The Behringer boards aren't bad at all. I'll post a sample of a live mix I did with one on tour if anyone's interested -- you'd be surprised at the quality.
My only complaint was that the pre didn't seem to handle the vocal mic very well (Neumann KMS105), so I had to do some creative compression/EQ to make it sound good... Otherwise, very solid boards.
If you're going to do multitrack recording, though, you have to have a board with direct outs.. Allen and Heath boards ($950+) are great for that, BUT -- Alesis used to have some boards that did it with good quality (Not quite Mackie fidelity on the pres, but better than a Behringer).. most "crosstalk" and "noise" complaints were just shitty effects routing..