We are the music makers - producers?

EDIT: cheers 8baller.

So, 4 input USB2 audio interfaces with good pre-amps please.

Ideally I'd get an Apogee Quartet but as I don't have a grand going spare, I won't.

Google keeps bringing up this super sweet-looking chunk by Akai:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may12/articles/akai-eie-pro.htm

But I have to say the low price is making me suspicious. Should it? At £170 or less online It's actually about the same price as my current "cheap" Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2 input jobbie. I'm trying to go UP-market here.

Any thoughts?

If you're on a mac why don't you opt for Firewire (instead of usb); surely the biggest mac advantage over pc- especially as you're using a 2009 machine?

edit**
Another option - a potentially expensive route would be expanding a focusrite with the optopre mk2 module that gives you x8 XLR inputs into the sound card:

Also the RM€:

But as others have said a stand alone hardware mixer would be the easiest. Spend as much as you can for a low noise floor.

If you like you can do some post work at mine as I've got an empirical labs fatso compressor?