I had to change my old faithful Alesis 1622 as a studio keyboard submixer, and after many comparisons I chose this baby. There are many cheaper alternatives, so the question is: do I pay for the brand or is it really worth the extra money?

In my opinion the answer is that you can really hear the difference. Better still, you will not hear it, meaning that the M8 features very quiet good quality pre-amps, so that if you still have noise around, check elsewhere for the source of disturbance. Also, this is the only 8-channel mixer that has 16 true inputs (8 mono + 4 stereo). I saw many a unit boasted as 16 channels having less mixing power.

As for the mono channels, they have a very effective eq with fixed Q sweepable frequency mids. I may prefer Mackie style eq, which is a little bit more punchy, but I must admit that sounds may be easily shaped, again with no added hiss or growls. You have direct outs and insert on each mono channel. No separate channel led meters, only signal (i.e. louder than -20dB) and peak leds for each channel, including stereo ones. A single phantom power switch affects all the mono channels.

I have worked many times with bigger Soundcraft units, and I always appreciated the clear layout of the controls. Even if you don't know what a mixer is, learning your way around is a question of minutes, just as Soundcraft says. That's because Soundcraft stripped the unit of the many routing options that are normally available on other units to produce such a good quality mixer at a reasonable price. In particular there are no busses or groups, so the signal goes straight from the channels to the main mix. This is a serious limitation for live usage, when routing the drums mics to a couple of groups saves you the day. It does not matter very much however if you are mixing keyboards, so check if you need this feature before buying the unit. Of course you still have four aux sends, 2 pre (for monitors or 2-tracks recording) and 2 post (for effect loops), and four stereo aux returns.

There are some minor questionable choices, nothing serious however. First, why on earth the aux returns feature rca (cinch) unbalanced connectors? Also, there is a single set of main outs with balanced XLR connectors, no jacks or rca for tape out. Luckily you also have TRS jacks with separate volume for monitors, with PFL features of all channels and even on aux returns, a well placed phone jack and also a L+R mono sum out, so connections needs are usually satisfied.

In conclusion, I would recommend this unit as a studio keyboard submixer or as a 8 tracks recording mixer. You get great value for the price. Consider also the smaller M4 and the bigger M12 brothers (the only difference being the number of mono channels). Live usage is fine, though rack mounting for this unit costs as much as a cheap mixer alone, and I won't risk moving my M8 without any safe protection.