Aardvark Aark 24 vs Fireface 800

[E Boy]

It might be time to retire my trusty Aark 24. Thinking of getting the RME Fireface 800. Can someone compare the sound quality of the two units for me. Is the converter quality similar, of will the Fireface make me go, "Wow, what an amazing difference!"
How do the RME converters compare to the Apogee?

Also, how is RME support - Aardvark was excellent until they vanished without a trace!

Thanks and Happy New Year!

[itsplayed]

If I were to go with a firewire based audio card, there would be no question that it would be the RME Fireface 800. The companies reputation precedes them both in customer support and driver stability. Everything I've read or heard about the Fireface(i.e. reviews, forum users, DAW builders etc.) show it to be an excellent choice. Some will even tell you that the Fireface even rivals most PCI based cards.....performance wise.

[kapa]

itsplayed,
you say "If I were to go with a firewire based audio card".
What would you go with if you had to choose an audio card for a laptop?

[itsplayed]

RME's Fireface 800 would make an excellent interface choice for your laptop, however it comes with a premium price tag. If I were to purchase an interface for a laptop, for myself...I think I'd choose EMU's 1616M. For one thing, I like the idea of a PCMCIA card interface over the firewire and the price to performance ratio cannot currently be touched (IMHO). It has also been getting very good reviews by both users and testers.