Sorry, guys, but I was always told that the 'unity' point of a fader is where it neither adds gain nor subtracts with attenuation. And that point varies from fader to fader based on design, taper, etc.. But it IS marked on most mixers.

I was also told that overloading the input gain, and then reducing it at a fader is the quickest way to mess up your signal. So, in general, I have always run my mixers with faders up to unity (but not exceeding it) and with as little input gain as is necessary. Make sure the meters never exceed 0db unless for very short peaks (if you have a compressor/limiter downline from it) and you generally end up with a mix that is super clean, super quiet, and easy to produce.

I believe that, in times of old, op amps had a specific range where they worked their best, and may have accounted for running them hotter than the bare minimum (but never at peak), but modern designs seem exceptionally quiet at all but their highest settings nowadays, so why run hotter than you need?

If anyone can explain where this is incorrect, I'd love to hear it...

The thing with Bose's is, most mixer systems provide independent information whether you are overloading the channel input OR overloading the main output (or power amp clipping, in powered systems), but Bose just gives you the one, non-informative clip light. Some way of distinguishing whether you are clipping the power amp or just the input would be VERY handy, IMO.