I had the BR1600. It's a great, easy to use machine. But the preamps do get kinda noisy when cranked. Also, some people say the A/D conversion on the machine is not so hot (though I've never had the chance to compare for myself). If you wanted to bypass the BR1600's preamps and A/D conversion you might look into a box such as the Grace Lunatec V3 or Apogee Minime or maybe the Mackie 400F. Then you'd come into the BR1600 via the S/PDIF in.