Fleer
Have a look at Antelope. I ordered the Zen Tour, which offers better than RME quality at almost half the price of their UFX+.

I see the reviews are very good for this one. The user base may be lesser than RME, coz its relatively new. There is one other thread in this forum where someone asked if anyone is using antelope  and there are no responses. But its tempting to get this one.

Well.. 1248 owner here. Picked it up within the first few months it hit the market. I've taken every update and not had any complaints. Runs 32 samples in USB and most definitely less with thunderbolt interface. My p/c is relatively up to date.

It has good preamps, and the sound is noticeably superior to my old 828mkII. Noticeably. I really like the web app and the ability to not have to be near the unit to adjust inputs and outputs - they are remotely configurable. I use the onboard compressors during recording, because they sound good.

I agree with everyone that learning routing and mix/submix takes a bit of time but it pays back in spades because it eliminates the need for me to ever have to worry about sample buffer size. I had to use phone support to figure out routing and they took care of my needs same day.

It more than meets my needs, and has done so, not skipping a beat or failing since the day I got it from Sweetwater, knock wood. I love it.
LL

Well.. 1248 owner here. Picked it up within the first few months it hit the market. I've taken every update and not had any complaints. Runs 32 samples in USB and most definitely less with thunderbolt interface. My p/c is relatively up to date.

It has good preamps, and the sound is noticeably superior to my old 828mkII. Noticeably. I really like the web app and the ability to not have to be near the unit to adjust inputs and outputs - they are remotely configurable. I use the onboard compressors during recording, because they sound good.

I agree with everyone that learning routing and mix/submix takes a bit of time but it pays back in spades because it eliminates the need for me to ever have to worry about sample buffer size. I had to use phone support to figure out routing and they took care of my needs same day.

It more than meets my needs, and has done so, not skipping a beat or failing since the day I got it from Sweetwater, knock wood. I love it.
LL

I am a first time Motu owner. I recently purchased the Motu 828 MK3 Hybrid. For years I'ved used the Focusrite Pro 24 which was good but not without it's issues. The focusrite in my opinion does not compare to the Motu. The first thing I noticed playback sounded so clear and detailed and it's not new hardware placebo. The preamps are good and so far no issues. I've only had it for a couple of months so I can't give a detailed review. I can say you will not go back to Focusright. I only say this in comparison to my Pro 24 and the my buddy's Pro 40. The Cuemix takes a little getting used to but so did the Mixcontrol. 

Mosvalve
I am a first time Motu owner. I recently purchased the Motu 828 MK3 Hybrid. For years I'ved used the Focusrite Pro 24 which was good but not without it's issues. The focusrite in my opinion does not compare to the Motu. The first thing I noticed playback sounded so clear and detailed and it's not new hardware placebo. The preamps are good and so far no issues. I've only had it for a couple of months so I can't give a detailed review. I can say you will not go back to Focusright. I only say this in comparison to my Pro 24 and the my buddy's Pro 40. The Cuemix takes a little getting used to but so did the Mixcontrol. 

It is pleasing to hear thee motunsounds better than focusrite..coz I'm currently using a Scarlett and looking for better soundimnsoundimng interface.

5 years ago ..
 
I agonized for about a year before dropping $750 on the 828 mk3 hybrid..
..within an hour i realised how dumb i had been to wait so long
...within a week i had forgot that it cost that much,
.....and within a year realised it was the best money i ever spent in the studio
 

Thanks everyone for the responses. 

RishiS

Fleer
Have a look at Antelope. I ordered the Zen Tour, which offers better than RME quality at almost half the price of their UFX+.

I see the reviews are very good for this one. The user base may be lesser than RME, coz its relatively new. There is one other thread in this forum where someone asked if anyone is using antelope  and there are no responses. But its tempting to get this one.

Well, in the end I canceled the order. Took too long. And I read too many negative posts @GearSlutz. I do believe they make good stuff though, as their clocks are quite famous. And I loved the look of that sweet little Zen Tour. It's just that the company is in Bulgaria and they seem to be a rather limited operation. Well, back to my Propellerhead Balance twins and wait another year before new TB3 and USB-C compatible desktop interfaces appear from Apogee or MOTU. Or at last a nice looking one from RME. Or maybe UAD-3 gets launched, who knows.