Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 vs. Presonus Firestudio

[Mijoo08]

Hi, everyone
I'm new to the forum, and I hope I didn't post in the wrong place.

Presently, I'm running a 64-bit Gateway laptop with XP Media Edition v.2002 Service Pack 3; mobile AMD Athlon 64; 2.19 GHz, 1.43 GB RAM, and it runs like a dream. I work with audio and video and need more power, so...

I'm about to complete a dedicated 64-bit AMD-based dual-core tower, 3.+GHz processor with 8GB of DDR2 RAM, separate video card, a UAD-2 PCIe card, one of the latest versions of Sonar Producer, and I'm going to be running a 2x8 Firewire preamp setup.

The dilemma I'm facing is this:
1) In January of 2008 I bought a Presonus Firestudio 26x26 and a Digimax by the same manufacturer, which has been a terrible problem, both with drivers, excuses and their general lack of help at tech support. I bought them figuring that since they were over 2 years behind 64-bit support that they would be writing the drivers within a reasonable amount of time.
They told a lot of their other customers including myself, both on the phone and in forums that they are coming...in the spring...in the summer...in this last September, December...Now its almost April 2009 and no beta, no nothing. I've gotten the units functioning the way they are supposed to, BUT I have questions about some stuff I've recently seen online...
Focusrite has put out the Saffire Pro 40 and, coming soon, the Liquid Saffire 56. Originally I bought the Presonus Firestudio because of the clear sound, amazing routing capabilities from all inputs to all the outputs and it's ability to create 9 separate mixes and send them to each output.

The Presonus preamps are listed as "XMAX Class A high-voltage discrete transformers which work on 30V rails". They do sound excellent for the price I paid.
My concern is that Focusrite has a much longer track record, and in less than a year they've immensely improved the shortcomings of their software routing, and surpassed Presonus, AND they are offering the Pro 40 for about $300 less than Presonus. Basically identical to the Firestudio with significant upgrades for $300 less, including full 64-bit support.
The LS 56 is only a few hundred more and comes with emulations built in on 2 channels and included extra software plugins. My concern is the preamps in the 40 and the 56. The only thing they mention is that they are "FET-based as opposed to earlier transformer-based designs".
They are supporting the 64-bit platforms for both xp and vista, so if the quality is comparable (or superior) for less money, I want to get away from Presonus as quickly as possible.
Can someone tell me, expertly if they know, whether or not the difference in the preamps is going to be significant or possibly a step backwards/mistake should I choose to switch? I have no money to play with, and at this point I'm really disappointed with Presonus and don't want to be more disappointed with these particular Focusrite units. Little help?...
Thanks
Jw