The first measurement rig I ever saw was based on a Sound Devices USBPre 1.5 audio i/o, Smaart 4.5 & a Josephson mic. This would of been back around 2000.
I was curious as to whether a Sound Devices USBPre 1.5 could be used with modern equipment and the answer is no. The USBPre 1.5 works with specific 32bit OS versions and will not function with a 64bit OS (all the current ones). So if you are using an older laptop that is running XP (32 bit version) or OSX 6 (or earlier), you may be able to take advantage of a USBPre 1.5 on your measurement rig.
sounddevices.com – USBPre 1.5 User Guide PDF
Here is a thread on the Rational Acoustics forum about getting a USBPre 1.5 to work with Smaart: