Resonant Serpent
Lynx makes PCI cards, and they have excellent sound quality and support. Several motherboard manufacturers still make products with PCI slots. I use the Lynx Two-C in my main computer and L-22 in the other here in the studio. Why PCI? Much lower latency and stability than all the usb interfaces I tried. The PCI bus simply moves more data than the usb, and leads to less problems. I picked both of mine up second-hand on Ebay, and couldn't be happier.

Perhaps but why get an older, slower, less common (these days) legacy PCI card that will likely be "bridged" by a modern MOBO (which can also slow things down/cause disruptions) when you can get a PCIe card that has all the benefits of the old PCI cards without the problems of "bridging"?
 
It would be kind of like buying a USB 1.0 device when USB 2.0 is more common and works better.
 
As I stated near the start of this thread (back in 2013) I went out of my way to make SURE my MOBO had an older PCI slot to accomodate my Layla card thinking it would work as well as it did on my old XP, P4 system. Turned out that slot is "bridged" as opposed to "native" which supposedly means the card is piggy backing on the PCIe chipset instead of having a direct connection to whatever processing gack is happening on the board (that is a totally NON technical, bumblef*ck description of the scenario because I'm not a tech but it is my dum dum understanding of the issue). It creates some kind of bottleneck/disruptions that screw up streaming data like audio. Those slots are totally fine for other stuff and are there so people can use their old PCI stuff but for audio (and likely video) it's just screwy enough to cause problems.
 
However it DOES work (with some fiddling)... but not as good as the proper original PCI slots did nor likely as good as the newer PCIe slots (which of course are even faster than the original PCI slots.
 
Meh. I can still use the Layla box VIA the ADAT connectors through the Scarlett if I want and I can still use it on my old DAW when I want to yank any old files off that machine.

I used a Layla 24/96 (not to be confused with the Layla 3G) for several years. But the converters were getting rather ancient.   I think converters have come along way since the 24/96, but certainly good work can still be done on them. Toward the end I used it mostly as an ADAT input for a UA 4-710D. 
 
Then due to computer troubles, I got a new machine and needed to go USB. I was concerned about track counts and latency with usb, but was assured by knowledgeable folk that with a modern usb interface, for what I do, performance would be fine.
 
And this turned out to be the case. I picked up a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 and have been happy with it. Very stable, acceptable latency performance, and I can get higher track counts and use more plug-ins than with my Layla. (which in fairness is probably due to the new computer, not the interface)
 
Anyway, the Focusrite sounds better on the DA than the Layla, and is pretty much superior for my needs in every way, except build quality. The Layla has a great build quality.
 
So, all in all I am happy with the change. I still use the UA pres for almost everything, but the Focusrite pres are certainly acceptable sounding. 

Star tekh...Said something worthy to consider...if firewire is being used, a Thunderbolt adapter and thunderbolt II PCI x card might hold some hope for future usage of those die hard old work horses....
 
Also one might find a PCI case for mac, tied to usb, or thunderbolt output....just in case a card is being used with break out box....They do exist..Probably cross platform also,..so keep the mind open to other means to attach such a external PCI box, to the new systems when sought, and keep the cards/audio working as long as possible..for the least amount of dosh...and save for that something, when time says it is dead!.

 
So am I reading that a Layla 24/96 will NOT work under Windows 10?  I'm going to try it in a couple of days, but I have a bad feeling, and I think I know the answer.
 
So the next question...  what's out there today that can record and playback at least 8 channels, and supports MIDI and S/PDIF ?  

Have a look at the Focusrite Scarlett or Saffire range of products

My research is leaning toward the Scarlett 6i6.  Firewire seems to be on somewhat shakey ground but pretty much everyone agrees USB2.0 will be around for awhile longer and in shootouts, while technically the Firewire interface should be much faster than the USB2.0....   real-world = negligible. Focusrite makes some nice gear and has been in the came for awhile.  Added bonus, I can use the same interface on my laptop too.
 
