pinguinotuerto, no problems on my end.
 
Craig, thanks for the info. Will look into the RME USB 3 interface and the AES convention you mentioned.

pinguinotuerto, . That RME is out of my price range, though. Will wait to see what the vendors at AES has to offer. Not in that big of a hurry. Nice thread about the interfaces. Have looked into all the cards mentioned. Gives me something to think about.

Did you ever read the Gear slutz bench test thread I posted? You'll see the Roland's are also low performers in RTL like the Scarletts. They talk about cheating on reported latency by using a hidden buffer. Weather this all matters in the end I'm not sure but I learned a lot reading that thread. And I didn't buy any of the interfaces listed either, but at least I know the limitations of what I have now. 

High quality converters, great sound, decent rtl... check out the tc impact twin. It took me about a year of research to settle on this one when I was in a similar spot as you. I'm impressed every time I use the IT.

pinguinotuerto

musicroom
High quality converters, great sound, decent rtl... check out the tc impact twin. It took me about a year of research to settle on this one when I was in a similar spot as you. I'm impressed every time I use the IT.

Thanks musicroom, but that seems to be a firewire unit. I only have usb ports.

 oh... sorry for not paying attention to that.

I also have gone the Scarlett 18i20 route, after 4 interfaces, and couldn't be happier. But I've noticed lately a few 'for parts or repair' adverts? But this got my attention, because in my experience at least, it's a first...
 
from Sweetwater........ TASCAM UH-7000

• Confirmed operation with major DAW software, including Sonar X3, ProTools, Cubase, and Live
• The Tascam UH-7000 USB is an amazing interface value!
  

SONAR X3 not only listed as a major DAW, but listed FIRST!!
 
 
(YEH - I know - but it's still a first)

I'm an RME fan. I have a link showing me goofing around in RME TotalMix and using RME DigiCheck (both pieces of software that work with the RME.
 
I have a UCX so I can throw it in my backpack with a laptop and a cable and take my electric to a friends house to record all night. It's just incredibly flexible. And with the onboard FX I can mix a band while recording it.
 
I saw some guy using an ipod to mix a band plugged into a Presonus board the other day. It gave me ideas. If I could get that working with the RME and my laptop, I could mix anything from anywhere in the venue. I'm a little nervous about the idea of enabling wifi on a windows laptop in order to communicate to it from the ?tablet? I'm not sure.
 
Anyway, I suggest dreaming big. You can do more than leave it in your rack at home.

Hi pinguinotuerto: 
 
MOTU has a reputation for good quality sound and writing great drivers for their products, typically.
 
The one exception I've read about is from one user here who bought A MOTU 828x thunderblot unit. He has not been sastisfied with the Windows drivers for that unit, but I don't know if they are unsatisfactory for him using USB connectivity or TB or both.
 
Anyway, I was going to get a Lynx Aurora 8 USB, but after reading the news, discussion, and reports for MOTU's new TB Line of products at gearslutz (http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/943494-motu-1248-8m-16a-thunderbolt-interface.html) and elsewhere, I'm set on getting a MOTU 1248, even though Windows drivers hasn't been released yet, b ecause I'm confident MOTU will have some solid Windows drivers for their new TB supported boxes whenever they are released!
 
I think you would do well getting the MOTU 896-MK3. I have a UltraLite-MK3, and the drivers for MOTU firewire/USB audio interfaces are solid performance wise, in my experience, and as reported by the great majority of other users of those products. Also, MOTU has had continuing new feature support for these units, and the durability and reliability is top notch. I've had my UltraLite since 2007, and it's still working as it was since I bought it, and that's great in my opinion.
 
Goodluck with whatever you decide to go with.

does anyone know if the Focusite Scarlett 1820i and the cakewalk sonar v-studio 700 are compatable?

Focusrite tech support is timely ...efficient and always upbeat... I've had my 18i for almost two years ...day in / day out heavy production schedules.... music and voice.... it's a steady, solid performer. Recently I had one of those "something has changed and I don't know what" situations ... make a long story short ...the Focusrite (aka Novation) support staff responded quickly and introduced me to a beta driver ... which cured all problems... not sure what the problem was... in any case ... final mixes were unaffected by a small noise when monitoring...

Summation: Scarlett 18i delivers ...customer support (when needed) is excellent.

@ Craig    RE the WDM thing with the OctaCapture; does that apply to the UH7000? can it be aggregated with the Roland?  Sometimes I am only doing 1 track/1 mic, but then....sometimes I want 8 inputs at once.  So, the SPL Crimson looks interesting, the Saffire Pro 26 with a FW PCIe would only be $370, and I wait to read/hear about the Tascam 16X08, but keep wondering if there's some way to go RME... obviously I am sifting through my options!
 
Michael