I also thought about the Qu-Pac as I dont have enough space for a full blown mixerdesk, but as I mainly work in the studio and use the gear together with a daw (ableton) I came up, that an RME 802 with one or two ADAT extensions might be a better solution (or the ufx, if you need direct usb-recording). the 802 has a really low latency and its ins and outs can be better accessed than the ones of a digital mixer from a computer.
You can use the rme totalmix also stand alone and with its internal matrix you can not only patch each input to any output, but also patch each connection at a different level. EQ and comp as bread an butter FX are also in (though no sidechain or ducker). this might be a better combination, if you want to connect your gear with a daw. I dont have a 802 or quPac yet, but I think these are in the closet circle of choice for me. The motu 16a could also handle that many channels, but I was put off by their browser-only mixer ā its really slow to switch screens.
Does anyone use a rme 802 (or UFX) in a live environment?