[PlanetCCRMA] Tascam US-122 on FC5/CCRMA

[linuxmedia4 at netscape.net]

Hi,

I've been keeping emails and storing information on Audio/Midi 
interfaces that people have used on their Planet systems. I'm ready to 
purchase one now and I *really* like the Tascam US-122 and just wanted 
to get more info from anyone using it with their FC5/CCRMA setups.

Please... only comment on this if you are using (or have used) the 
US-122 with a FC5/CCRMA setup. I'm trying to limit the amount of 
surprises/headaches as possible from the beginning. I'm currently 
running kernel 2.6.16-1.2080.16.rrt.rhfc5.ccrma on a Dell Precision M50 
Laptop with 1 gig of ram, 2Ghz processor and 7200rpm Hard Drive.

Questions...

I've always been curious how going from 16 bit (2 mono streams at a time 
and a bunch of mono tracks) to a 24 bit load would work out. I would 
(assume) their would be a lot more xruns or problems in general. How 
does this perform on your setup? I'm especially concerned because it 
seems that people have warned others to stay away from USB interfaces.

I see it's switchable for 44100 and 48000 sample rates... can this be 
run in 16 bit mode also? If so, how is it's performance in 16 bit mode? 
Also... how does it sound in 16 bit mode?

How is loading firmware for this unit? I've never worked with firmware, 
so it's a new area for me anyways.

Is there any 'gotchas' I should be aware of?

Thanks,
Rocco