Feature:
You get more than you pay for, and has the flexibility for live sound, too. Wish it had more output returns from the computer, though (for patching in DSP/EFX).

Quality:
Similar to Behringer and Mackie.

Value:
A steal. You will NOT find a Firewire mixer at this price with these features, period.

Desirability:
No lust, just practicality and value.

Sound:
Excellent sound, good preamps, quiet when set up carefully. Got noise? Drop the ground on the computer or the Helix. Use a tube preamp if you want a warm sound but its a good clean sound with lots of headroom. Ditch the free LE software and get Cubase SL, at least.

Ease of Use:
No such thing as an easy to use digital mixer (because you have to learn all its buttons PLUS the separate software controls), but this one is not overly difficult... however, it would have helped to have larger buttons and bigger labels. But once you know the ropes, it is very easy to use.

Support:
Lousy. No direct phone line. But that seems to be par for the course with most manufacturers. Sad.

Overall:
I have sometimes had trouble with my Mac recognizing the Phonic's Firewire interface, but not sure if that is a problem with the Mac or the Phonic. Overall, you'd have to spend at least TWICE as much to anything else comparable. Do upgrade the software.

Feature:
This board is ready to go within minutes out of the box. I was disappointed in cubase LE being some sort of trial version that only allows 4 tracks simolteneously. Lucky I had other software already. In thier defense, recording software is expensive and a full version would impact the overall price quite abit. It has more than enough inputs and outputs, you can do anything you can imagine.

Quality:
I think the construction is durable, it looks sharp. It has an internal fan which is good, heat is your enemy with electronics. If it left my house often I would invest in a good case. It has ran flawlessly both hardware and software. I have used this board quite a bit.

Value:
As I said earlier, I bought this about 10 months ago when it was first out. I was waiting for a cheaper and small alesis to come in and finally saw this board sitting there on the shelf the day it came in. I bought it instead despite the slightly higher price and am so glad I did. This board is awsome. It could double as a pa mix board for live shows, or use it at home for one mic quick ideas. I love it. Great Value.

Desirability:
I love this thing. Unlike my choice of recording software, this board has been troublefree and wonderful to use.

Sound:
I bought this to record my bluegrass band. I have owned this for about ten months and only recorded acoustic instruments and vocals. The sound is great. I don't like the onboard FX for this style, but they would be great for other things. I took the board and a laptop and setup 6 mics to record in about 15 minutes, recorded 15 songs for a show and with minimal editing later I cut a disc that sounded great.

Ease of Use:
I had no prior experience with this sort of thing and had to tinker a bit with settings in windows and experiment with the way I plugged things into the board, but overall it is very easy to use. There are so many options and knobs you really have to spend some intimate time playing with it to know the possibilities.

Support:
I sent one email and got a very fast response. Their website is great with downloads for manuals and updates if they have one.

Overall:
I already had a firewire card for my pc. I wanted to be able to record several tracks at the same time ( Live Band). This allows me to do it. I think you would be absolutely satisfyed with this board wether you are a pro or an ametuer. I have used a laptop with this and recorded on the go with great results.

Feature:
Does everything I need it to. Literally. If I need to add more tracks, I'd get another of the same model.

Quality:
No complaints so far. Sliders have a little lateral wobble to them, but given our use of this unit, we won't be messing with them once our input levels are set right. The remaining dials' action feels smooth and solid.

Value:
Took a risk on this mixer, and while it is true that you get what you pay for, I feel like this is exactly as advertised - no more, no less. That it allows me to painlessly record 9 tracks simultaneously at 6ms latency while monitoring ourselves live gives me the impression it's a great value.

Desirability:
The layout is clean and simplistic. That appeals to me as I value function over form in my gear. In that regard, clean and simple = very sexy. Oh yeah. Very.

Sound:
So far, so good. We're using it as a means to record 7 channels of drums, guitar, bass, vocals - into Cubase SX. In the short time we've worked with it, what we have recorded is quite clear, and achieving something worth mixing down was relatively easy - something I was starting to think I'd never say in any honesty.

Ease of Use:
It's practically idiot proof. The manual is straight to the point, there's no mandatory goofy internal routing to worry about - if you want to hook it up and get tracks mapped into Cubase (or similar) it'll take longer to run your cables across the room than to configure this unit.

