i currently use a small 8 channel mackie board which i have my gear hooked up to (MPC, Mbox, Microkorg, etc.). I want to start utilizing the 8 outs board that my MPC 2KXL has so I'm in need of a bigger mixer. The two mixers i have cut it down to (after looking around for some time now) are the Mackie 1604 VLZ3 and the allen and heath ZED24. Both are in my p'rice range and both have features i like a lot (but keep in mind i don't know much about mixers, so bare with me).

Ive heard great things about the allen and heath zed24. I really like how long the fader tracks are and there build appears to be great. Ive heard some great things about the sound of those boards as well. And i like the fact that it has 4 aux sends.

i like the mackie 1604 vlz3 cuz i use a mackie now and they are pretty easy to use. I love the Alt output option that mackie offers. it makes it great for tracking out into my mbox. With my mixer now i can push the mute button which routes the channel to the alt output source which i have plugged into the mbox ins. and then i plug the mbox into one of the channels on the board. This way i can record track by track into the mbox without having to plug and unplug things nonstop. can the allen and heath zed 24 do this? is this a common thing on mixers and can any mixer with an alt output achieve this? cuz i think i saw that the zed 24 has alt outputs.

the way id like to set my mixer up is this...mpc 8 outs, synths, mics, mbox, etc into the mixer channels...then the alt output into the mbox ins...then the main outs of the board to my monitors. this seems like a real practical way of hooking everything up.

so any of u have any experience with these two mixers? id love to hear your opinions on them..thanks for any help, its much appreciated. I'm not great with this kind of stuff!