Behringer X32 40-Channel Digital Mixer

Most Liked Positive Review

Exceeds All Expectations!

First review, the pressure is on. Take what you may know, hear, think, remember about Behringer products and throw it out the window. When The Music Group Inc. bout Midas, everyone in the world of sound and music knew they must be up to something big. The X32 was claiming to be a game changer and they delivered! We got this board one week ago and I literally can not stop messing with it! I am trying to find one flaw or a single downside, I've yet to find one. So far, I would say I've probably logged 20-25 hours on it; testing, checking, testing, learning, checking...etc. I've routed the console to my JBL SRX system and I am completely blown away. If you are new to the world of digital mixing and consoles, this board will take a little time to get used too. Our main board I've been using for the last 4-5 years was an Allen & Heath... and A&H makes excellent products! I've had a little experience with a digital board (LS9), so I was fairly familiar with the basic setup of the X32. However, there is so much to this board, you really need a guide. The manual that it comes with is VERY basic... I had to download the full manual online to really help me get into the meat of this console. Layout: I really think this console has an excellent layout. The screen and functions are really great and easily accessible, and so is all the hardware. I've yet to find a flaw in the software and overall configuration of this board. The functionality is very easy, and once you've navigated a few times around the console, it's quite simple! Now comes the next part... the overall hardware and durability of the inputs, faders, and knobs. A huge selling point for a lot of people on this board will be Midas / Klark-Teknik pre-amps on every channel. This is how Behringer has re-defined their image. I imagine a lot of people who purchase the X32 will be quite impressed with this marriage of affordability / quality. As far as I've tested, the inputs all sound great! The initial sound of the pre's is what I would call "muscle" in the tone. Very nice work Behringer! I guess I'll learn all about the durability of the faders as we put some serious hours traveling and working on this board. If you've watched the online video about the rigorous testing they put the knobs and motorized faders (literally moving them back and forth thousands of times), then I have no doubt all hardware should last for a long time. The video shows the Midas crew putting the faders to work! The body of the X32 seems extremely sturdy, built like a tank and still lightweight. We just ordered an ATA case for it through NYCase Co., and am patiently waiting for them to ship it to me. I did get the 3 year Pro coverage, and Behringer has a 3 year warranty as well. Now some reviews on the sound: Effects - I think the effects are great. Effects that one would use for every application. There are plenty loaded on this console... many you will "recognize" as some of the very popular outboard-style effects from major brands (BBE, Lexicon, Focusrite, etc.) Effects can be ran via stereo or as "side chain", or you can just hook up any outboard gear via one of the 6 Aux send/return's on the board and assign it to a channel via routing. EQ's - Not only does every channel have a full parametric, there's also some really nice quick style EQ'S loaded as well. 31, dual 31, stereo 31, and all can be applied to any channel and adjusted via LCD control, or fader style. Big thumbs up to the effects rack and EQ's! The right side of the board even has a quick effects assignment group to quickly adjust your settings or even tap tempo your delay. Bus Sends - Very nice and easy control. I've got Buses 1-6 running our IEM's and all effects sends are on buses 13-16. Very easy setup... Just use the routing button on the screen to send all your output buses to your mixes. I really love the "sends on faders" button for this. DCA's - Sub groups as many call it. Very easy to set up, just hold the DCA button and the channels you want in that group can be 'selected' to the DCA. Configuration and channel assignment - just a GREAT feature. All channels can be configured to a stored setting and recalled (which you create) and can all be customized! Custom colors, icons, and names for every channel! I color coded all my instruments (ie. all things drums are yellow, Vocals are green, guitars are blue) and send them to their color coded DCA group. Ethernet - hooked up a wireless G router, assigned the IP address to the console through the Configure screen and I can run the X32 via my iPad with the XiControl app. Just another excellent feature! THINGS I'VE YET TO DO... Run the console via remote control to a PC (I'm a mac guy, hopefully they'll have software for all us apple users). They use iPads to control XiControl, so I can only imagine that mac software will be on its way. I've yet to use the USB / FireWire card or do any type of recording with it... but I'm going to multi-track a show in the next couple of weeks via FireWire to my macbook with either DP or Pro-Tools... I'm anxious to see how it works! I've yet to use the AES50 ports as I'm waiting for an S16 box to be released. I've yet to use the P16-m via the ethernet out... once again I'm just waiting on the release (S16 and PM-16m look to be released late August and I guess will be in stores sometime early September). Storage - I've created a live show setting, and you can store and recall up to 100 "shows". Just adjust your faders, sends, buses, effects, etc. and store them! There's even a set of buttons on the right side of the console for quickly recalling and loading a scene. Just another excellent feature! Overall, I guess I can't say enough about this console.