the 002 has pretty nice converters (96k) for tracking - if you want to get better converters take a look at the new rme ad1-2...stereo ad AND da conversion at up to 192k...retail at around 650us i think...very respectable specs and great reviews.
You may be better off spending your dosh on a really nice pre...i'm in the same boat at the moment but i only have m-box that manages only 44k so you can notice the jitter - especially on bass i have found. i am getting a vintech pre into el8x compressor into rme into s/pdif input on the m- box - that way i skip the m-box budget pres and budget converters and i can also monitor at 96k...the rme is worth checking out...you will pay twice this price for benchmark converters.
You can get pres/channel strips with converters built in but you often have to pay extra so you may as well get a box that will give you da conversion too for monitoring the gold you have recorded.

So you connect an outboard AD converter to the s/pdif in on the 002? And then pre's and compressors to the converter? Sorry I forgot to put it earlier, but I record at 44.1 and 16-bit usually. I plan on getting four Vintech X73's or two 73's and a couple API's in a couple months. Would I notice a big difference in sound quality with a better converter? Say I get an Apogee, how many pre's/compressors could I run through it? Thanks your input, ianb

man if you get some nice pres like those yosaau mentioned then you will laughing! - lovely sounding gear! - i reckon if you are treating your music to such lush pampering on its way to your hard-drive then you should spend some dosh on some good converters. it's all about jitter man...digital mistakes during conversion from a to d...and don't forget from d back to a again!!! - as i mentioned earlier, i can hear jitter on bass tracks as tiny glitches - like subtle clicks that you want to fade in protools but you can't coz thats what your crap converters have done to your lovely bass sound! top converters boast next to no jitter and aim to get your analog signal to your hard-drive with no numerical mistakes. They are boring bits of gear but well worth it if you are serious - same goes for monitoring: you may record via nice pres/comp's and via nice converters BUT if you don't have d-a converters then you will get the same jitter bollocks in your monitors...i.e. bass won't sound so round and well-defined and stereo image will be less exciting! that's why the new rme is looking so nice for the price coz it gives you 2 channels of ad AND da in the same box!!
One more thing man...why on earth do you track at 44k/16bit...you have got to be tracking at 96k/24 bit...otherwise you may as well be using an adat in 1995...yuk! my old band recorded our first demo on a 16bit adat 12 years ago - i put that demo on now and it makes me laugh (not just the music) but the icy cold harshness and crustiness of the 16bit bog monster!!! this is the golden age my friend where we can afford a world-class studio in our spare bedroom...it's insane!