I currently have a Mac G4 with an m-audio 2496 PCI card, two ART preamps and a Roland VM-3100Pro digital mixer ($200, eBay), which I use to give me two more inputs and preamps via the digital inputs on the 2496. Everything is fine, though the VM-3100 is way too obscure for me to do anything with it besides simple mixing. On the positive side, I record simple, acoustic stuff (ragtime, blues, jazz, and singer-songwriter) and don't want it to do much. I use Cubase VST, where I get any effects I need.--I'd love to have 8 inputs and was thinking of getting a Roland RPC-1 card and cord so I could have 8 ins directly with the 3100. I'd sell the M-audio 2496. How is the sound quality of the RPC-1? Would it sound as good as the 2496? I'd keep my two ART preamps and run them through a couple of the exta inputs of the 3100. Is this a good idea? Used RPC-1 cards seem pretty reasonable, so cost doesn't look like a big factor. Of course, the non-intuitive manual and OS of the 3100 would still be a problem, but again, I don't think I'd be using the bells and whistles. Thanks, Keith