External Soundcards Quality/price and linux compatibility

[Splashman]

Hi all
I'm thinking on buy a external soundcard for my home studio,
and i want know what the people think about the best choice of course to work with linux.
What do u think!?

[mauser]

Hi,

that depends on the number of channels you want to use.. If you need 8 Channels, the Terratec Phase 88 or Focusrite Saffire Pro I/O 10 (or 26 or 40) are a good choice. Those are officially supported by the ffado project (ffado.org). For more devices look at the compatibility table at ffado.org. Note: ffado supports only firewire devices.

[dArAzAc]

Anything on the cheaper side that still maintains full compatibility?

[spm_gl]

Any ideas how long the IEEE1394 cable can be? Our mastering computer will be in the machine room, and I'm currently deciding wether to use Adat or FW for the analog inserts. The main output it optical into the D/A.
A sapphire pro is an interesting "budget" option.

[Havoc]

No idea how long a firewire cable can be, but I run ADAT through 10m fiber and that works fine.

[spm_gl]

Just read that they're working on RME Fireface support. So I guess I'll have to wait. None of the fully supported interfaces really captures my fancy. I actually want an interface without mic pre's. Sorry for hijacking the thread, time to crawl back under my rock.