V-Studio 700 with 2 rack I/Os vs. DM4800 F/W? Need to pick one!

I don't know - do you need more than 16?  Or you can use ADAT to add more ins/outs if that is your big concern

The controller part of the vS700 is in a different league than any bog standard controller for SONAR.  It is really, really good.

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The 700 controller unit is - stunning.  It is customized for SONAR, natch, and there is a dedicated button for just about every editing task.  The faders/knobs are good, but the jog wheel button combination is fantasic for getting around a project.  BAsically you keep your right hand on it to move and zoom and select, and use the buttons to edit, and the faders to mix, and the knobs to change parameters.  You don't really have to take your hands off the unit any more than you do w/ an analog desk.  But you are editing as well as mixing.  It is a different method of working w/ your project.  And with SONAR, there isn't much programming, you just plug and go.  I'm sure if I used it more I would:

1.  get faster with it.
2.  find more things that I really needed to use the mouse/board for other than naming tracks.

The pres/conversion is fine.  Nice and clean, tho I'm sure you could spend more on coversion and might hear a little difference.  Enough to make a difference?  Only your wallet can answer, but it won't stop you from making good tracks.  The pres are typical transformerless designs - what you get is what you hear.  I had the vs-100 in for review too and took it to a pro studio for comparison.  The pres are "based" on the same design as the 700's.  Against an api 512 there was a little less of high-end and not quite as forward that api is known for.  But again, the api costs about what the entire 100 costs.

The negatives of the 700 were few.  It is expensive and includes a roland hardware synth you may or may not need.  There are no inserts on the pres, so if you have analog hardware like eq or comps you can't use them.  Of course, this is where you can use external, more expensive pres.  The line signal, I think, runs through the preamp,  too, but it is clean enough that shouldn't matter.  Or something like the Focusrite ISA 4 preamp unit w/ conversion built-in could go right into the ADAT connection, giving a single vs700r 12 inputs, with 4 very high-gain, transformer in preamps.

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