Kapo,
Going by what you stated in the initial post, I'd caution you against overstating the importance of gear for what you're looking to do. In most cases, a good DAW (Logic X, Cubase, Pro-Tools, etc...), a decent machine, and a reasonable interface ($400-600) will be enough to get you...
If it's just a hobby, don't kill yourself with top of the line stuff. They're all pretty darn good these days. I had an Apogee Duet and I don't think the Focusrite 6i6 is any worse.
Yes RME and Focusrite is comparable to Apogee and Apollo depending on price point of course. RME is fairly...
Apogee yes. But I thought UA supported Windows.
RME is great, but I haven't used their stuff in years. I have a cheapie Focusrite 6i6. Also, I'm on a mac and dude, I absolutely love it.
Logic X is great.