Protools--vs--????, lost in the digi jungle----HELP!! Options

i am starting from the ground up with a home studio ....i definitly want a mac i have my own website and as well as being a musician/composer...im also an artist

what i need to know is basicaly this;;

what is the best and most cost efficant way to build a home studio that will be album quality and provide me with the warmth i enjoyed with 24 track 2'' tape --is this possible on a budget of a few grand or am i fooling myself??--------is protools the right way to go and what kind of mac is best 4 what im doing-----HELP PLEASE---

[holli]

right on teiwaz, the 2408 is a top piece of kit. One feels that Motu are genuinely 'there' for you as well and this is a refreshing change - solid build, rock solid driver support (I don't miss my sporadic errors during mixdown of 20 minute tracks at all!). Thank god all my ins and outs are now balanced and of the same quality. It's been invaluable in getting my project studio analogue sound sources flexible and available in an efficiant way and seems my little 1604 desk is forming a healthy marriage with it based on mutual trust and understanding (?!).

In the 001's defence, when I put my first studio together it did provide all the things I needed in one box while money was tight. I was able to use the adat ins as a live mix in logic from the S6000, and preamps whilst obvoiusly not the greatest got several jobs done. Anyone doing battle with one at the moment (working solely one soundcard/one mac setup) has probably found that working at 24bit and using something like mic mod (emulation turned off) or similar, tube/analogue sat settings dialled in just a touch, then adding gain within the plugin to make up for the lack of gain at the input, 24bits give the plugin more to work with and dither, can do a passable impression of much better gear. It won't fool a pro, but then the 001 isn't really aimed at this market.

Audio quality aside, what really, really sucks however is the lack of foresite in the design of the drivers and the who's gives a s**t attitude regarding product support. It is not possible to work proffessionally with this hanging over every decision you make during a job or when aquiring new bits/software/computer upgrade etc.

I sold my 001 to a friend just starting out in the world of mac music, having expressed some reservations and problems I had had to overcome (driver conflicts etc) but confident it had run respectably-ish on my dual500. I went round to help him set it up and, oh great, because he was 'unfortunate' enough to own a quicksilver g4 it doesn't work. Dodgy's fix? Replace the motherboard!!!
Ever heard of buying a new mac and it not being compatible with your older SCSI legacy stuff for example? This isn't rocket science, it's just the bussing of data from one device to another and the suitable drivers to interpret it, which should presumably be able to be altered/rewritten to suit the host computer! Dodgy have had your cash and now you're just a target market who may be daft enough to hand over some more when your setup prematurely expires.

Teiwaz has been consistantly accurate in kit recommendations with regards making music on a mac for a long time now and is a chap with his finger firmly on the pulse. Take heed and save yourself alot of hard earned dosh!
Luv to all, Holli x