Hi!
 
I apologize if this been discussed a lot before, but I'd still be happy to get some feedback with respect to my personal requirements ...

• I currently run Roland interfaces (VS-700 + OctaCapture + Presonus OctoPre MkII via ADAT), which gives me 20 pic pre inputs, ability to run 4 different headphone mixes (using zero latency via OctaCapture DSP) and roundtrip latency of 8.1 ms @ 96 kHz - which is good
• But Roland drivers are NOT the most stable (no longer supported, either) and some Sonar builds work better, some crash more often, Kontakt 5 is often painful when pushed - so that's not so good

Hence, I'm considering making the move to RME, but since it's not going to be cheap I'd appreciate your feedback ...

• Can I really expect that rock solid stability that others claim to have or is that wishful thinking?
• Will there be a noticeable difference between RME and Roland converters?
• How do I get 20-22 input channels @ 96kHz? I assume I can continue using 4 ADAT channels from the OctoPre MkII @96kHz, but the UFX offers only 12 i.e. I would need another device (recommendations?) to get 4 - 8 inputs with at least some of them being mic pre-amps
• I need at least 4 separate DSP monitor mixes (including some reverb) with ability to save monitor mix settings
  
• What about using something like an RME OctaMix XT plus something other than a UFX?
• What other interfaces are worth considering (Apollo, MOTU, Lynx, etc.)?

 
Thanks

RME drivers are rock-solid.
It's not "made up" or exaggerated.
They've earned that reputation over many years.
The only "down" side to RME is the cost.
If your machine can keep up with the load, the UFX will playback glitch-free at a 48-sample ASIO buffer size.
One nice thing about the RME drivers; they report dropped samples.  If the machine is struggling, and you think you heard a glitch, you can open the driver settings panel to see if there were any dropped samples.
 
The latest AVB series from MOTU is extremely good.
The larger units actually have slightly lower noise-floor than the Fireface UFX.
 
If you settle on the Fireface UFX:
If your external 8-channel preamp supports SMUX (and it's A/D supports 96k sample-rate), you can use the pair of ADAT inputs on the UFX to provide 8 additional channels of inputs (at 96k).
 
You can't make a bad decision RME or the latest generation MOTU.
Lynx PCIe units are also excellent (digital I/O to external converters - albeit more costly).
 
There are other good options... but these are the best if you're wanting to work with substantial loads at the smallest ASIO buffer sizes.
 

I'd long planned to go RME if my old MOTU ever died, but when that finally did happen I had no money. Should have been saving up, I guess. So I had to shop around for something I could afford. I ended up with a Focusrite, because it was cheap and there were many satisfied users here.
 
It turned out to be a lucky move, as it sounds great, has been 100% reliable, and the one time I needed advice from the company they were responsive and helpful. The Saffire Pro40 has nearly all the features of its closest RME counterpart but costs 1/3 as much. I would therefore consider Focusrite to be a viable alternative, especially if you have other things on your wishlist you'd like to spend the money on. 

As far as I know, and according to RolandUS web site,  OCTA  Capture is still supported. Win 10 driver downloads automatically.
Obviously not in same class as RME, but it isn`t orphaned.
Brian

There is nothing exaggerated about RME's stability and performance, and actually I find the sound quality of the newest generation interfaces to be underrated.  I pretty much abandoned any other recording gear and trust RME with most everything (with a few exceptions of a couple analog preamps and Mytek converters for expansion when needed).  I am using an XTC + UFX for recordings and a Babyface Pro in my edit studio.  The XTC sounds fantastic and is perfectly quiet up to 80+dB of gain!! 
 
Sure they are more expensive than the Chinese built brands (not that most of them are not well made and reliable), but the German build quality and sound of RME rival much more expensive options.  

Thanks for the feedback so far :-)
 
Need to do some more research but it looks like the UFX should work with the Presonus to give me 8 inputs via ADAT @96kHz, which means I would not need something like XTC right away to get the full 22 inputs @96 kHz.
 
I assume Direct USB Recording and TotalMix have full access and control also over ADAT in/out for the monitor mix?

I can comment from a driver stability and audio quality perspective: I went from a Roland VS-700 to an RME Babyface, and I'm thrilled.
 
Like you, I experienced driver instability with the Roland stuff, but that has gone away completely now that I'm using RME. Their driver performance has been flawless for me.
 
The sound quality is great. I didn't directly A/B them (I sold my V-studio rig before buying the RME), but the Babyface sounds just great - clean, clear and open. And this is an older, 1st gen unit that I bought used. I'm very happy I made the switch. 
 
I don't use many ins and outs, or mic pres -- I'm an ITB guy -- so I can't comment on that stuff. But FWIW, I'm 100% satisfied with the performance and sound quality from my RME, and I have no regrets at all about ditching my Roland hardware.
 
Rob

I assume Direct USB Recording and TotalMix have full access and control also over ADAT in/out for the monitor mix?

 
Absolutely, all channels are freely rout-able in Total Mix and record-able using DUREC .  I record all jobs using both the laptop and Direct USB recording as a backup.  Saved me a couple of times with hard drive glitches.  

Just to add a 'me too' really.

I've found RME drivers to be absolutely rock solid at sub 5ms round trip times and the sound quality is very, very good. It's not so much that they use "special" convertor chips (the UFX DA chip is also used in a Presonus interface for example), it's the quality of the electronics on the analogue side of things. The noise floor is remarkably low and the mic pres are pretty neutral.

As for controlling it, Totalmix is an absolute beast of an application, with the ability to set up multiple mixes at the same time, control over ADAT connected inputs, eq, basic fx and ckmpression you can print or send only to outputs you're usimg for foldback/monitoring. A fully functional digital mixer in itself. So if you ever need a high quality small stage or portable mixer in a single rack unit, a UFX plus the iOs version of Totalmix is very usable.

Complaints? Only two. The mic pres double up as instrument inputs, and the unbalanced jack instrument level input impedence is 470Ohms, which is maybe bit low for a guitar really, especially using a long lead. Though tube screamers are the same impedence and no-one complains they suck out treble.

My second complaint is the price, but it has to be said the engineering, design, build quality and components are excellent.

Oh, and RME stuff does have look a very German industrial design look to it. Functional rather than stylish.

OK. Research progressing - looks like this I going to get expensive ;-)
 
RME UFX would be perfect match for simply exchanging the VS-700 / OctaCapture while holding on to the ADAT interface.
 
Yet, I have started to read up on what MOTU offers on the new AVB series and their scalability via CAT5 cables appears really impressive, but so far I have only found roundtrip latency via Thunderbolt and via USB2. I'd appreciate if anyone could post figures (ideally from use with Sonar) ... and I wonder whether this new series is currently more optimized for OS than win10 (i.e. can the stability compare to RME)?