I've got 3 Sennheiser MKH 20 microphones that I want to eventually build a recording studio around. I have been looking around and think that I can get a nice setup for the time being if I get a moderately priced mixer and some cables to run into my computer (I'm on a budget after getting the mics...). I have a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook soundcard with a SNR of 104 dB. I also have a cable that runs 2 1/4" TS jacks to a single 1/8" TRS jack (useful for connecting separate mono channels from a mixer to a soundcard) with 100% shielding and gold plated contacts. I'll be using Mogami Gold Studio mic cable and I am interested in knowing the best budget mixer with built in preamps to buy. I've looked at the Yamaha MG16/4 mixer and it seems to be a good buy, but I'm using MKH 20s. I want minimal noise coming from any of my equipment. The MG16/4 has a supposed SNR of 128 dB, but how well does it perform in real life? I'm willing to put forward $300 or less for a decent mixer for the time being; I'll eventually get something far superior in the future. I don't need any effects processing but I'd like to keep at least 12 channels open for general mixing use. I'd like to keep the noise down to a minimum, and four or more buses is a big plus as well.


Just to clear things up, I'm looking for any mixer with at least four balanced XLR ins with preamps that has very little noise. Actually, what is a good total SNR to begin with? I read through the manual for the MG16/4 and it reports 128 dBu input noise and up to 64 dBu nominal bus noise (stereo out). 64 dBu just seems like an awful lot to me. Of course it'll be processing high levels most of the time but I don't want too much hiss at the beginning and end of the recordings (I could mute this but there's reverb at the end that I want to keep "natural").

Any suggestions are welcome.