Well, before this discussion got moved to its own thread (which is good), I had suggested external power, and the alternate suggestion, of an attached 3 x 9V power box, instead of putting the batteries inside. Personally, I think you should stick with full size XLR ins, as they are the most common, and avoids that "one more cable" issue. Me personally, I would love to see something with some really good meters on it. Missing my Tascam meters terrribly. +T for your ongoing work.