matt.
thankyou. respect to you.

yes, of course i lust after stuff like RME.(stellar reputation).
but, then i'm reading this week about usb 4 (!) and the very high throughput rates.
also the new intel evo platform. how will this change things ??
then i'm considering the fact that my current interfaces noise floor is way lower than the inherent noise level of a mic. at -120 something. then i add in the fact that at best my original song creative output is one a month as time permits.
(i work very hard on each song. but i'm getting older lol.)

AND of course there are other shifting sands of technology, and the obsolescence worry.
just this week i'm reading on the net how behringer has put together a team of software developers to do a new daw in the coming 18 months.
you can bet this will cause major competitive ripples in the recording market.
a lot of folks seem to really like their inexpensive euphoria interfaces.

in summary i try and keep my gear lust in check with balanced analysis.

btw i like the GSlutz forums because there is lots of gear analysis from low end to high end.
(ps. biab gets a great review on GS if you check in product reviews.)

i'm still not happy with current computing platforms for daw work.
we desperately need cheaper and much faster processors imho.
its takeing ages. like watching a tap dripping.
in various GS threads one sees how heavy load can throttle machines irrespective of platform.
have you seen some of the processor prices ?? my goodness.
its getting like a mortgage payment lol.

also frankly i really like a lot of the pc's i see advertised as custom built for recording studios from the likes of adk pro audio, scan uk, and pc audio labs and others.
i just cant justify the buy in , so i stay with 300 buck refurbs which have given me stellar service over the years , not one failure EVER.
(i5 processors with ssd's. ).
but those custom studio pc systems built for recording studios i often lust after. particularly the rack mounts.lol.

also my concern is for the poor musician who cant afford expensive computers and/or on going obsolescence.
very much, the studio scene has evolved to "if you wanna play you gotta pay" scenario. which is sad in many respects for poor musicians in poor countries.
(i'm following daw developments on the little 35 dollar raspberry pi which now runs reaper and traction. see you tube for more details. early days imho. but to naysayers i say its cute lol.)

respectfully
muso.

New Song "PRETTY GIRL" for my wife...Dec 2023
(my vocs....mixed for good earbuds.)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs/prettygirlrbfinalcalfsongsdec2023mp3
(and rock song THE STALLION and bluegrass song... BANKER MAN....90 songs useing bb/rb.)