whussup natedawgo7
inputs 1&2 are combo XLR/TRS w/phantom power.
inputs 3-8 are TRS balanced/unbalanced
inputs 9&10 are the stereo digital inputs(S/PDIF)
All eight analog inputs have a trim/gain pot.
Any of the inputs can be routed to any track or strait to the stereo outs.
You don't HAVE to buy any external pre's at all, but they sure do help
That akai's pre's are about the same as the rest of the digital multitracker's.
I have gotten good results using my two small condensors running in 1&2, but you have to really work with it.
Mic placment is crucial because the pre's don't have a lot of headroom and when they distort it is horrible
I use the pre's on my mixer(1402) and I have a cheap behringer stereo pre that sounds pretty good, but I used the akai's pre's exclusively on the first couple of songs I recorded.