I've worked with about all of the above mixers. If all you need is 16 channels, the QSC is a great unit. The Mackie is no slouch, but I've had better service experience with QSC (and needed it a lot less). Both of these units do really well for situations not needing the power of, say, an X32. The New Mackie DLR-32, or something like that, should be a big hit, too. And Behringer makes a rack-mount unit, too, although it's more money than the Touchmix.
I may be the only guy that positively hates the Presonus, even the new ones. I don't care for the sound quality, it's the only mixer in the small digital category that I do NOT like the sound of. I like, or can deal with, the sound of the rest of them. Static faders may not be a big deal to some, but to me it's a deal breaker, especially if you need to change scenes and faders settings. And I've been burned a lot by Allen and Heath's service policies, I'll never trust them again ever (although I, as well as many pro audio guys, said that about Behringer 10-12 years ago. Whole lot of converts these days)
Having said all of this about Presonus, my buds still in the pro audio business are saying REALLY good things about a new rack-mountable unit from Presonus. It's certainly worth a look if you don't need a surface. It connects to iPads, as well as larger Windows-based computers and tablets.
My favorite small digital of the bunch, believe it or not, is the X32. There's a helluva feature set in that box for the price. It sounds really good (don't believe the hype about magical mic pres from famous exotic analog consoles of yore. They do sound really good). And they have proven to be as dependable or more so than the others in this group (aaaand, cue the few folks around here that have had problems with an X32). One problem I saw was addressed very quickly by the Music Group.
My bottom line is, regardless of what I've said here, you won't go wrong with any of the units available. I just have my favorites and the reasons for that, based on using them a lot.
Regardless of what you buy, I have BIG request of people here buying small digital units (if you aren't familiar with digital consoles, that is): I've recently seen a MAJOR RASH of folks around that buy these mixers, then get stuck trying to operate them and call people like me and spend exorbitant amounts of money for tutorials, only to not put in the time and effort to get really familiar with the unit, then blame me because they forgot what they learned. These little units, for their good prices and small sizes, are FULL of great features and capabilities. Take time to learn the things! There's so much info and tutorials on the makers' website and YouTube that will get you going, but take the time to play with the units at home or the rehearsal place! Mark my words here and now, you will save time, grief, and money doing your homework ahead of time. And seriously....you'll have a blast in the process!
Good luck.
NAMM isn't too far off and I bet there will be even more soon.
