Behringer X32

I was impressed with this board for its spec. and price, and the fact that it could run on Cat 5 to a stage box. The fact that Midas had also helped in the design of the pre amps and the manufacturing process was another plus. So it was bought together with the S16 and the flightcase (Also reviewed).

We mainly use the X32 at different venues for musical theatre so the extra channels (32) were a plus over the Presonus 24.4.2 (24) which we previously used and still own. I had considered buying another X32 to provide us with 64 channels for the large shows we do with Orchestras. We currently feed that into the Presonus which is used alongside the X32.

I tried to use the X32 for a multi track recording of our latest show, but the software (Studio One 2 Pro on a Mac Book Pro) stated that the external hard drive I was recording too was not fast enough to record all 32 tracks. I changed to 24 tracks but still got the error. However, you can get an instant 2 channels mix using the inbuilt recorder. There is also the facility to play back wav files via a USB stick but I would like to see that further expanded to allow playlist to be set up to auto play or play a playlist rather than one track at a time.

I hadn't experienced the lag on the same external hard drive (Toshiba PA4144E-1HB5) with the Presonus 24.4.2 using their software "Capture", So it may well be I'll have to wait till the hard drives using "Thunderbolt" become cheaper.

The Midas pre amps have a nice analogue sound to them when compared with the Presonus 24.4.2 which can sometimes sound "hard" and "crisp".

I've found the X32 FX's to be varied and well thought out and the re-verbs on vocals are really nice. If you own the "Waves plug ins" there is also a way to use them through the board using a DAW. (See YouTube)

The DCA#s are great for controlling groups of faders and if set up correctly can minimise the need to keep changing to other layers.

I loved using the mixer when it was working, unfortunately, my board has developed a fault after approx 21 shows, (Outputs 1 to 8 are not outputting any sound). It's not a major problem for me at the moment as we can use the outputs 9 to 16, but for more complicated sets ups this is going to be a problem).

So it will be a call the Thomann tomorrow to test how good their support is. (I may report what happens in a later post)

The fact that it has a 3 year warranty was a plus point when buying it considering Behringer's past reputation for quality and poor support.

The Behringer web site community forum is very helpful for anyone using the board and there is plenty of help if needed and there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to get you started. (Check out Drew Brashler KD7QCU on YouTube he's a wiz and explains his tutorials in easy terms).

The fact that you can control the board by Ipad or computer is a plus point, I was able to feed the fold back monitors which on stage. This is also helpful when listening to your mix from different areas of the Theatre as some venues don't have the sound booth in the central position.

I purchased this desk after hearing so many great things, and don't get me wrong it's a good desk. However, there are far more intuitive products out there. The x32 probably has all the features you need, however the way in which you'll execute them is usually always more cumbersome than it's competitors.

App:
The iOS app has been discontinued and is no longer maintained - such a shame for a desk that isn't even that old, very disappointing. There are others out there that do the job, but the lack of proprietry app again add's unnecessary troubleshooting.

Stagebox:
The way the x32 comunicates with the proprietry stage boxes (tested with the s32) again is just short of its competitors. Not being able to assign the input maxrix per channel and instead having to assign the stack (1-8, 9-16 etc) is a major downside.

Mixing:
It's a digital console and does everything you probably imagine. The onboard presets for channels are OK. But channel management, and managing mixes is just - and I hate to say it again - but it's cumbersome.

Overall:
I've picked at the things I don't like about this desk - but it works. Once you get used to the way it runs, it's fine. However, as other consoles have come down to this price point (or close enough) in recent years, I would always recommend going with them... Soundcraft, Yamaha, A&H every day of the week.

Behringer have always come in for some real stick in the UK, most of which seemed to me as a long term Behringer user to be pretty unfair. If you have a limited budget, then this mixer provides a real benefit to your production quality and general usefulness. I'm writing this as a satisfied long term user, having bought the mixer just after it came out. Before saying all the nice bits - mine actually failed after just a few days. I rarely get too cross about these things, they can always happen - but what then happened really opened my eyes. I made a grumble on an internet forum. Two hours later I had an email from Behringer in America and a phone call from them in the UK. Next day a lorry arrived and collected it, next day it was back. The power supply had died - one of those things, but after this I noticed Behringer's presence all over the net - staff dedicated to sorting any issues and genuinely helping people, which in this complain first society is pretty stunning.

