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For tracking I've been pretty OK with the Alesis HD24XR or the last decade (pretty much about the time they stopped being made). Happy enough that picked up a second one for parts, than didn't use it for parts but in the last days in TX (where it was not uncommon for us to record more than a single event in a day) but that one in in, roughly 24/7 production as well. That was slightly more than 5 years ago and volume of any real audio work as declined precipitously since 2014. One of those is now more or less 'for parts' (both still work fine).

It's not hardware I'd current advise anyone to acquire for commercial audio work (for all sorts of reasons). It's weakest point is quite possibly that it was designed to work with PATA drives and while there is/are less than elegant caddies that work with some SATA drives it's quite possible that basic hardware functions will out live my supply of drives . . . I am assuming that at this point I'll probably die first but you never can be quite sure.

The XR A/D conversion remains at the upper end of what you might call 'prosumer' options (as long as one does not have to work at 96 or 192 kHz). But with a couple of simple aftermarket software apps (HD Tools for example) that improve transfer options (firewire interface was always clumsy & irritating) besides simplicity of use a favorite feature is relatively robust clocking options.

Degree to which this is significant falls into that 'get beyond the easy 93% of way to ultimate goal' catagory and would not, did not pick them up because of clock options but since I only occasionally had/have need for more than 16 simultaneous recording tracks to make it easy to integrate (when one does not do it every day) those last 8 tracks is genuinely appreciated.

For example I am pretty OK with new(er) A/D TI chips on the Audient 800 & 880 but remain unenthusiastic about the overall clock integration (& since both devices were designed to integrate with expanded systems this remains disappointing. Have not used the ID22 yet but experience with 'clock' integration with ID14 is a bit more than disappointing, not so much that I wont surplus the unit and p/u the iD22 as a 'go bag' travel option

On the 'big' stationary computer (Xenon processor) I am currently debating about whether to replace the RME 9632/56 (16 yr old) with a slightly newer PCIe RayDat. That preserves all interconnects, slighly more robust clock options and frees up the single PCI legacy port on that machine for a card I'd use more frequently (these days do not track very often into the 'big' machine & whether multi-trac or multi-channel (surround) 8 out is handled with Adat MiniDsp Usb streamer

RME 9632 has worked well for well over a decade & it is the daughter card clock 3rd bank of adat that has probably kept it in the rotation. Even while the 9632 did neither AD nor DA it's utility is what got me to the ADI-8 (96 kHz when needed) that pair keeps the currently still available UFX 'in the running' if I need to replace the HD24s. The ADI-8 was useful enough (meaning that it facilitated efficiency of projects for which I was paid) that I picked up (used) a Mytek 8X96, which as been useful enough that I'd like to acquire another one . . . not sure that its conversion is sufficiently grander than the RMEs that I need three

If the UFX had been available in 2000 I probably would have started and finished there, lots of input, tracks directly to HDD so far fewer BS OS issues. By time it showed up not only did I have a functional installed base that could be modified incrementally for less than $1k per pass but had enough experience to know that I was not going to spend as much as $2k on a device that might or might not integrate effectively in work flow. That said my experience with UFX is sufficient that I'm pretty comfortable (during any serious discussion) when ask to be able to distinguish whether persona asking would be better served with UFX or Behringer 'X' series mixers (at similar price points)

Much of the audio gear I still have was retained, in part, because it lack sufficient resale/surplus value to get rid of it. As thru 2014 at least half of all audio revenue entailed some form of 'live' recording have a lot of options with which I had extended experience (for back up redundancy than back up to the back up) left even (in tech genealogy) quite old gear valuable. I think I personally used a Korg D16 for the last time in the spring of 2009. That client was so incredibly cheap (which is not what got me to the D16) that, that effort was pro bono w/o even a single 2nd set of support hands & we were live streaming a theatrical event from a festival with some not electric primary lighting . . .

Primary reason for long windedness (other than merely the long windedness) is that there should never be a single neat set of criteria as to what audio hardware works for any individual. I've been fortunate in that I picked up devices that had features I barely recognized that proved to be quite valuable for their longevity . . . & there is always a trade off among the novel and something robust enough to have survived a decade in the trenches. I have a sneaking suspicion that the analog input chain on the ADI-8 is superior (for me) than that on the UFX . . . tho what I might mean by that would take longer to write than this