I used a MOTU 828 and what I missed most was Software Return.
I had to use ADAT connections out and in to mix the levels coming from Ableton Live.
Not very elegant, RME Total Mix is much easier and much more flexible.
Well, yeah - surely that’s precisely true for any audio interface.
I cannot tell you how today’s MOTUs compare with today’s RMEs? I changed over in 2012 when I first started touring.
I have no idea, and when I am in musician mode, I even don’t care. And I am not surprised that not everything sound the same.
But, you are perhaps right, the audible differences are perhaps only due to a different “color of sound” (I am not sure to know exactly what “color of sound” means). So there are perhaps some processing devices/software to change the “colors of sound” to make all audio interface sound the identically. I don’t know. If I believe all the advertisers, It seems there are processing solutions to change allmost everything into anything else these days. You can buy a Behringer mic and change it into a Neuman. The same for Amps, Headphone, Speakers, so why not for Audio Interface.But I didn’t know these processing solutions, so I stupidly bought my audio interface, like I would buy a piano… by playing a piano on it. Perhaps it is not too late for me to discover new processing solutions. If I could, I would probably change my Trust office desktop spearkers into Genelec studio monitors, and my Genelec strudio monitors into Focal ones (my current preference). 
I would really like to take the Apogee elements 46 since it’s not so expensive but there is no midi IO !
It can be useful to have 
Maybe rme but it’s really expensive
Can you use the dsp effects with synths and vst ? Or this is useless ?
On a RME there is a powerful mixer with reverb and delay fix inserts. These FX are correct and very usable. But honestly, these FX are not very important to me.
The same for MIDI IO. I use them in my RME but you don’t need it absolutely.
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To David-san’s question, no I never did an A/B blind comparison of one audio interface to another. I just switch between them, like I switch between headphones and speakers and cabinets, depending on where I am at the time.
Yes, I suspect if I really set up an experiment to see if I could distinguish my Motu M4 from my RME UFX II I might be able to detect that there is a difference. But I have no idea which I’d prefer, if I were to prefer one over the other.
My point is that whatever color you’re getting from the D/A conversion of the audio interface is a tiny fraction of what you’re going to get from your headphones, amps, cabinets, or PA system. And since I’m adjusting dozens of parameters in my VST instrument and effects, all of those have far more impact that the D/A conversion. I’d be much more likely to notice that somebody tweaked a knob on a VST than that they switched out my audio interface.
I think if you pick any device in your audio chain, and adjust your parameters around that, the D/A conversion in your audio interface is just about the last thing that will cause you to say “I just can’t get the sound I want.”
But for those people who are certain one brand of cables sounds better than another, or that your amp sounds entirely different if you set it on top of tennis ball halves, then I’ll acknowledge that the audio interface D/A converters are probably at least as important to getting the sound you’re looking for.
In the end, I think you have to buy something that resonates with you. If you’re on stage thinking in the back of your head “I really wish I had that Apogee” the psychological impact of that on your playing is going to matter more than the linearity and THD of the D/A converters.
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That’s very true ! Thanks
But also if I have people telling me that the Scarlett is very good I might take it rather than the Apogee.
Not sure what I’m really missing since as you say, I’m not sure the difference is THAT big.
And at the same time, professional gigs with 70% of VST is no joke and I don’t want problems
Is there an easy and bulletproof workaround with the absence of midi in the Apogee Elements ?
I just need midi if one day the master keyboard that is proposed to me doesn’t have usb (that is very rare…).
Problem, the apogee element is a thunderbolt interface.
What’s problematic about that?
I suppose it’s a problem if your computer doesn’t have thunderbolt😁
How to have midi on an interface that doesn’t have midi and only 1 thunderbolt ?
i have thunderbolt on my computer
I think I’m lost !
And I understand why !
I just need this cable you presented me to do : midi from keyboard to ESI MidiMate eX to my macbook pro.
No need to connect the midi to my (maybe futur) Apogee Element ?
You just need to connect both of them to your computer - they don’t talk directly to each other. They are just both input/output devices that the applications on your computer can use
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And if you plan to use also “non-midi” hardware controllers like expression or sustain pedals, footswitches, etc, consider using an all-in-one MIDI Expression iO by Audiofront
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Thanks
So finally I did buy a b-stock Scarlett 18i8 2nd generation for 220€. It’s got 4 pre-amps, midi, etc.
I hope this will be good, and that it’s not a bad choice.
If I have problems, I’ll sell it and buy an RME
Thank you all for your help
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I don’t think you will be disappointed! I believe Focusrite delivers fine products for an affordable price (and I’m not sponsored 
). What you bought seems a good bargain to me. I have the same unit for several years now, working like a charm. We recorded a gig last Friday, and it delivered as expected.
Just for fun: I found a second-hand Scarlett 18i8 for 200 €.
It is said: " Works perfectly. Unique sound card which is no longer produced "
I believe we can call that a z-stock option. 
I owned one until I purchased a Radial KL-8. You’ll be pleased with its sound and performance capabilities.The editing software lets you store presets so that let me create a couple different studio presets live programs.