Hi,

I've been enjoying my UCX for a while now. But I bought a lot of synths and equipment recently, and also I'm building up a rack. So, with this come some challenges, some of which I can't quite figure out. Even though I've browsed extensively through these forums, I couldn't find answers to my questions.

I want to expand my audio I/O, as well as MIDI I/O, all in a rack form. And while looking on the second hand market, and considering my budget, I've got the following options:
A) UCX + ADI2 via ADAT;
B) UCX + ADI2 via SPDIF, and at the same time UCX + Scarlett OctoPre via ADAT (this would be an upgrade for A later on);
C) UCX + Firewire 400 via ADAT.

Note: for A and B, my desired setup would be smth like "All Synths -> UCX (+ OctoPre) -> DAW (Mac) -> UCX -> ADI2 -> Monitors", and as for C, I would like to use two standalone (not USB) MIDI patchbays, one for each interface (if possible).
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Here are my questions:

1) First of all, is option B even possible? connecting 3 interfaces together? What about "daisy-chaining", i.e. UCX -> spdif -> ADI2 -> adat -> OctoPre? Am I going to get into latency issues in this way? Is it not recommended?
2) Regarding option A and B, would it be possible to control my headphones level via UCX's volume control (as it is now), and monitors levels via ADI-2's volume control? If not, then can I control the monitors via UCX by default (instead of headphones)?
3) For option C, can I enable 400's MIDI ports while connecting it to UCX via ADAT? what about connecting it via USB or Firewire, will I get 2 more MIDI ports?
4) I've left the optional stupid bonus question for last: Can I use the BNC port from UCX / 400 in order to power a BNC gooseneck lamp? UCX's manual says that BNC port outputs 5 Vpp, while the lamp's voltage is 12V. I'm sorry, but I have no idea what any of that means.

As a conclusion, which of these setups would you recomend?