matched or unmatched.... does it matter

[VooDu Valve]

Is there any benefit to using matched equipment or not..........I know some things from the same manufacturer are designed to work best with other products from that company.... but does that apply here for example I ambuying a new sound card...... and some other gear for recording such as: http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=25a8eb75ad625b157c03ca63d4eb5c72
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=839d59f0b1d39a13f50efe8e92c25b76
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=66fc0423c8451084ba0c8f3f0b068fe1

I'm really just looking into this stuff right now but i do want to make good purchases the first time......... does anyone had any suggestions or comments about the equipment I've mentioned?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[crankz1]

One good point of going with one manufacture .... You only have to deal with support from one company if things start to act up.
M-Audio makes some fine gear, but there is no real need to limit yourself to their gear alone.
Preamps and MIDI patchbays are pretty much independent of the interface and come in all different flavors.
As far as multiple interfaces ... I would probably not mix and match in that instance. Less chances of miscommunication and sync problems when using units designed to operate together. Less hassle of dealing with multiple drivers.