Having started out with a PC and as Tascan US-122 which has two mic inputs I'd now like to increase the number of mic inputs available to me.

I realise that, because of sync problems, I can't just buy more US-122s so I need a package that includes either as many A/D channels as I would ever want in one package, or can sync with word clock.

Starting at the PC end I can get something like the RME Multiface which gets me 8 channels, which should be plenty, but they are line inputs and it leaves me searching for suitable mic preamps and there doesn't seem to be any really obvious choice. RME offer a four and eight channel pre but I'd read elsewhere that analog stuff isn't really their strong point. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Starting at the other end, I can get something like the M-Audio Octane, Behringer ADA-8000 or PreSonus DIGIMAX LT which give me mic preamp and A/D in the same box with an ADAT output. That leaves me needing a card for the PC to accept ADAT in. My big question here is whether I need word clock for just one device or does ADAT sync correctly in such a simple configuration? If it's the latter then I could get away with something like the RME Hammerfall Light DSP9636 which is significantly cheaper than any of their other offerings. Are there any alternatives, i.e. cards that do ADAT in with at least 8 channels and at least 48Khz sample rate?