Suppose you have a $5-10k budget for audio interfaces/mixers to cover 24 channels and get as low latency as possible for tracking live 24 channels of a rock band. Monitoring with some plugins is preferred. What are you getting?

Right now I have a Delta 200 with 8 DLX strips for pres/EQs on drum and vocal mics and 8 regular strips for synths and FX going into 8 line ins on a MOTU 896 HD w/Black Lion mod, and 828 Mk II. Bass mic and bass DI come into the 828's front inputs, plus two more synths come into a second 828 Mk II that's piped via ADAT into the 896. Black Lion clock on all. Recording into DP11 at 48khz and 128 sample buffer, latency isn't noticeable and I can run enough native plugins to make the in-ears sound good.

What prompts upgrading? I still feel like we're missing something and I am starting to have some strips on the mixer get flaky or fail in various little ways. Like a Direct Out that mysteriously died, or a channel that mutes itself unless I unplug and replug the input. Also, I've outgrown its 16 channels of input, so it seems that maybe it's time to move on from an analog mixer—even if I could send the strips to Jim Williams for a full overhaul of the mixer, it would be thousands so I just wonder if it's served its role and maybe better in other use somewhere else.

Currently I'm looking at:

• ⁠Apollo X8P plus X16 (would leave us a pre short but could always still use a channel or two of analog pre)
• ⁠Motu 828 + 16A (much cheaper but very limited DSP)
• ⁠Metric Halo ULN-8 plus a LIO-8/4p LIO-8 (90db gain on the mic pres, holy crap, lots of DSP power too)
• ⁠Something AVID? Closest thing I could see was like, Carbon + 2 Carbon Pre, but we don't need 24 pres; plus I'm not a Pro Tools guy
• ⁠RME? confusing product lineup, I know it's well-regarded for Windows especially but I'm on Mac and don't see that it has any advantage over Metric Halo, MOTU, or Apollo in terms of reliability and long-term support, etc.
• ⁠Jim Williams-ize the mixer and add a couple more pre channels, and use a purely line-input interface with 24 in; here maybe there is simply a MOTU 24ai or Antelope Audio or Lynx—or just stay with our current A/D, on synth grunge it's not gonna matter

I'd say your first order of business is whether or not you are going to ditch the Delta.

If your digital stuff is working and you are inclined to keep the board then maybe just spend your money getting the board really properly restored.

If you are truly going to move to being console-less then that's a whole new chapter and a lot of your cash might end up going into micpreamps. 16+ micpre's can get pricey VERY quickly.

Waves LV1

Waves LV1

Key Features
64 mono/stereo input channels
44 mono/stereo buses: 8 groups, 24 auxes, 8 matrices, 3 master, cue
Double Precision 32-bit floating point mix engine (44.1–96 kHz)
Latency as low as 0.8 ms
21.5” multi-touch screen with 1000 Nit brightness
16+1 motorized 100 mm Alps faders
16+1 precision encoders, with mini-displays including per-channel LCD metering
Select/Mute/Solo keys per channel
16 layers with utility keys and tempo pad
16+2 user-customizable shortcut keys
16 Waves Signature Preamps with mic/line inputs
12 line outputs, 2 AES3 outputs, AES3 SRC input
Internal ultra-low-latency Waves SoundGrid DSP engine handles processing
Add more I/O: Up to 14 SoundGrid-compatible devices, including Dante and MADI convertors
Add up to 3 processing servers and 4 backup servers
4 SoundGrid switch ports: 2 Ethercon + 2 Rj45
8-slot rack hosts 8 plugins per input channel + all mix channels


Plugins included with the console:
F6 Dynamic EQ
Waves Tune-Real Time
eMo Q4 EQ
eMo D5 Dynamics
eMo F4 Filter
GEQ 30-band EQ
X-FDBK Feedback Eliminator
PSE (Primary Source Expander) Mic Bleed Reduction
Renaissance Compressor
Renaissance Bass
Doubler
H-Delay
Renaissance Reverb
TrueVerb
Magma Tube Channel Strip
GTR3
160 additional award-winning Waves plugins available as upgrades


Immersive in-ear mixing available as software upgrade (eMo IEM)
Dugan auto-mixing available as software upgrade
Custom options for mixing layout
Intuitive control over each channel’s parameters
Patch system-wide connections
Custom colors per channel
Unicode multi-language support
Up to 1000 scenes with Recall Safe and Scope Filters
8 Mute groups and 16 Link DCAs with Spill function
Digital preamp control with local V-Gain tracking for sharing
Multiple outputs per channel with delay alignment controls
Record 16 tracks locally to USB / 128 tracks to remote computers
Stereo playback from USB
Remote control apps for mobile & tablet, for both FOH and stage
Size: 22” (560 mm) x 15.8” (402 mm) x 22.1” (561 mm)
Weight: 38 lbs. (17.2 kg)

How about a Yamaha DM3 (Dante) expanded with a Tio-1608D2 or an Allen & Heath SQ 5 or 6 with an AR2412. Because You like to work with a hardware mixer and with a flip on the faders You can control your DAW. Maybe the SQ is outdated on the moment, but I used it for a quick remote recording and it sounded good, I really like the Yamaha sound - much nicer as the MOTU's - but I didn't get the change to use it in a recording/DAW situation.

DM3 are cool but very tiny.

Maybe a DM7c would be better.

The new Waves LV1 is really a hame changer. I’m sure a ton of these will be landing FOH. They can be linked. So for what a CL5 costs you could have 3 of the Waves linked. 48 faders. 48 analog inputs. CL5 has 8 analog ins.

DM3 is cool though. Lots of inputs! Dante! Etc

Yamaha DM3-D 22-channel Digital Mixer Features:

Packs 22 channels into an ultra-compact digital mixer: 16 mono channels, 1 stereo channel, and 2 stereo FX returns
9-inch touchscreen and single all-purpose touch-and-turn knob provide easy operation and navigation
Capable of sampling rates as high as 96kHz
6 mono or 3 stereo mixes, 2 matrixes, and 1 stereo bus
16 outstanding mic preamps and 8 convenient analog outputs
Excellent built-in DSP effects
16 x 16 Dante interface supplies loads of room for expansion
18 x 18 USB audio interface for playback and recording
2 x 2 recording directly to a USB drive
DAW remote mode with transport control
Custom control via OSC, USB-MIDI, and Yamaha's powerful ProVisionaire software applications

Why not get a Behringer Wing Rack OR Wing Compact (as expandable 24 channel preamp / interface / mixer) and some nice affordable to mid-range outboard gear? I think that'd be the sensible option for a low-cost studio these days.

Lv1 plus the 24 stagebox is a 12k solution not the 5k~10k solution this thread is asking for. dM7c is also an 15k solution. I have worked with the Waves Fit, but it’s to small for a bigger recording situation.