What Soundcard? Options

[Hamish]

Can anyone help me out? I am just switching to mac, I produce R'n'b and hip hop, and need to buy a good quality soundcard, which will give a proffesional sound, for around £250 - £300. What should I go for?

[holli]

you may find the arrival of the 002 brings a rash of second hand digi001's (check compatibility on your new mac), and Motu2408 mkIII means that some 2408 mkII's become available, or an 828 -that's the way it seems to work anyhow .

Do you need mic preamps? or do you use a desk to get signals in? If you don't intend to do any live work at all (vocals) and it's all samples/synths, try to go for something that is just straight in's and out's. You'll get more bang for your buck in general as mic preamps add a substantial amount to the price. You can always add a desk or channel strip solution later. It's just a feature to price ratio thing.
Motu have proven themselves to me again and again to be an utterly sorted company, but there are many other manufacturers I'm sure battling for your cash with good products.