[LAU] newbie to Linux audio

I'm looking to move into using Linux as my music platform for live location recording. I still have my old Studer Revox A77 open reel machine mind you, but it's time to retire that puppy and come into the 21st century. Up until now, I've been using a Xitel Inport to take vinyl and tape recordings to standard CD quality digital on a Windows box. But the Windows box died and I lost the software license for the ripping and editing application that came from Xitel, and seeing as how Ubuntu Linux is my preferred platform anyway, I figured it was time to move over. In addition to the Xitel Inport, I'm also using a Xitel hi-fi Link, which Ubuntu (Dapper Drake) seems to work with just fine. That's not a problem, but I can't figure out how to get Audacity to pick up from the Xitel Inport. Will the means to get this work be the same as for other similar devices? I also want to go beyond what these two things do and get to doing live location recording for classical chamber music. I've been looking at what are now called "USB audio interfaces". What a whack name... I'm looking for comments regarding product quality, durability and compatibility with Linux. There are a couple of items I've been looking at: Edirol UA25 USB Stereo Audio Interface E-Mu 0404 USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interface For location recording, all I'll need are a couple of good small diaphragm condenser mikes, so it's not as if I need a lot of inputs. I'd also like to be able to take in line level sources as well. Other requirements: 2 channels of 24 bit/96 kHz output I'd like to be able to burn DVD-audio discs for playback on my home system. USB interface (will it have enough bandwidth for 2 channels at 24bit/96 kHz?) Thank you for your patience! Russ "I still have my slide rule and I'm not afraid to use it!"