I expected any new converter to be an improvement over such an old unit. I tracked a project for a friend recently, and used his Focusrite Saffire. That unit was a step up from my RME. It inspired me to pull the trigger.
My songs are primarily build around live acoustic instruments - with some VST seasoning and processing - so I decided to invest in something high-end.
I currently have a Burl Bomber and a Prism Sound Lyra 2 on demo. It's hard to overstate how much better they are. Either would be a clear and dramatic upgrade (though I will keep the RME for the MIDI interface). Not at all subtle. They both sound great - stunning, even - but they do sound different. More so than some forum posts would suggest.
What is really interesting (perhaps obvious) in the context for this forum is this:
With the sound being so much better than before, I am finding I have far less need for so many plugins. I can't help but wonder: what if I had invested all that $$ into the converter upgrade sooner?
