I started out with a 001 all those years ago. What a great little unit they were, at least for what they were intended for.
Personally, I would advise not getting another unit to 'Plug Into' the 001. As great as the 001 was, it is very much past it's used by date IMHO. Pre-amps are only part of the equation, DA/AD conversion quality is extremely important.
There are some good deals on used 003/003 Racks around at present. I have had a 003 Rack for about 6 years now and it has been great for my purposes. In a sense it is very much a souped up 001.
but of course with some added features.
As far as updating Pro Tools you have two options really. Either PT8 or PT9.
Perhaps the best thing about PT9 is that you would not be tied down to having to stick with a Digidesign/Avid hardware interface which opens up a world of possibilities and of course there are many added features as well. The downside is that you would almost definitely need to build a new computer to run Windows 7. Whilst that may sound like a huge task & financial commitment, the fact is one can build it oneself for a reasonable price as long as plenty of research is done beforehand. The DUC is full of people who have done this and most if not all are ready and able to guide you through the process should you decide to go down this path. All you need to do is ask.
PT8 would be a cheaper solution as you may be able to use the same computer as you are already using. I say may because I don't know what your computer specs are. The downside to this is that you would have to use a Digidesign/Avid hardware interface. Having said that I have only ever used their interfaces and have found them more than suitable for my needs.
Personally though, I think if you end up needing to upgrade your computer at all, you may as well go straight to Win7 & PT9.
Perhaps if you posted a Sandra Report, you will get good feedback on whether or not you need to upgrade or rebuild your computer for PT8.
Windows users need to provide a Sandra report
- Please - Use SiSoftware's Sandra Lite application to generate a full system profile:
www.sisoftware.co.uk
Under SiSoftware Sandra, click on "Download & Buy" to download the free Sandra Lite version or purchase other versions. After installing Sandra, click on the 'Hardware' tab and run the 'Computer Overview', then copy and paste into your post here on the DUC.
The most important thing is to carry on taking your time and look at what everyone has to say and by then I'm sure you won't feel nearly as unsure of what path to take.