If the budget runs to it, RME.

Stable round trip latency of under 6ms via USB (PC) and firewire (Logic Pro+Mac) while recording 8 simultaneous inputs and monitoring up to 16 using Sonar's track echo function, dependong on effects added in the DAW. Under 4ms achievable, which competes with PCIe cards, but uses a bit to a lot more cpu for high track counts and the 2ms difference is neither here nor there in the real world.

Excellent mixer application for the cards, and probably the most rock-solid drivers in the business. Built in reverb/delay, eq and compression for monitoring purposes. RME, so far anyway, don't suddenly abandon products when a new version of Windows or OS X comes out either.

For less money, Focusrite, MOTU and the newer Tascam stuff seems well regarded.

Lots of highly respected people giving experienced advice in this thread!
 
FWIW, I went through this same type of search a couple of months ago and landed with a RME.
 
Key elements that separate the RME interface from the pack of others I've owned: latency is now a forgotten issue, driver development/release is second to none, great sound quality (noticeable). It's a pleasure to use with no buyer remorse.
 
Happy Hunting!

I'm in the market for a new interface, myself and have some of the same struggles you do when it comes to making decisions. I want something that is professional quality and will continue to have good support for many years to come.
 
I've been looking at the new UAD Apollo Twin as a temporary unit while we wait to see if they will start making drivers for their Thunderbolt Apollos but there is no Windows 10 support for it yet which is disturbing. Also looking at MOTU, RME and Antelope Audio (which is looking more and more like what I will end up with for the long run but is a bit over my budget for a temp fix).
 
The biggest issue I have right now is obviously long term support. Roland burned us all pretty bad in this respect and I won't take part in that again.

The UAD Apollo Twin is nice, but in that price range I would go with the new RME babyface pro. Great drivers on any platform including win 10. It might even swing you towards a UFX for your larger needs. The ability on the UFX to do direct recording is very nice if you do any live recording. Basically you can record all tracks directly to a USB drive or stick without the need for a computer.
 
Once you get to the larger interfaces, you'll also probably be in need of ADAT connectivity to get the port counts you need. If you do that, you're bypassing the PREs and the A/D converters in the interface and using the ones in the outboard gear. Something like the Universal Audio 4-710d would give you the nice UA PREs and A/D for the critical tracks while using either the internal or lower cost ADAT devices for less critical tracks.
 
It's nice to have a small interface and a larger one by the same company. In the case of RME, you learn how to use totalmix and it's the same for the babyface and the larger interfaces. Makes it easy to go back and forth without having to think too much.
 
gabo

You mentioned that RME was very expensive. I had 2 x RME FF 800s new in 2002 and sold them last year. Still working and exceptional drivers but I wanted to upgrade to a newer RME UFX device.

The reliability and longevity that products give you because they are built on the bleeding edge of available technology is worth a premium. The best audio devices are supported forever (I seems) and newer drivers developed year after year fine tuning performance and providing new features through firmware updates as was the case with the FF800s. That's what you pay for. THose devices are worth buying even second hand as I did with one of my FF800s.

I've had my Roland SPS-25 (Edirol rebadge) for about 6 years, and as I consider moving up to W10 it seems that the driver issues, which have needed workarounds for a while, have finally led me to consider an update.  Latency on the SPS-25 has never been too bad for me under proper ASIO but I do switch into Tracking and Mixing modes where necessary. And with nothing to compare it with, sound quality is more than good enough.
 
I also decided that if I was going to put some cash out there, I may as well put it somewhere I won't regret so have ordered the RME Babyface Pro.  Should be with me tomorrow and in time for a weekend of upgrades.  Hopefully the only thing I won't like is the name of the interface, and I may get a few quid on the 'bay for my old interface.