I'm not familiar with the Apogee Ensemble, but I'm willing to hazard a guess that the converters will be better than the RME. Just a guess, and I'm not a professional.

We use the Fireface 800 at the studio I work at, and it does a good job. we haven't had any issues with it. Of course, we're using Nuendo 3 for recording, the old Mackie d8b for talkback and other various routing (yes, the whole thing basically just for a talkback) and we run API 312's, Neve 1272's, Manley VoxBox, Drawmer 1960, and an Aguilar DB 680 bass pre-amp into the line-in's, so we aren't really concerned with how the pre-amps on it sound by themselves. The only thing we really use them on are the 12" tom on drums and the bottom snare mic. Sounds fine to me.

hi recording art,

it's difficult to say, the ensemble looks promising, but is just to new, i am not even shure if it ships already!? defenitely not in europe yet.

the converters might be a touch better then in the fireface, about the pre amps no idea, the only thing i know for shure is that the RME fireface is a very, very good soundcard, exellent performance, reliability and sound...
the drivers and mixing software are also very, very good.

from what i have heard on the logic pro forum... some of the guys have had a sneak at it (i mean the ensemble) at the NAMM, and said that they could not make any real judgement of how *excellent* the converters are due to lack of professionel circumstances, like monitoring, etc.
but that a main point of the design of the ensemble is to work *hand in hand* with logic...

so i am not shure if that makes sense as an cubase (on a mac???) and DP user... maybee you are better of choosing any other high end converter like a rosetta 200, also RME or something, but hey the RME fireface is really the freakin' bomb for the money!!!

just my2cents
cheers
axel