The AW2816 is a scaled-down version of the AW4416 that offers most of the same high quality features in a smaller hardware package.

The main differences between the two models are:

- the AW2816 internal mixer can handle 28 simultaneous input channels (instead of 44);

- only 9 motorized faders are available (instead of 17);

- up to 8 tracks can be recorded simultaneously (instead of 16);

- 6 Aux Busses are available (instead of 8);

- the AW2816 features no analog inserts, no fluorescent display, no Wordclock I/O and no sampling pads;

- only 1 Mini-YGDAI expansion slot is available (instead of 2);

- mouse operation is not supported.

Due to its hardware limitations (especially the reduced number of inputs and simultaneous recording tracks) the AW2816 is suitable in particular situations where the budget is crucial and there are no particular requirements in terms of mixing and recording power.