Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a commercial FM broadcaster in a Top 60 US market, I needed a small board on the cheap to send on a trip to NYC that the talent could interface with their laptop via USB. After reading the reviews, I was wary of this board because it seemed that everyone that loved it was using the analog I/O, and everyone that used the USB I/O complained about background noise. That's completely understandable for a board that costs less than $200 which includes a USB sound card. I'm used to paying $500+ for a USB sound card ALONE, and this one includes an 8 channel Mackie mixer?!? They simply had to have cut some corners somewhere. So with all the complaints, I initially bought a different brand, but that one seemed to have a technical issue (or maybe a design flaw). In any case, I returned in and at the last minute came back to Amazon for the Mackie PROFX8V2. First thing I noted: It was plug and play on all 3 machines I tried it on. (Windows 7 and Windows 10). I didn't need any drivers at all, unlike the first board I tried. That's a big plus. But the big question was that USB noise. All those reviews that complained about it never gave it in a quantifiable amount: There is noise. But how MUCH noise? I was about to find out. Connecting it to a laptop, I fired up Adobe Audition. I quickly had audio in and out. I set levels, then I turned all the pots to zero, which should leave me with dead silence. The headphone jack gets pretty loud on this board, and at full volume I could easily hear the noise they were complaining about. But the input meters on Adobe Audition showed a level of about -63 dB. That's the noise floor. I'd expect much better in a $500 sound card. But -63 dB is something I can work with. To put it in perspective, the noise floor requirement for FM broadcasters imposed years ago by the FCC is -60 dB. This board beat that requirement by 3 dB. I have professional broadcast studios that aren't quite that good. So I sent the board out on the trip to NYC and didn't worry about it. The broadcast lasted 3 days. The group came back and raved about the board. "It's a FANTASTIC board!". Not one word about any noise. I'm very happy with this!