Hi,
I have been using a HDSP 9632 in my home recording setup for the past few years and it has served me well with only 2 analog inputs form a preamp and two outputs to a monitor mixer. However, I'm more interested in recording full bands now and recently purchased a 16-channel analog mixer I'd like to run into the soundcard. I've looked at a lot of different options for under $1K and it seems the best solution is to run an external A/D converter with ADAT connectivity such as the Ferrofish A16 or a RME ADI-8 DS I found for under $600 into the ADAT-in on my card. However, this will only give me 10-channels of inputs and will require a lot of rewiring to run send/return loops in mixing. I could buy the optional expansion bays, but then I'm really going to be going over-budget on this studio build. I know there is the Behringer ADA8000-series, but I don't want to stack preamps, and plus I've heard those suck. Is there any way to get more bang for my buck in this scenario? I'm open to buying a new interface all together if it will be cheaper.

I'm also a little confused as to which of the ADAT ports on the 9632 is "in" and "out" since they're not labeled externally.

Thanks.