That really impressive, kinda od they'd make a 16 channel interface with no phantom power. I'd love to see you equipment, I have a thing for studio porn haha.
And I'm quite new to 5.1, I'm new to pro tools too (many years of logic) and we set the project to 5.1, it allows surround panning. The thing is we're mixing music in 5.1, which is quite odd to me, after learning in stereo all these years, but it's a new and interesting. I'm not fully aware of the hardware I was using to mix with as its university studios, I'm just surrounded by 5 KRK monitors and a sub in a cramped room, most of their gear is with focusrite. We've got some interesting hardware that allows all rehearsal and studios rooms to be linked through ethernet, so we can record from any of these rooms to the studio.