I'm looking for a new soundcard. Slick simultaneous multi-track recording / playback is the top priority.

* rack-mountable (1 or 2U)
* at least 8 analogue ins and 8 outs (pref balanced)
* plus digital in (SPDIF)
* preferably Firewire (or USB2)
* 2+ MIDI interfaces would be a bonus, otherwise I'll have to get a separate MIDI interface as well

Here are the ones I've considered so far:

Hercules FW 16/12 ~£350 the most promising candidate so far but it doesn't come out until end of February! Arse!
M-Audio Delta 10/10 ~£450 fair all-rounder, but I've heard bad things about their Windows XP drivers, plus the above should deliver more for less dosh
MOTU 828Mk2 ~£650 I really fancy this but it's just too expensive, probably a bit of an overkill!!
ST Audio DSP2000 ~£300 looks good, a bargain too, but (& this sounds silly) most of the inputs are on the front which is really annoying!!
Edirol DA2496 ~£400 looks promising

Any other suggestions / recommendations?
Or any comments on the above soundcards?

Well I dont know enough about the others (or even heard of Hercules!) but I've got an Edirol and EXTREMELY happy with it - then again it was quite expensive / high end of the market.

Everyone I've spoken to however has never complained about M-Audio cards

Which Edirol card do you have? The DA2496 looks like a good contender at the moment, although only 6 ins on the back.

Some info about the Hercules 16/12. Promising because as well as the usual ins/outs etc, it has 2 independent pairs of MIDI sockets (one pair on the front, one pair on the back). And it looks cool too.

The MOTU 828Mk2 wins the best-looks award though.

SD-90 - USB - I use it with my laptop and VERY happy with it



I got it from Turnkey that night I met you mate - I went in in the end - got it for £340 - down from £800 I believe ! - think you can get it for like £500 now ?

Intriguing. I can't even find out about the SD90 on the Edirol website! ??