So I've posted some of my challenges with my six year old Mackie 1200f interface. Samples rates changing, Sonarworks won't play test tones - ug. I finally got fed up and picked up a UAD Apollo Quad running Firewire. I took the day off to rewire the studio (patch bays take a lot of work) and I've just been listening to tunes through Winamp > ARC VST. 
 
WOW WOW WOW WOW
 
Prince's Purple Rain sound track has stuff in it I've never heard before. The Apollo made my Adams better - that's so very cool.
 
This shows me that clearly that all AD/DA are not created equal. I am stunned at the sound quality improvement in just listening - not even recording yet. The virtual console is also leaps and bounds above what I had. Next step is to calibrate Sonarworks and see how better/different it is from ARC. Once done I will pull up my current project and play with the mix.
 
The family is all out of town for the weekend - so tomorrow is a CREATIVE MUSIC DAY. WOOT! :)

Congrats on the new audio device.  As a fellow Quad user, may I ask what motivated you into going with an Apollo?
I have found the Apollo works very harmoniously with SONAR Platinum x64. I recently upgraded to Win 10 Pro x64 (from Win 8.1 Pro x64) and the Apollo/Splat combo made the transition seamlessly.
 
FYI, UA will be releasing a free upgrade to Win Apollo users that will update the Console to "2.0". It is a major update adding 20+ new features & functionality. It was first released for Thunderbolt Mac's six months ago and will roll out for PC's and FW Mac's this Fall. I already use it on my Mac Mini using an Apollo Twin and Thunderbolt, so I can tell you this is a killer update with many much needed improvements that really enhance the Apollo Console workflow.
The link below has a brief over view of what to expect. Most everything presented in the video is new to 2.0.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekJwv2S22Ic
 
Cheers,
 
Billy Buck

Yay! I love it when I buy something that was worth it!

Billy Buck
Congrats on the new audio device.  As a fellow Quad user, may I ask what motivated you into going with an Apollo?

 
Hi Billy, 
I got started with UAD2 I think sometime last year. I find them to be rock solid, sound fantastic, and though I wish I could enlarge them I love the authentic/vintage UI. Since I had already invested in the UAD platform, the Apollo made a lot of sense to me as a new interface, though I considered the RME.

gswitz
Yay! I love it when I buy something that was worth it!

Absolutely! :)