what the best bet in terms of a mixer for a surround setup. also, price is a consideration. we were thinking of the 02R 96, or the DM2000. There's also a Sony dmx board.

however, i'm slightly hesitant of the A/D D/A of the Yamaha. the Sony board is a bit more expensive and has some problems with plugins and DAW integration-- so I heard.

the other option that's being considered is going in for a controller set-up of the JL Cooper type. There's an MCS series and also with a panner. All hooked through MIDI. This or the Digidesign control surface.

With this probably go in for the Focusrite pres and all processing at the DAW.

what's your take on this?