Thanks.  One last question.  Who supports their hardware with drivers the longest:  UA, RME, or MOTU?

Drivers and support...
RME has an unbeatable track record.
MOTU is a close second.
 
UA makes nice gear...
They're relatively new to the audio interface market.

throwing in my support for MOTU.  I've had an Ultralite MK3 hybrid for several years.  I own a presonus as a mobile/backup device.  I've had a focusrite for about a week before I returned it.  turns out there was nothing "wrong" with it other than design and I didn't care for the design.

the focusrite forte is a good product.  They just came out with a beta driver that is much better.  However it didn't resolve my problems with latency.  For future reference, if you have trouble connecting the forte, just go into device manager and click on *scan for hardware change*.  This works if plug and play doesn't
 
 
 

eph221
How do you guys feel about the Digi 003?  I can get a used one for under $200.  They're still writing drivers for it.

Stay away from Digi 002 and Digi 003. Neither have zero latency monitoring and both have low quality preamps.

mikedocy
Stay away from Digi 002 and Digi 003. Neither have zero latency monitoring and both have low quality preamps.

Agreed... there's a reason why you're seeing them 2nd-hand for $200.  
 
RME and MOTU both work great with ProTools... so it's not an "either or" type decision.
A rock-solid audio interface is a great investment.

Here's a little shopping list I made for interfaces. I'll add Jim's "noise floor" to the list when I get a chance. 
Anytime someone posts something to compare I add it to this list. 
 
http://www.cactusmusic.ca/Articles/Johns%20Audio%20Interface%20blurb.rtf
 
 

What about the tascam celesonic?  It's exactly $500.  

i';ve wondered about that same unit..
the specs look great.
 
here's a review of it in TAPE OP
 
http://tapeop.com/reviews...20x20-audio-interface/

From a fidelity standpoint, you'd do fine with a Tascam audio interface.
They're not on par with RME/MOTU/Lynx when it comes to round-trip-latency.
This may or may not be important (depending on your scenario/use).
The UH-7000 is a standout with particularly nice converters/preamps (especially given the cost).