I had been daydreaming of one or several MOTU Stage B16's, but those seem to be about as rare as hens' teeth, and fetch 4-figure prices "even" on the used market. Then i looked for Presonus gear - also on the pricey end of the scale, but just for kicks, i took a quick peek at Thomann and when i saw this previous-gen 32-input, 18-output gem at 47%(!!!) off, i had to have it. Discounted to a bit under 1000e; ex.VAT came out to a (relatively) measly 730e. I dare you to argue this isn't a steal...
But let's pop the hood on this one, shall we?