I've had this chain for about 3+ years now, and I'm pretty happy with it. Most all of what I do here in St. Louis is rock and rap, but there's plenty of everything coming thru here.
Mac running MOTU's DP
Spectrafoo metering
MOTU 2408 used strictly at a SPDIF router. Handy because it has both a SPDIF output, and also doubles the analog outs on a second SPDIF for sending to a good monitor DAC.
Lots of Waves stuff, linear phase, mastering, renn. etc.
The path leaves the 2408 via SPDIF into a GW Labs upsampler/de-jitter box. There I'll upsample to 96k and then on to the Benchmark DAC. So it's playing out at 96k, dejittered, and also since it's at 96k, the anti-alias filtering has a far more gentle slope so it and sounds pretty nice. That 44.1kHz anti-aliasing can really put that crispy smear on sound, so I like to feed the analog path with a 96k DAC output.
From the Benchmark it goes to a Manley Massive Passive. Pretty colored EQ, but for most projects it's pretty friendly and musical. I've grown very used to the MP and really like it. The high end on that thing can make some really nice, sweet air on top that I couldn't get away with using many or maybe any other EQ's. I also like the whole range on the MP. The hi-pass filters are nice too for those junk-in-the-trunk mixes.
From the MP, it hits a Manley Vari-Mu. The way that the Vari-Mu kind of fuses or melds the kick and bass into a more cohesive sound is nice. I'd like a less mushy comp someday, maybe an STC-8, but I barely squash with it in general, and I like to keep the attack real slow to preseve punch. Release time usually relates to tempo. Generally the Vari-Mu treats me pretty well.
From there I'm hitting a stock Apogee Rosetta. I like its sound for the rock and rap stuff. Again, I'd like a more open and natural A/D, but I'm used to this one for the moment.
The whole system is clocked off the Apogee.
Once it's back in the box, I monitor with the L2 on and use Spectra Foo to help nail the average loudness (Thanks Mr. Katz). The new file is still 24 bits and has yet to actually be peak limited. What's nice about leaving the real L2 till later is that it's very easy to tweak loudness since the file is still unpeaked.
I'll import the files into Waveburner Pro and insert the operative L2 at that stage. I use the Pow-R dithering instead of the L2's shaping and dithering. From there I can burn a Redbook disk. I also am set up to create DDP's in Sonic Studio's DDP software. I'm not real slick in DDP yet, and honestly it doesn't even come close to Waveburner when it comes to true efficiency and ease in laying out the CD. But I'm gonna spend more time with DDP and form a better opinion.
I may upgrade DDP to Soundblade if they ever put out the demo. It seems like they're on the right path, but I'm not convinced yet that they truly understand workflow yet.
I monitor using a custom grayhill switched passive monitor controller. The main amp is a Musical Concepts mod to a Hafler DH200 mosfet amp. The main monitors are Dunlavy SC-4's and a 1000 watt, sealed cab, Velodyne sub. I also monitor thru a Sony jambox with a line in. Those little cheesy, ported 4" speakers will always help me dial in the 120Hz to 250Hz range. I've also got Rogers LS3/5A's, NS-10's, Auratones, and a few others, but most of my monitoring is done on the Dunlavys and the Sonys.
Burning CD's with a Plextor premium using Taiyo Yuden disks.