Behringer X Air XR18

I'm quite happy with my mixer, I know that there are many audio engineers that are better than me in describing it's pros and cons in normal application, so I will focus on atypical ones as described by a musician:
PROS:
-I run mine in home rehearsal setup 24/7 for last 3 months and it just works! I did not have to reboot it all that time.
-While playing with a small band I control my XR18 via midi footwsitch on stage to engage fx, mute channels etc, it's great
-The included FX are nice, the amp simulators are decent
-The usb connection allows you to use it as 18/18 audio interface, I use it with a laptop as a digital fx rack / playback / ableton live and for recording rehearsals.
-There are 2 hi gain inputs for direct guitars, no di-boxes needed
-There is a cheap alternative ipad app called mixing station that is even better than the original one.
-It's small, lightweight and there is a perfect gator bag for it for the travellers
-The connection is way more stable than with the soundcraft UI mixers that I used before.
-The network setup are changed by a switch in the front, it remembers the config with passwords, ip/dhcp setup so I have a "home" and "stage" setting.

CONS:
-Behringer promised a firmware update with new FX, that never came.
-The internal wifi is good if you are on stage next to it, if you plan on using it as a foh mixer invest in an external wifi solution.

Super good! sometimes it's easier to have an analog desk, but if you can muster a little more complications, you get so much out of this.

Super sturdy. All the effects work well enough (EQ, comp, limiter, reverb, delay). You can have different presets saved on your mobile/computer. If you are a regular at different venues you can get pretty close to plug and play, and it works pretty well considering we do IEM. Everything is saved... sound check takes only a few mins at that point.

A great option for IEM, with 6 AUX outs plus the main L+R. Everyone in the band can have their own mix... That's super super helpful in certain contexts. (we do home practices with an electric drum set, and this is very good for us.)

Super dope as well if you wanna do any live recordings! It works as an interface. It's probably not the absolute top notch studio quality interface... but I guarantee that it's good enough for most bands. You get 16 sperate channels... works really really well.

Also, supppper awesome option for streaming.

But, it's also nice to stash "the box" as my band calls it, behind the drummer at the show and forget about it -Takes up no space. You don't actually have to adjust anything on it, so it can be pretty hidden.

Only complaint is that in one venue we play in, sometime the wifi doesn't connect because that particular frequency is busy... which can be frustrating. But you can connect via cable... It would be nice if that cable and USB cable were the same cable (it seems weird to have your interface hooked up to your computer to record, but then you can only hook into the X-Air app that you use to adjust volumes ect via an ethernet cable) But I assume there is some good engineering reason for that.

Really happy to see innovation on this front! I now just wish I could find a guitar cab that wasn't 15kg....

Loovvveee this product!

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.

This is my first digital mixer. I ordered this unit to push a dad-rock cover band I run sound for into the 21st century. I have experience zero buyers remorse since deploying this thing, the only thing I regret is not making the change sooner.

I won't harp on the built-in wifi, which is abysmal in anything beyond an emergency backup capacity. Once you hook it up to a reasonable network (I used a $6 thrift-store dual-band router), and get over the digital learning curve, it's a dream.

Sound quality is fantastic. It has more than enough presets onboard to run my entire show from internal memory. Built-in FX are mostly versatile and useful, as well as sounding great. As far as features and sound quality goes, the XR18 punches well above it's weight class.

My singular gripe is on the quality of the physical connectors. XLR locking is hit or miss (as-in definitely triple-check), and wobble more than I'd like even when locked in.

I got this for my home studio to replace my old interface plus a mixing desk and some outboard FX units. It gave me 10 extra inputs and freed up a huge amount of room by replacing all that gear in one small box.

In use everything has been fine. Bit of a learning curve using the software but there's a really handy facebook group for owners and some good youtube tutorials. Once I got used to how everything is supposed to work, I haven't found any needs that aren't covered by this mixer.

I also took it to a band rehearsal so we could get a decent live recording and it coped very well there too, with all inputs in use and running monitor mixes through the AUX outputs.

I haven't used the wireless much. It seemed to work fine in a home setting but I don't know if I'd trust it in a packed venue. I've stuck to using the ethernet and it's been rock solid.

I haven't delved into the phone apps either, but the PC software is comprehensive and about as straightforward to use as you could expect given all the possibilities on offer.

All in all, a great purchase for a variety of uses. Especially so in my case, since this has replaced so much gear that I broke even on the cost of buying it. I haven't missed any of my old gear at all either, which is a huge compliment to the XR18.

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!!

First, it is by no means a bad mixer. In fact, probably the best for the money. But, I bought it as an alternative to a Behringer X32 Rack and I have to say, I still prefer the X32 Rack to almost all gigs.
It sounds the same as the X32, has the same excellent FX selection, but the features are limited: no delays on outputs (the biggest deal for me), less FX slots, limited input/output, lack of USB player and many other smaller grievances. The iPad app is also worse than the X32.
The built-in wi-fi is downright unusable with the default antenna. changing the antenna to a stronger made it at least usable, but you will still be better off with an external router.
But what it has going for it is the size. It fits in any backpack and is sufficiently light to carry around by hand or on your back. So for smaller gigs where you only have to bring a mixer or sound interface, this is perfect. And of course, the price. There is also the more expensive Midas version, but in my opinion, considering the jobs this mixer is aimed at, the Midas is not worth the money.
So in conclusion, a perfectly adequate mixer that sounds good and still has a good feature set. Recommended if budget and/or portability are a big concern. Otherwise, I would say get the X32 Rack.