Our band (we're a Beach Boys tribute) is a four piece, and all of us sing - and because the style of music was heavily produced in the studio, it's tough to sing - so our melodies float around the band - maybe somebody starts a line, but half way through they have to hold a note while somebody else finishes it, then somebody else will take the chorus. So the poor sound op has to follow the melody throughout, and reverbs come in and out throughout. This mixer lets us make this so much simpler, even down to song by song presets for one busy section. Two of us do IEM monitors and use the P16 personal mixers. On some of the bigger shows we simply slap a Macbook on the firewire connection and record the gig - currently about 21 tracks. We're not exactly a cheap band, but as long as the clients want us, we don't mind what kinds of places we play. A Cat 5 cable is so much more friendly than our old snake - which used to fall foul of the Health and Safety people. In many entertainment venues, a clear route from stage to FOH is really tricky - but a thin bit of cable is so much simpler. We now have a rack with the S16s in, plus it houses the radio transmitters and all the amps. So just the flight cased X32 and the stage rack. It's really helped with van space. Sonically, the sound is better than it's ever been. The people at Behringer keep updating the software with new features, so the only negative aspect of owning one is the snobby attitude of some 'experts' - however, I note it's falling away very fast. Often we turn up with the X32 and the Yamaha in the venue doesn't receive the praise it used to, with more than one house engineer owning up they've bought an X32 too! One even said that as you can buy two X32s for one Yamaha, he can for the first time actually afford to have a spare, which can also be hired. Out of my own circle of muso friends, we now have 3 X32s between us, and if for any reason our own mixer was to fail, we've already formed a collective where we would share.

It's an amazing product, very well thought out, and the best thing is it's still growing - so lifespan works for me.

Add to this the extras with iPad/iPhone/Macbook control and editing and what is there to dislike. It also works for non-expert users too - because you can colour code and label faders it makes operation on the surface very simple. Would I buy another if this one got smashed and I had the money sitting there? Absolutely without a moments doubt.

The mixer has completely shut a lot of people mouths.
As for myself, a producer and technician working in a professional studio, I find it more than awesome for what it can give out. The sound is so flat (a little darker than from some other mixers though, but that's completely my style), that until you touch the EQs it actually sends natural sound to the output. The EQs are more than perfectly responsive, you can hear every turn of the encoders, and also see it on the display within a millisecond when you scroll... The sound of the EQs is awesome, but the gate/compressor sounds a little plastic on some instruments though... but their response and job is completely ok. Enough of gracefulling it, since it is indeed the best mixer I've seen lately under 15k€....
The fact is that I'm more satisfied with this one than with the sound of LS9, which can literally go hide itself even if it would cost 3k€, not to mention that it actually costs over 9k€....
What bothers me though is software limitations they give:
You can patch mixer inputs in a group of 8 - that's fair enough, if there are 8 input selectable boards inside. The problem gets in place when you simply cannot rearange inputs on the faders as you wish, but are presetted and cannot be changed. I also miss custom fader layer, which would be useful to put some auxes, fx returns along with the inputs on one layer, when not needed more than 16 channels. It's fast to switch, but confusing though...
Next thing are FXs that are installed. Most of them, when changing some settings, breaks the sound for half a second, with every encoder turn. (so you basically get popping sound of the channel if you're correcting some settings within the show...)
The next thing is channel linking - you can only link in pairs, and only in evenly channels. So you can't link 2 with 3, nor 6 with 7, but only 1+2, 3+4, 5+6.... And also, when linked, you can't have different gains linked, and can't put a phase reverse on one channel only... which is completely wrong, since in many cases you'd need phase reverse on one channel only, and therefore you can't link them...
What I miss is also EQ on FX returns, which should be implemented... :(
The DCA group layer can't be selected, (because it controls more channels etc, I get it) but still should have fader level shown somewhere!!! (I couldn't find it). It's also too bad that on the meters layer of the view, where you see all faders on the screen and their position, doesn't show an actual fader level in numbers/decibels as well. It would be more useful if I'd see the level of the fader, rather than it's position on a trackbar!!! So basically for each channel to see it's fader level precisely, I need to select it and see it for a channel only.
Also, the phones amplifier is bad. But then again, if we're talking about live mixer, it did the job 6 times so far and I'm more than happy to have it. Also, the usb/firewire 32ch card works like a charm! With a little higher latency I was able to record all 32 channels on a i3 4gb ram laptop on a field.

Perfect mixer in all views, except for some minor software issues, but they'll hopefully be repaired soon, as they're putting out new firmware from time to time..

A must-have thing! Don't even think of Ls9 anymore.. I'm more than serious!