The OP wrote:
[[ Now I did find one piece of kit that answered all my
problems and still falls into the price category I'm working
in: Phonic Helixboard 24. Stop laughing at the back - I know
this thing has a poor rep in this NG but it actually does
give me what I need: 16 xlr inputs all sent to the computer
individually over firewire. And because it is a full blown
mixing desk I can adjust the input gain to get the required
recording level and then set the players' individual
monitors on the faders.
But this thing is firewire only...]]
I pasted "Phonic Helixboard 24" into google, and the first
hit showed
this:
http://www.phonic.com/en/helix-board-24-universal.html
..... with both firewire AND USB outputs. Might that help?
Aside: I'm wondering how many simultaneous inputs USB could
actually support?
Although it's no longer sold new, the Echo Audiofire Pre8
has 6 XLR inputs and is daisy-chainable per the manual:
"You can connect multiple AudioFires to your computer by
daisy chaining FireWire cables (connecting one AudioFire to
the next) or by connecting each AudioFire to a different
FireWire connector on your computer. AudioFire 12s,
AudioFire 8s, AudioFire 4s and AudioFire 2s can be mixed in
any order and the clock master can be anywhere in the chain.
Note that 192kHz will only be supported when only AudioFire
12s are used."
There are actually more [line] inputs available, but you
would have to use standalone mic pre(s) to feed them.