A used Multiface - a steal?

[BlueSwan]

I've been checking out ebay.de (I'm in Europe). There are LOTS of old RME Multiface's to pick up (the old one, not Multiface II). You can pretty easily get one for around 400 Euros, which seems very cheap for RME stuff.

Now, my question is this: Is this truly a steal or has Firewire interfaces evolved to an extent where the old Multiface is no longer relevant and other options are preferable?

[minus-sounds.com]

I had the Multiface for something like 3 years and it was solid. I had both the PCI and the PCMCIA cards. Go for it.

I went to the Fireface800 as I want more I/O in the future and it is very expandable. Also I recently got LaCie firewire 800 PCI and PCMCIA cards for full 800Mbps bandwidth on both the DAW and the laptop.

[BlueSwan]

Cool!

Are the converters on the old RME Multiface still better than the mid-priced competition like Mackie Onyx, Presonus, MOTU, Saffire, TC Konnekt, etc?

[jeremy.c.]

Originally Posted by BlueSwan

Cool!

Are the converters on the old RME Multiface still better than the mid-priced competition like Mackie Onyx, Presonus, MOTU, Saffire, TC Konnekt, etc?

I still use my multiface after 5 years, though I mainly use the digital inputs now for my apogee, the analog playback and recording still sound very clean and tight. The internal mixer system is pretty great too.
All in all it kicks the crap out of my MAudio firewire box (which I had bought intending to replace the RME with and switched back to the mutiface after a month).