I hear you. Check out the EPS32 [1][2]. It's faster, has more mem and has built in wifi, so you can access a webpage[3] on it via an ip and your browser and remote control it via your phone. FastLed runs on it, and there are level shifters similar to the Octo for it [4]. You can actually run 16 channels I believe (vs 8 on the Octo). It uses the same level shifter (x2) as the Octo. There is also an 8 channel available if you check the other products on Jason's store on that Tindie site[4]. It's arduino compat- so you probably wouldn't have to rewrite much at all.