They like good preamps.

They hate compressors used in the analog line inputs.

If you buy the expansion card they have a descent vocal room with reverb and a nice compressor. The tube modeling one isn't bad. I have yet to really get into all the features.

The unit is like a maze.

Looking to put together a home studio and trying to decide on a starting point (obviously there are many different directions to choose from.
I am having a difficult time deciding which way to go.

Is a standalone a good way to go...or should I be focusing on an interface for a pc based DAW,
such as PreSonus firebox or maybe a Mackie mixer with firewire card, etc.