Any and all recommendations are beyond appreciated.

Best regards
Jack

I had a similar question last week. Ended up getting the ASP800 instead of the 8pre-es and DP88, because it was a simple ADAT 8pre and the pres seem to have a little bit of an edge over the other units (marginal). BUT, I feel I have taken a risk, because the ASP8xx models seem to have some failures, so I took the extended warranty from my store. However, from all the demos I have listened to and reviews, I think they all pretty much sound too similar to really have a significant difference in a processed mix. Here is what my thought process was in hopes that it helps you:

I didn't want 2 pres in the front; I wanted them all in the back, so the Clarett was out for me.
I was looking into the 8pre-es because I thought the preamps would be better because the unit is more expensive; I figured it was because it's not just 8 ADAT pres, but also an interface, hence the higher price, so that one was out too.
The DP88 was, according to @ monkeyxx overpriced for what it was, and I think he has lots of experience with gear, so it was out too.
Then I looked at the Tascam Dyna 8p, but after reading the SOS review of it, I decided it was not what I was looking for either.
Then there was the Midas XL48, which sounded nice, but with a fan people seem to complain about, and not enough reviews for me to make that choice.

These were the units I looked at. I ended up with the ASP800 because of: The sound demos, the many recommendations, no preamps in the front (but DI, which can be handy, but not necessary for me), and it was 150$ off.

Hope that helps you. It took me a long time to make a choice, and I hope I made the right one for me. Make the right choice for you on what you need I/O because in the end, when processed and mixed, I'm pretty sure no one will be able to tell which is which.

DP88 is still pretty solid because of its streamlined layout, everything is on the back, everything is direct line in or line out, preamps only come in if you need them.

I just don't think I'd want to pay more than about $500 or a little more for one. You can find them used for that. Clarett OctoPre exceeds it slightly to me at list price, since it is $100 cheaper, and I rate the DAC just a little bit higher.

If you need ADC/DAC loops for hybrid/hardware mixing, summing, or etc both of these are among the best products to look at.

For a simple preamp - ADC, typically for recording a drum set, a band or whatever, that is where the input only boxes like the Audient ASP, Tascam 8p, Midas XL48 start to look more appropriate and/or superior

Slightly different purposes I guess.

I personally will run my own outboard preamps into the front of these for drums, so any of them work fine for that. Just gets down to nitpicking, prices, features, etc.

Thanks for your awesome comments. But I should have mentioned that I'm interested in these two units as audio interface, not adat preamps.

Best
Jack

Whoops, I thought I was in another thread!



Tough choice for me to guess between Clarett and MOTU because I have not owned a MOTU.

I think they will perform in the same ballpark, but I would expect them obviously to sound different.

I think MOTU has more features on hand.

Clarett I can vouch for, I really like the way they sound. Latency performace is moderate to "OK"

Presonus Quantum is my #1 current choice but you need a thunderbolt computer to use one. The latency performance is spectacular.

Clarett might be getting an update, they seem to be disappearing from stores. I wonder if there is a generation 2 clarett coming up.

These are probably my top 3 options right now. Clarett second place, Quantum currently being used, and the MOTU is on the wish list of things I would love to try. All in that similar price range too.

Then if I can base my experience with the Scarlett as an interface (I use one at work), I can say that the drivers are not stable on an iMac. I have to restart the computer or the interface at least once every mix session. I use RME at my studio and never had that kind of problem. So just for that, IME of course, I would go MOTU if they have a reputation of having solid drivers.