I'm creating a podcast and am wondering if I should buy a plain audio interface, or a mixer with a built-in multi-track interface -- like the MultiMix 8 USB 2.0.
I'm planning on mixing/mastering on my laptop after the tracks have been recorded, but I'm thinking it might be nice to be able to do some EQ, leveling, etc on the mixer while recording as well.
Will having the mixer really add any features or flexibility that I can't do through software alone, or is it just a waste of money?
So far the only advantages I can think of are: 1) You could monitor directly from the board, so you don't have to worry about latency; and 2) if you want more than two XLR inputs, it seems to be cheaper to get a mixer with a built-in interface than a plain interface.