ProFire 2626 or Fast Track Ultra 8R

[clausiii]

Hi!

I know this is the LE/WIN forum. As a former LE/WIN user i found here many good information and got help everytime needed. Thanks! Now i switched to Mac (works great btw). But I need sugestions about some general technical issues, which are not Mac-only related. So here it goes:

I´m going to get a new interface. I will need at least 10 Inputs (for drum recording).

So i have two options -> ProFire 2626 or Fast Track Ultra 8R

Which of them is "better" to use?

I will record on an external FW HD. Is there a FW bus overload issue, if i use the Profire and the FW HD daisy chained?

Does anybody know if the Fast Track Ultra 8R allows 10 inputs (8 analog + 2 S/PDIF)? I can´t find any information about that on the M-Audio site...

Are there any issues with USB audio interfaces in comparision to FW ones?

Thanks in advance!

[mano111]

definatly go with the FW 2626.
Or 003 coupled with RME octamic or similar (M-audio octane?) will give you 16 analog ins .
I believe the 2626 can handle spdif and alalog at the same time. you will probably need to clock to external spdif though. dependig on what preamp you have that outputs SPDIF this could be good or bad (RME/Apogee = good)

this is a link to the RME and it can work with any ADAT capable interface (other M-audio come to mind). Thair PREs and clock are a very solid choice IMO.

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_octamic_2.php