I know that Crane Song and Apagee are great. But what others has anyone tried? Are there any that suck?

Maybe some of you with more knowledge about a/d converters can help me out here. Is there any amount of delay in the analog to digital process on converters (just the conversion itself... not "latency" as it applies to DAW's)? And if so, would this vary from one Manufacturer's box to another? The reason I ask is this:

So a friend of mine wants to get into recording digtal and wanted my advice for a sound card. I told, as I do everyone else, get th RME Audio Hammerfall. He asked if he would really need 26 channels. I responded with, "not yet." Problem solved.

Hi, I'm considering MOTU for a DAW setup and from the MOTU site it appears the S/N on the 1224 is quite better @116db than the 2408 mkII of @106db. Both are 24 bit with same sampel rates. (I think I have the specs right above)

Bottom line - can you hear the difference?

Thanks for any comments. Shane

Whats the deal with the different converters MOTU uses in their various interfaces? I own an original 2408 and want to add another interface. Are the converters in 1224 and the new MKII 2408 the same? What is the general concensus on either of there quality?