I LOVE THE 8/24!!!!!
I've recently done some soul searching with various soundcards, and returned them, etc.
Here's my take:
Don't buy a Guillemot ISIS Maxi Studio - unstable, cheap and cheesy. Good for a beginner looking to get their feet wet but not to be taken seriously.
I didn't like
the Aark 24. Expensive, and unstable. Basically, if I'm paying $800 for a soundcard, I don't want my system to crash.
The Gadget Labs 8/24 is a class act. Stable -- yet to have a crash. The rackmountable breakout box is awesome. Sounds great. I have had zero problems with it from installation to recording. Gadget Labs has an excellent support staff, if you need to ask them technical questions AND most importantly, they are continuing to write new drivers with for it. One of the few cards that have Win2k drivers. Mac or PC compatible.....HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Plus, the price is awesome ($499) for such a great card. Don't waste your time with those cards.
Funny enough, I'm returning the 8/24...not because of any problems. It kills me that Im returning it. I've recently got a digital mixer, and in the process of getting rid of my analog board. I'm going to go purely digital so I have no need for the rackmount. The card is overkill for my purposes.
So, I ordered the 4/24 with the ADAT option which brings be at a cool $400. I'm saving a few $$$ since I'm on a tight budget. When I told the Gadget Labs rep what I was doing, he even said that the 8/24 isn't good for my setup. I don't need a breakout box, because I'm just using the optical cable. I get the 4/24 today...I can't wait so I can finally use
my Fostex vm200. Ahh...the finer things in life...
(sorry for such loaded answer...)