In my opinion Zed's offer the greatest bang for buck in their price ranges. Great build quality (the plastic end cheeks make them look like they might not be built as great as they are. I've substituted them for wood to improve the aesthetic). Truly great sound, I have used them professionally for the last 5 years and not once has anyone had anything negative to say. Great features.
This is my favourite tiny mixer. Sound quality is as good as your going to get for a desk in it's class, nice smooth tone. All Zed's can be a little noisy when not used with good gain structure, this is probably their main failing. Controls feel really nice and the desk feels well made. I haven't used the usb so I cannot comment.
I have 3 Zed's this one, a 16 channel with fx and a 428, this should give you an idea of how much I like them. I have installed them in several churches and over the last 5 years not one has given any problems though my 428 needed it's faders to be cleaned (like all mixing desks I'd advise using a cover if you plan on owning it for several years.)
This desk has a great eq for a desk of it's size, very few similarly small desks have a hpf and swept mids.
All in all a great little desk, I can't see any reason why anyone would choose anything else similar.
