Behringer X Air XR18 B-Stock

This is a fantastic little unit that is very easy to use and amazingly priced for what your getting.

Lets start with the size. It is essentially a digital 3u stage box with all your ins and outs llocated on the front of this box. It comes with its own rack ears if you want to rack mount it in a 19" rack case (which is what I did for easy transportation).

Once you have plugged all of your ins and outs into it, then all the operation comes from a wireless device such as an iPad, laptop or android. The unit has its own wifi router so connection to a device couldn't be simpler.

The free app that runs the unit is fantastic. Very easy to use and logical and contacts some great effects units such as reverbs, delays, compressors, and eq's. It is also very easy to route monitor mixes to any of the 6 auxiliary mixes.

A few negatives not so much about the unit but in functionality and in use. Firstly, because i have a slightly older iPad, it doesn't quite keep up with the app and the XR18 which (I assume) requires a very fast CPU to run it. I would like it to be a bit quicker and it sometimes loses connection and can become a little bit clunky. I don't believe this to down to the actual unit, more about my iPad but it is still an inconvenience when trying to mix live. I would recommend running the app off of a laptop or a newer, faster iPad.

My other comment would be that it is very difficult to get a great easy sound and setup quickly. I, like many run a function band and whilst i do the sound, I also play piano. Before with analogue desks this was easy as you could set it all up in sound check and merely tweak it throughout the performance. This is much harder with this unit. The way around this is to rely on presets prior to your gig. Get the mixer set up as much as you can including auxiliary mixes, effects, eq's and then save that as a preset. Then its much easier to tweak throughout your gig.

Overall, its a fantasict unit that i think is really going to change the live sound game. Bearing in mind its a digital desk for under £1000 and a good one at that, i think this will be a very popular product. The other note I must add is that when I purchased mine, you could not get them for love nor money in the UK. Everywhere was sold out and had unrealistic wait times.......everywhere except Thomann. I ordered mine and had it within 5 days. Very happy!!

If the amount of inputs are enough for the application, then this unit has pretty much anything you might need.
Some of the more sophisticated options the X32 has aren't available, but I guess they did that so there's some incentive to buy an X32 if you're in a more pro setting.

I'll do a pros and cons list.

Pros:

Very compact, especially considering what you get for that tiny size.
Huge amount of sonic control with parametric and graphic EQs, gates and compressors around, not to mention the big collection of effects/outboard-gear-simulators.
Very versatile routing options with Individual channel and bus(aux) settings.
Built in router can get you started or work as a backup in an emergency.
Scene saving and recalling (goes without saying for a digital console...).
Also works as an audio interface.


Cons (most are just minor incoveniences to be honest):

Behringer kinda rushed to put the XR series on the market and to this day there's no official manual to my knowledge, there's a wiki and plenty of stuff online though so you're not thrown in the deep by yourself.
You will eventually probably need an external router.
Some delay options for more sophisticated PA setups would be handy.
Scenes do not recall effects correctly and generally the android app, though quite good, could use some more refining (haven't tried out the iPad app).
Sockets-plugs are not bad, but I would be willing to pay a bit more for some higher quality ones like Neutrik.
No expansion capabilities for more inputs-outputs (I estimate that if Behringer made a 24 channel version of this mixer, it would sell like crazy because 16 is kinda minimal for a typical band).

I leave this for last and outside the list because it must be a personal issue cause I couldn't find anyone else having the same problem online, but for some reason I can't get the unit to work with system sound in my Windows PC (everything related with the ASIO drivers works fine).

I know this is a PA mixer, but I've purchased it for my small home studio setup after having read up on the extensive samplerate debate ;)
I'm doing every processing in the box (Harrison mixbus) and all I need is enough preamps and an easy way to control them.
I like the fact that you can just save several presets and recall them with the press of a button. This in conjunction with using templates in your DAW gets you on your way and recording in no time.
Figuring out how to setup the device to be used as a usb interface sending the signal back from the box wasn't without hassle though, but after I got it working I couldn't be happier with my choice.
As for how it would perform in the intended environment (as a PA mixer), I can only assume it does more than fine. The feature set is great (compressor, eq, sends, aux busses...) everything you need is there.
So in short, if you need something compact, versatile and clean sounding, look no further. :)

Use & Clarity
I'm using XR18 at my own studio for recording/ hearing ourselves at rehersals. Also I'm working as a sound technician, I'am renting this little monster to some pubs. It works perfect, especcially for small bands. With 6 Aux chanels ,I can use IEM setup and all the musicians can hear themselves well.

Pros
-Really cheap!
-Lightweight
-18 Chanel Recording Capabilities
-XLR & Jack Combo Inputs
- 6 Aux Chanels
-Capable of using Mac,Andorid and PC
-Built in Wi-Fi (Works well at studio)

Cons
- You can't record directly to USB Drive.
- At crowded places Wi-Fi lost the connection. Use seperate router!
-Don't have ADAT / AES Port to connect or extend with other devices.