Looking over RME site I see these. http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products.php

If you were upgrading and had a choice out of these two companies, what would work best for my new SPL MixDream, Sequoia 11 combo with a 965 i7?

ITB can better. It also can be much, much worse. The inside of a PC and even more so in a modern PC, is a very hostile enviornment for high end converters. The better the converter, the more sensitive it is to temp and humidity EMI/RFI shielding and other emmisons. If your serious and want real good to great converters, don't mess around and skip audio interfaces with converters altogether and go with outboard converters.

audiokid, post: 300677 wrote: I've been told that ITB converters may be a better choice for high end audio now. It does make sense. What are some of the better PCI converters?

I have a Fireface 800 and love it. Are there better options out there now? I'm looking at the different Lynx PCI cards [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.lynxstud…"]PCI Cards[/]="http://www.lynxstud…"]PCI Cards[/]

Anyone using these and have you done any comparisons between ITB OTB ?

Who told you this? Why exactly does it make sense?

When designing high-end audio equipment, the work does not stop at the chip level. Like a piano, the performance of the equipment depends on how the whole unit responds to the input it is given. In the case of an electronic design, this includes not only the chips, passives and the circuit board, but also the chassis and the power supply, both of which are factors out of the audio equipment designer's control when you come to plug-in cards. It can be made to work, of course, where everyone is pulling in the same direction. The number of excellent third-party modules available to plug into the API 500 series lunchbox is testament to that.

I would take some convincing that really top-end gear can perform at its best when it is supplied in the form of PCI(e) cards to put into a cost-engineered PC chassis. I would stick with external boxes over internal cards until you have evidence to the contrary and not hearsay.