New to this forum, Hi all. I have a hobby studio at home and currently record with a Boss BR-532 and I want to upgrade to a 8 to 12 channel recording system . I was looking at the Phonic Helix Board fire wire mixer board and want to know everyone's thoughts. I would like to keep my budget around $800 and need a few other things like an external fire wire hard drive. I already also have two Mackie mixers. I have also been looking at the Tascam 2488, 1082, PreSonus Firepod, and M-Audio Delta 1010 (I'm looking at this since my current studio computer looks like it could handle this card a PIII). I do have a powerful laptop that i use for work that I could use for a good fire wire system. My Vdrums have 8 outputs so I need at least 8 in but would like at least 12. I would like to get the best for my money with the ability to upgrade. I have a TC voice live vocal processor. Any comments would be appreciated. I have read lots on converter quality, preamp quality, and my only interest is to get good clean recordings (demo's) for the best price possible since this is my hobby at the moment.

Thanks