Need some advice on audio interface!!

[Gravedigger]

I'm looking to put together a small home recording studio for personnel and band use. I have a sreamlined PC with Windows 7 Home Premium and will be using either Reaper or Sonar 8 as my DAW. I need some advice on which interface I should go with. Any advice from personnal experiance would be greatly appreciated. My choices are:

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2..........$149

Tascam 1800.....................$191.22

Presonus Audiobox.............$144.95

I like the portability and preamps of the Focusrite and Presonus, but for a little bit more, I can get multiple inputs for recording the band with. Help me out here guys, I keep going back and forth on this. I mainly want to get the best bang for the buck.

 

[TigerInATrance]

Look at the Akai EiE. There are two different ones, but they are both fantastic. Personally, I needed the extra speed of the USB 2.0 and usually record at 96k, so the pro model was better for me, but you may not need those features.

At that price point it's going to be nearly impossible to find something better.

 

[Wally Malone]

Recently got the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and find it works very good and easy to use. At some point I do want to get an interface with more connections but in the meantime I also have a Mackie 1202 I can use. I haven't used any of the others you mentioned, so can't help there.

Wally

 

[Gravedigger]

At this point, I'm thinking of going with the Focusrite 2i2. It is currently getting the best reviews, and has great preamps built in. If i ever need more inputs later on down the road, I'll look at picking up a Tascam 1800 used somewhere.