On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 2:17 PM, Michael Jarosch <riotsound@riotmusic.de> wrote:

Hi there!

I'm looking for the best MIDI-Controller for using Ardour as a live
mixing console. I know the Mackie Control Universal (Pro), but I wonder
if there is another (not-so-well-known) manufacturer that does the job
even better.

It depends on how much control you want, and precisely what control you want, and what you think is a reasonable <unit-of-currency> cost per feature.

The big problem with the Mackie Control protocol is that it only allows 8 channels per MIDI port, so if you want to build up a more serious size console, you need several device connected via multiple MIDI ports, or a bigger device connected by >1 MIDI port.

By the way: What's the difference between MCU and MCU Pro? And how does
this affect Linux Users?

It has no impact on Linux users at all.They are mostly just different physical builds and build quality.

Is there a manufacturer that offers Linux Software for (better/easier)
configuration?

The configuration is all in Ardour, and has basically nothing to do with Linux at all.