I didnt say it was impossible to need 8 outputs...but I asked why he needed em. Just trying to clarify his needs....so that the responses can be better tailored to them. For instance....if he is going to mix externally (why he would with a $1500 budget is beyond me)and has an okay board (Mackie, Soundcraft) then the preamps I mentioned would not be necessary...etc, etc...
And so the question remains why 8 outputs? More often than not people need 8 inputs. His needs my be different than most tho.
(Really though...unless he has a serious board unlike the aforementioned ones...it would be pretty much a waste of convienence to mix outside the computer. You would lose instant recall on your settings and the sound quality would more likely go down instead of up.)