There is also popular Behringer X32 Compact, but it is priced some 50% above your budget.
The real mixers with multichannel USB interface by Behringer are the likes of Behringer X18, X Air XR16 or X Air XR18, all of which have a native control software for Linux.
Don’t go for Behringer Q802USB or any of the Xenyx series because you will get stereo (2 channel) USB interface only. There are more than a couple of mixers compatible with Linux around. You just want to be sure it records the ISOs (individual channels, one for each mic or other input) rather than just the stereo mix, but the mixers I mentioned above with the possible exception of the Presonus all do that. It also simplifies things because Linux compatibility isn’t an issue – these mixers record. I personally almost never record direct into my computer for one thing I don’t have a laptop and my desktop machine isn’t in a great-sounding room, so I always record into a separate recorder and import the files into Ardour (I’m actually using Mixbus these days) for mixing afterward.
Presonus has a few models as well, at least one of which records direct to SD cards ( ) those are likely to be the most affordable of anything I’ve listed so far.
Examples include the QSC Touchmix series (8, 16, and 30 input models), which record to an external SSD or hard drive and can even do overdubbing without using a computer), and the Soundcraft Ui-24 (which is totally wireless, you control everything over wifi via a tablet, phone, or laptop). You import the files into Ardour when you’re done and you mix them from there. This is a bit more expensive than your target, but there are a number of live mixers that offer recording features as well, no need to connect to your computer. Besides, it’s becoming less and less common… I see a bunch of setups using Firewire, but that’s not really possible from some random used laptop I’m going to live in that crummy room. It seems that low-end Behringer mixers like the Q802USB are supported by ALSA but what about the beffier stuff like the 12-port Xenix X1222USB? How do I find out if a mixer is “class-compliant”? Manufacturers websites aren’t exactly clear on that… I would assume that if it works in ALSA, it works in Ardour, and that’s what the requirements docs say, but I’m not sure where to go next. My problem is I can’t find recent advice on a good mixer that would be compatible with Linux, let alone Ardour.
Plus once you got multitrack in, even if it’s just a few like this, you can start bouncing around stuff and do interesting things already. I feel bad treating Ardour as a vulgar 4-track recorder, but I think it’s actually a great start to do simple demos and check your stuff before a real recording session. Note that I don’t mind 4-track, as long as it works reliably: it’s a good start. Is that still accurate in the days of USB-2? How about USB-3? That’s with latency with USB setups, a problem? That post, it must be said like many hardware commendations on the forum, are starting to show their age so I wonder if it’s still accurate. I’ve read in another post ( multitrack recording hardware) that USB is limited to 4-track recording. (Not an actual Mackie ProFX, that’s all Wikipedia commons had on hand… )