Support:
Haven't had a need to contact them yet. We're not rough on our gear, so short of something inside the unit catching fire I don't foresee major issues.

Overall:
If it continues to perform as it has been, I'd buy another as soon as I need more tracks coming in.

Feature:
Aside from a computer it came with everything you need to get going for home recording.

Quality:
The faders are a bit toyish but over all it has a good build, nothing seems loose or anything.

Value:
I have never seen anything that even comes close to compare with this unit, features to dollars, you can't go wrong.

Desirability:
it's a nice looking machine, your friends will think you spent a lot more than you did.

Sound:
So far the sound quality has been excellent. The gain control on the inputs can be a little touchy, but you quickly get use to it.

Ease of Use:
It would be nice if the instruction manual was a bit more informative, so you need to a base knowledge to get going. As far as the installation went, i found it seamless. Read the PDF the comes with Cubase LE.

Support:
haven't had to use support (finger crossed) it's been super reliable.

Overall:
It seems like i will be enjoying this unit for years to come, i can't see why i would replace it, if it broke i would buy another one.

Feature:
This board have flexible routing.

Quality:
It's decent for beginners and for the price. The pre-amps were a little on the low quality side.

Value:
For the price, you can't get anything better.

Desirability:
Decent looking board.

Sound:
The pre-amps on this one are a little noisy. Ok to use if you're using it with a large diaphram condenser with high sensitivity, but you might want to get an external pre-amp if you're going to use those SM-57's. There was an annoying tone around 5k that outputs even when nothing is connected. Reverb wasn't the best I've heard.

Ease of Use:
Real easy to set up. Just install software and hook it up via firewire. You have to set it to use external clock if you're going to use it with Nuendo or Cubase via the phonic control panel.

Support:
Haven't need it yet.

Overall:
If I had to buy again I would go for the presonus for the higher quality preamps and expandability.

Feature:
Eight mic/line inputs plus another two stereo pairs, three-band EQ, built-in effects, this plus an internal sound card that interfaces with your DAW via firewire. The software control panel is useful and lets you rename the inputs that show up in your DAW. It also comes with rack mounts and a very short (1 meter) six-pin firewire cable. I had another longer cable so I used it instead of the included one. At this price I guess they had to scrimp somewhere.

Quality:
The unit seems very well made. The finish is very slick and it looks like it will handle the rigors of the road. My only concern is that it seems to generate a fair amount of heat which comes from underneath the unit.

Value:
For the money you get a ridiculous amount of features. A mixer plus a sound card built in!

Desirability:
Very cool looking.

Sound:
Very clean sound. No noticeable noise from mic or line inputs.

Support:
Haven't dealt with support yet. There is a driver upgrade on the website, but it appears to be the same version as shipped with my unit.

Overall:
This is actually my third stab at an external sound card to interface with my computer DAW. I don't think I will be looking any further. For my purposes it does everything (and then some) that I could ask for.

Feature:
Tons of features -- how can you go wrong?

Quality:
Faders looked a little iffy, but actually proved to be very solid. The whole thing is built like a tank. Just don't spill drinks on it!

Value:
Truly the best. Look at the other options in the price range... Alesis (yikes! noisy preamps), Mackie (sorry, you have to pay more for the Firewire card itself). I know other brands are going the Firewire route, but Phonic has the market cornered at the moment.

Desirability:
It looks very professional with a good "all-American" colour scheme.

Sound:
These preamps are comparable to Mackie and better than Alesis. In this price range, feature-for-feature, you can't lose with the Phonic.

Ease of Use:
Very simple board to use. Who needs a manual? If you're getting a mixer like this, Phonic isn't going to give you lessons in engineering a recording and what button turns your brain on. Built-in effects are nice, but not necessary. At this price, who cares? It's a recording board, it's a live board, it's a....

Support:
Good website. Who knows about their phone service. Of COURSE they're going to charge you shipping to return it. That's probably written out in the 3-Year warranty, if you took the time to READ it.

Overall:
I don't work for this company. I work for myself. I need products that work time and time again. I don't have the luxury of screwing up tracks when the client is standing right there. This mixer will not let you down, whether you use it for recording or live performance. Enjoy your bargain!