yeassssss....
Sounds similar to my dillema, Another option to look at is the Lynx one, can be found for about 430$ US...This is almost exactly like the DAl deluxe, but has 2 MID I/O and can only reach 50khz sample rates with it's analog I/O, keep in mind the digital I/O can reach 96khz... Well read my post below, I've been looking into these cards, you'll get alot of begginner info there that you would probably ask aswell...
The RME looks very good, LOOKS very good. I can't seem to get any praise on this one, no reviews can be read except one from a guy that really didn't help, in fact one of the worst reviews EVER!
I've heard only one complaint about it from someone who didn't think the converters where all that... all that being Deluxe or Lynx in my oppinion. You'll get killer latency with the RME...
The card deluxe doesn't have ASIO2, this card looks perfect for me, but reminds me of a company run by a twelve year old, setup in his mother's basement or something, saw the Lynx one and immediately tried to take over their business witha 96khz relpica. I just don't trust them that much for fast new driver support and not going out of business do to this... This is far from the truth, but it's the way i feel when I go to the site. I'm in this delema exactly, but I think I'll get the lynx because they don't sell the deluxe in canada, which means I'll pay about twice as much as the US price, sucks!
the other cards you mentioned may be better deal for I/o's ect, but as far as quality sound the Lynx and Deluxe deffinitely come out on top. The Lynxe one's sound has been stated with a subjective edge over the delta 1010 for an idea...
Let me here back from you on your decision. bye
oh yeah, I don't think the Deluxe can sync or play cd's unless you use a certain specific program, I think called....forgot, check out their forum, this seems like a huge drawback if it's what I think it is...