Thanks for the suggestion 

Sir Les
Star tekh...Said something worthy to consider...if firewire is being used, a Thunderbolt adapter and thunderbolt II PCI x card might hold some hope for future usage of those die hard old work horses....
 
Also one might find a PCI case for mac, tied to usb, or thunderbolt output....just in case a card is being used with break out box....They do exist..Probably cross platform also,..so keep the mind open to other means to attach such a external PCI box, to the new systems when sought, and keep the cards/audio working as long as possible..for the least amount of dosh...and save for that something, when time says it is dead!.

 thanks for this thought. I have been following this thread for a while and own the echo layla 24/96 with the PCMCIA card. I'm embarrassed to admit I never got it working since buying it 10 years ago. I'm wondering if there is a cheap solution (converter?) for me to even get 1 input to my computer at 24/96? Just looking to record some quality single track guitar or vocals. I also have a mackie 1402 vlz pro I can use as a pre-amp if needed, but I'm naïve as to whether that would add too much noise/distortion to my signal. I have several computer input options available but no native PCMCIA slot.
 
laptop HP4530s OSX 10.11/ Windows 7  usb 2.0/ usb 3.0/ expresscard 34 / 1/8" aux
GA P55 OSX 10.11 usb 2.0 / FW800 / eSATA / 1/8" aux / coaxial S/PDIF (possible with addt'l cable but 20bit/48 limit)
GA P67 OSX 10.11 usb 2.0 / usb 3.0 / 1/8" aux / coaxial S/PDIF (possible with addt'l cable but 20bit/48 limit)
EVGA P55 Windows 7 usb 2.0 / 1/8"aux
 
what about pairing this with my available expresscard slot on my HP4530s laptop?
Digigear 16bit / 32 bit CardBus PCMCIA PC Card to 34 mm ExpressCard Adapter/Reader/Writer
OR      StarTech.com ExpressCard to CardBus Laptop Adapter CB2EC
 
 thanks in advance!

Hi, and welcome to this forum drewcake. I would probably suggest Focusrite or Presonus. There are cheaper ones, but these are well renowned brands, that will stand the test of time (and are good / stable).
All the best.

like Zarg I also recommend Focusrite interfaces.
the pres/pre amps are built right in to the unit so you wont need to use the VLZ (Mackie)
you can get a smaller unit (if its just you doing some projects) with one pre amp in it for no more than 100 used at guitar center and those might be limited to only 1 pre amp/2 inputs at a time but the units are good quality.
I don't recommend the presonus units, but that's just my opinion, not a factor. "that's just me".
everyone has their fav's and their poisons.

Zargg71
Hi, and welcome to this forum . I would probably suggest Focusrite or Presonus. There are cheaper ones, but these are well renowned brands, that will stand the test of time (and are good / stable).
All the best.

chuckebaby
like Zarg I also recommend Focusrite interfaces.
the pres/pre amps are built right in to the unit so you wont need to use the VLZ (Mackie)
you can get a smaller unit (if its just you doing some projects) with one pre amp in it for no more than 100 used at guitar center and those might be limited to only 1 pre amp/2 inputs at a time but the units are good quality.
I don't recommend the presonus units, but that's just my opinion, not a factor. "that's just me".
everyone has their fav's and their poisons.

 Thanks for the input! Yeah the focusrite products look sweet. I was hoping to avoid buying more gear though. I'm a little lost as to the whole "modern preamp" mentioned earlier in this thread. So layla 24 has no "modern pre" ... is my mackie 1402 vlz preamp considered "modern?" Also, anyone know if the echo layla drivers would work in OSX 10.11? Mac OS driver 1.6.1 listed at echo audio as being for OSX 10.2+
 
I'm going to try out the StarTech.com ExpressCard to CardBus Laptop Adapter CB2EC and see how far I get. Although the lane is PCIe, I'm only recording one channel guitar so maybe I won't have bottleneck issues. PCIe is much faster than usb 2.0 and there are plenty of usb 2.0 audio interface units out there.