Sorry ya all, but the mackie product line is about cheap, not good! NERO! You have some fine taste there my man. Notice that Nero made mention the the fact that his Studio Master "is a more musical mixer", and he is right. Also, a Studio Master will be around for a long time. Mackie stuff is made primarilly of plastic parts, and will not hold up to well.
But let me give you guys another alternative, how about the Allen and Heath consoles. They now have smaller frames to accomadate home studio's. Allen and Heath offers excellent mic pre-amps, killer sounding musical equalization, and at least as many features as any mackie in the same frame size. Check it out.