to -2: The Apogee user manual lacks a clear descrition of stand-alone operation and whether its possible to customize the routing for standalone operation. But for this you might need a Mac with this Maestro software anyway. IMHO you should contact the Apogee support to find out, whats possible and what not.

BTW .. I found an interesting posting on this forum, that you need to be careful with the firmware version of Apogees. We had already the case where one Apogee didn't get a sync from ADAT, because there was a firmware issue.
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 50#p128750

Comments to the setup:

With this setup you need
- the RME MADIface USB driver to access and operate the DIGIface USB
- the RME           firewire driver to access and operate the FF800

The FF800 can then later be used in stand-alone mode, but as soon as you would need other Mic Gain settings then you need to connect it again to Firewire.
The operation of the Apogee under Windows is not possible.
As soon as you would want to use double speed (88.2/96) then you have only the half amount of channels through ADAT.

You asked whether you can operate the Apogee through TotalMix FX .. of course now, how shall that be possible ?
ADAT is a pure interface for connecting digital audio data, there is no common standard for remote operation of devices.
Something like this is always a vendor specific solution.

In the case of RME you can have such a setup by using the feature "Auxdevice".
Then you can control most of a preamps parameters with TM FX and the good thing is, that you can store and recall these settings in TotalMix FX Snapshots and Workspace Quick Select Slots.

But for this you would need
a) a RME recording interface with either MIDI/ADAT or "MIDI over MADI"/MADI support
b) the Octamic XTC preamp which is currently the only preamp which can be remote controlled by TM FX by the Auxdevice feature

Madiface USB plus M-32 / M-16 DA plus a 12Mic if MicPres are needed.
This is what I would choose.

In your case with 3 FF800 I would connect them via adat to a Digiface rather than 3 Firewire connections simultanousley.
Firewire is outdated and support is not to expect for ever.

I primary use pres from an analogue mixing console (in studio)that i use like summing too, so more interested in line input/output (i would like to use at least 24 I/O, max needed 32)
But in some case, i want to be able to make recordings in different venues (obviously without the analogue mixer) with more or less 4/8 preamps...
For the budget, i think around 1500€ maybe finding some used gear..
Thanks

Hello, everyone!

How about this:  https://www.thomann.de/de/ferrofish_a32 … verter.htm

and a Digiface USB :  https://www.thomann.de/de/rme_digiface_usb.htm

It 's a bit above budget(2356euros), but worth it, in my opinion.

@eggheadrecording
You could, later, add an 8 channel preamp like this:  https://www.thomann.de/de/focusrite_sca … ctopre.htm
                                                   or the RME Octamic II :   https://www.thomann.de/de/rme_octamic_ii.htm
                                                   or similar
for your live needs, via balanced line connections to the Ferrofish 's Line Inputs
This way, you could have 24 I/O from the console + 8 Ins = 32/24 I/O @44.1/48KHz. (and a free ADAT Out from the DF for another D/A converter)

EDIT: Just re-read the post and saw that budget is around 1500euros! sorry!
           Nevertheless, I 'll leave my recommendation for anyone interested!
           (Also, it took me quite a bit of time to write it! )

Quote for the ferrofish, always heard good !
I was looking around ferrofish pulse 16 and  wait to complete the system (32 ch) with another pulse 16..
In this case the question is, if I interface the converter using a digiface i can use only 44.1-48 khz sampling rate? or using all the 4in/4out adat connections i can use even 88.2-96 khz? Obviously for 16 channels, when i will add other 16, i will only operate 44.1-48 for 32ch..
Instead of buyng a madiface now,when i will add future 16 ch i will operate 32ch 88.2-96khz?

Thanks everybody and sorry for my not-fluent english

If I understand your question correctly: each ADAT connection carries up to 8 channels at 44.1/48 khz. So, to connect 32 channels in/out with the Digiface, you can clock the Digiface and the Ferrofish(es) at 44.1/48 khz max. At 88.1/96 khz you only have 16 channels i/o in this config.

A MADI connection indeed gives you more capacity - 64 channels i/o at 44.1 or 48 khz, or 32 i/o at 88.2/96 khz. So, for higher sample rates MADI would be the (unfortunately a bit more expensive) way to go. Plus, you only need one cable pair - coax or fiber - for all 32 channels, instead of four ADAT lightpipe pairs between the interface and the Ferrofish(es).

BTW, on the Ferrofish website you often find B-stock units at nice discounts. Currently, an A32 with 32 channels i/o sits there for €1599 - which is at least close to your budget, you can start right away with 2x8 = 16 channels i/o via ADAT @ 44.1/48 khz on your Apogee Ensembles, and have the best upgradeability with MADI later on.

If you consider the Pulse 16, look for the MX version, the base model has no MADI.