A 1/4" jack is not a mic preamp. Any interface that has microphone preamps will have proper XLR or combo XLR jacks. Many interfaces are rack mount. You just need to decide how many simultaneous mic inputs or line inputs you need.

Thanks for your reply. I cant find any more than 8 mic inputs, have been looking and I think Im going to settle on the M-Audio Profire 2626.
You've just confirmed my decision for me so thanks.

If you need more tan.8 mic preamps then there is the Mackie 1640i, Allen Heath Zed R16, Yamaha 0196v, and Presonus Studio Live.

Phonic Helix Board 24 USBFirewire, i have a Phonic Helix Board 18 it has 8 XLR's and then i use Nady PRA-8 that i just plug into 8 1/4' jacks in give me 16 XLR's

I don't have anything more than a 2 input USB device. So I have trouble putting in all 24 microphones into the 24 microphone input console and then feeding it to the 24 input 24 track machine with 24 outputs to go back to the 24 input console and then out to the 2 track USB gizmo back into the computer. It's simple once you get the hang of it and learn how to use all of the old-fashioned plug-ins which can sometimes hurt your fingers if you mash the buttons too hard. Especially when you have to press all 4 buttons at once, on that 1176 thingy. Ouch! And then the meter looks all funky so it must be doing something wrong very well? You should probably just get what you're looking at.

First choices are your best bet
Mx. Remy Ann David

TheJackAttack, post: 361780 wrote: If you need more tan.8 mic preamps then there is the Mackie 1640i, Allen Heath Zed R16, Yamaha 0196v, and Presonus Studio Live.

I don't intend to hijack this thread, but what are the preamps like in the Allen & Heath Zed R16? Are they high quality and more than adequate for professional quality recordings? I'm looking at some different options because currently I have a Digimax D8. Are they better than the preamps in the Digimax?

I would say yes. Obviously they aren't going to be comparable to a $1000/channel preamp but none the less definitely on a professional level. I would rate them higher than a Digimax too. YMMV.

mdb, post: 362286 wrote: I don't intend to hijack this thread, but what are the preamps like in the Allen & Heath Zed R16? Are they high quality and more than adequate for professional quality recordings? I'm looking at some different options because currently I have a Digimax D8. Are they better than the preamps in the Digimax?

Yes. The biggest improvement is in the headroom, but they have a very open frequency top end as well. I was used to using an R16 as a live sound mixer and recording the show, but tracking a drum kit through one under studio conditions was quite an experience.

It depends what you mean by "professional quality recordings". If you spend a lot more money, you can get better, but the R16 performs well above its price bracket. However, it is designed as a live sound mixer and so is not usually found as the centre of a studio setup.

I've had the opportunity to use a whole lot professional low end mixers, including the Allen & Heath. To be honest, I found the Allen & Heath to have more of that old-school British like flavor. Plus, if you are like me, there are those of us that adds some EQ during the recording process, should we find it necessary. You certainly don't have that option with just a rackmount microphone preamp system. And I think those might find, in the preamps, in the Digi-Max, might be slightly quieter, offer you that qwispy-crunch like quality that most modern preamps currently & comfortably offer. If you feel you already have something like that, I think the Allen & Heath would then provide you with a nice contrast.

There is another upside to using this mixer. You might find that you can also utilize it as a control room monitor controller. Many mixers like this make it convenient for the small home studio owner that provides you with more monitoring options to feed headphones, control room speakers, stereo speakers. In this sense, you'll also be running a hybrid style control room which is exactly what I have. I don't want 100% digital blah blah and when you particularly like the sound of a certain piece of equipment, you generally want to feed everything through it. So go for that British flavor, it's all good.

Another British thingy owner
Mx. Remy Ann David