Recent experience using a Micstacy via ADAT (44K1) to the FF400 and normal laptop/REAPER. Took the auxiliary ADAT out to the BabyFace and into HP Mini netbook and DigiCheck Global Record. Disc load less than 5%. Perfectly reliable recording. The poly .wav opens in Sound Forge 10 for checking, but really needs a BWF File Manger to split the file (or for WaveLab to step up to the mark and open poly .wav files directly into the Montage). RME appears to have indicated that it is looking at releasing its own poly .wav file management tool

Provided you are in Windows, you can also simulataneously run TotalMix and send a backup mix out the SPDIF on the BabyFace. It used to be that meters would not read correctly if DigiCheck and TotalMix were active simultaneously, but now as long as you select the DigiCheck metering input setup from ASIO rather than hardware, it is fine. (And you can have multiple instances of DigiCheck, with one doing Global Record, another the Vectorscope or the multichannel level meter, etc.)

So provided the UFX Direct to USB overcomes the last lingering issues of reliable recording to both USB drives and USB memory sticks, the little netbook is sufficient for control and monitoring and backup, and the USB Direct Recording is the principal output. Elegant and flexible (and of course RME quality ... )

It would be nice to have a convenient/elegant solution for mains independence for the UFX and we can enjoy battery-backed reliability - the FF400 and a QuadMic currently gives me this up to 6 mic channels.