[uncle duncan]

A really economical way to interface a HD24 with a DAW is the Motu 2408, which has 24 channels of lightpipe. You can find them used for under $500. The 2408 uses a PCI card which includes an ADAT sync connection. With this setup, you can slave sync the DAW to the HD24 and transfer 24 tracks in one pass (assuming your DAW will do slave-sync. Obviously, Motu Digital Performer has this feature.)

I use my HD24 for tracking bands, and then use the DAW for overdubs and mixing, after doing the 24 track transfer. What's nice about tracking with the HD24 is zero latency monitoring. Using it with a decent mixer gives you the ability to send different headphone mixes to each player, depending on how many aux sends your mixer has.

I don't consider a studio with only 16 inputs and no zero-latency monitoring "pro", so, to answer your question, the HD24 definitely has a place in the studio, especially compared to the limitations of a digi 003, which is the main rig in many wanna-be "pro" studios.