The main reason I chose this mixer over others on offer was its great selection of inputs. 8 stereo ins, plus 8 mono ins - means I can plug in anything in my studio without any faff. And, more importantly, leave it plugged in. That helps workflow immensely as messing about swapping and configuring inputs is an inspiration-killer. I have a low threshold of can't-be-botheredness if I have to think about that too much. I want to go, go, GO!
And with this bonus comes a lot of features I never knew I needed. The controls are simple to operate and use without having to look at the manual (which you download yourself anyway). The faders feel nice and substantial and everything is where you'd want it to be.
You get a lot of bang for your buck here. Nice!