I started with external 'pro-sumer' audio strips back in about 2004 or so when I joined a band and they needed demos for promotion. So, I gathered a Presonus audio strip with 8 mic inputs, some mics and we started recording.
Well, the playback was darn good - even though the band itself wasn't doing that well. In between recording sessions, I left the Presonus hooked up and started listening to some local stations (KPIG, for one) who had already figured out that they could expand their listener count by going online to stream. Every year since, the quality improved as the radio station's engineers figure out how to get the audio balance and quality right.
At the time many DAC/ADC's used Firewire instead of USB. Even for those using USB, skips, pops, dropouts and other gremlins required that you be a PC Sys Admin to understand how to tweek the operating system, drivers and even the DAC/ADC's firmware to get things working reliably.
I lived with those sorts of configurations for about 10 years then started seeing that you can buy DAC's with switchable analog inputs as well as all the digital inputs types. This allowed me to run my PassDIY Pearl phono preamp into a DAC then switch back to a digital stream without rewiring things. Essentially, this digital preamp configuration is what i run now.
Currently, I'm using the Benchmark DAC2 that a neat feature that, when I switch in one of the 2 analog inputs, the entire audio chain is switched to analog including the volume control. Then, switching back to digital, the audio chain is reconfigured for digital decoding.
The Benchmark DAC's have become my central preamp for both the garage system (DAC1-HDR) and main living room system (DAC2-L). With the remote control, I'm there for preamps. Sold all but one of the old preamps as a result.
The Benchmark's are not inexpensive but when you factor in the cost of a good preamp and good separate DAC, there's less of a cost differential.
Cheers,
David