlist.php?ParentId=104

djjhart@aol.com


The TRi- and dual Capture has pretty low Specs, Entry level interface imo,, But a world of difference over an on board and SB cards. 

Agreed, the tri and dual capture specs are low compared to the quad- and octa-.  I think the idea behind Roland putting out the tri- and dual- is to capture the part of the market that aren't looking to spend lots of money and still have some versatility.  Although, the quad-capture is well within reach @ $269 and I wouldn't go below that myself.

Recent Octa-Capture buyer here...,  Wating for delivery on 04/18/11 

Peace !

BTW- why isn't this posted in the hardware section?

Take my comment as in insult if you wish- I don't care .