Behringer XR mixers

[mikegatward]

We’re thinking of changing from the Mackie 1608 to a Behringer unit. They seem to get really good reviews.

 

The main driver is to reduce the amount of gear we lug about. I figure I might just squeeze the XR mixer and the ADJ DMX controller into a single shallow 6u rack case. That’d be way more compact than the large top mount case we currently use just for the mixer and router.

 

We currently run into 2 Mackie SRM350’s and a Behringer sub for 2xvocals, 2xguitars via helix and a Roland drum kit.

 

Just a few things I’d welcome input on

 

• The XR16 is the minimum spec we could use as the XR12 only had 2 aux outputs, but for the extra money, is the XR18 worth the difference ?
• Is a separate router essential ? - once set up, we would rarely change anything mid-gig except maybe during an interval. Or is the built in WiFi sufficient?
• What apps are people using to control their mixers and does it work on an iPhone ?

Thanks in advance.

[Steve Browning]

I kind of looked at these options but went for the XR18 because 8 of the inputs on the XR16 are jacks. Not very flexible.

 

That said, I await delivery so have no practical experience - yet.

[Dankology]

The XR18 is definitely worth the extra money - as well as the ins and outs you have the ability to record everything multitrack to a laptop via USB.

 

I would definitely get an external router if you'll be using it at gigs - the internal one hasn't got fantastic range and only runs on the 2.4 GHz band which tends to get crowded and lead to connection problems. We grabbed a £20 secondhand one on Ebay and I better there are flashier ones available for less nowadays.

 

I keep hearing tales of Behringer digital mixers being heavily discounted in the US due to an imminent range overhaul but I've yet to see it happen here. Will be treating myself to a X32 rack if and when that does hit over here...

[Steve Browning]

I've got the external router, the Android tablet, the ethernet cables and usb/ethernet adapter plus all attendant software. All I don't have is the mixer itself, at the moment. 🙂

[dudewheresmybass]

One of the rigs I use is an x32 rack.

We bought an external router to go the 5.8ghz route.

Works really well and is pretty flexible. Mixing done via an ipad, and each musician mixes their own iems via their own phone.

[gafbass02]

We use an external router too. 

[mcnach]

5 hours ago, Dankology said:

The XR18 is definitely worth the extra money - as well as the ins and outs you have the ability to record everything multitrack to a laptop via USB.

 

I would definitely get an external router if you'll be using it at gigs - the internal one hasn't got fantastic range and only runs on the 2.4 GHz band which tends to get crowded and lead to connection problems. We grabbed a £20 secondhand one on Ebay and I better there are flashier ones available for less nowadays.

 

I keep hearing tales of Behringer digital mixers being heavily discounted in the US due to an imminent range overhaul but I've yet to see it happen here. Will be treating myself to a X32 rack if and when that does hit over here...

 

They've already been discounted for a while, they're around £680 these days. I got one back in December.

 

[AxelF]

We've used the XR18 for many years now, can't recommend it enough. Definitely get an external router for it though!

[Dankology]

57 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

They've already been discounted for a while, they're around £680 these days. I got one back in December.

 

 

I think my inherent stinginess had meant I'd expected an even heftier discount. Bodes well for secondhand prices though 😁😁😁

[mikegatward]

XR18 is below £400 now

[Jo.gwillim]

I go for a straight ethernet connection to an old laptop that i don't use for anything else. Had too many near misses with the wifi, though quite get if you're using a tablet it's unavoidable. 

Really recommend spending time playing with it before gigging. I've got caught out a few times getting a setting wrong setting up for sound checks. There's a lot of pressure at that point in the proceedings. 

Having said all that I'd deff go for the xr18 for all the reasons given. Thomann do a nice custom flight case for them which I'd recommend. 

[lemmywinks]

We also went with the XR18 as everything is XLR. This means our keys player doesn't ask which cable to use as a way of getting out of setting up so well worth spending the extra £.

 

You can fit the desk, a router and a power strip in a 3u shallow rack.

[borntohang]

XR18 with an external router for us. Only one plug extra and means we can all run our own monitor mixes without fighting the venue WiFi.

 

We use the Mixing Station app which I don't love but is fine - if any of you aren't technically savvy spend some time setting up the view pages so nobody accidentally adjusts the mix when they mean to adjust an aux. 

[Muppet]

Same here - external router. The XR18 is defintely the way to go. Loads of AUX outs and we also use the Ultranet to feed P16Ms for in ear monitoring. 

[TimR]

There's quite a bit of information in the "PA Setup and Use" sub forum.

 

https://www.basschat.co.uk/forum/122-pa-set-up-and-use/

[dave_bass5]

Also check out the compact mixer thread, as these are also talked about quite a lot

We went over to an XR18 a couple of years ago and it was life changing. 

 

We normally use one of those small travel routers, and never had issues on 5ghz. I have had a few gigs where for speed ive tried to connect tot the internal 2.4ghz and just couldn't. It sits there ws no bandwidth availible. Now I keep a Lan cable and adapter handy as well. 

 

I also tried a 6E router recently, just as an experiment I tried this and found it worked perfectly at close distances (on and just off stage, say about 20ft out on the dance floor). I did a scan of the pub and no one was using this band.

[grapefruitmoon]

Piggy-backing a bit on this thread, but are there any good cheapish recommendations for an Android tablet for the Xr18? I'd prefer something a bit cheaper than the iPad I currently use.

[tauzero]

I'm using a Nokia T20 which is OK. There are a few Chinese tablets from Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi which would be worth looking at. Also the Samsung Tab A9+ comes in at around £180, so a bit more expensive than those but gets good reviews. I may treat myself to one.

Edited Friday at 13:07 by tauzero

[lemmywinks]

8 minutes ago, grapefruitmoon said:

Piggy-backing a bit on this thread, but are there any good cheapish recommendations for an Android tablet for the Xr18? I'd prefer something a bit cheaper than the iPad I currently use.

 

 

Regardless of platform for your main mix go as big as you can, it's nice to have the screen real estate for touch devices. Honor Pad 8 might be a good budget Android option, Lenovo do some larger Android tablets too.

 

 

I prefer the full Windows X-Air Edit app over the Android, we have a Portege X20t-C (8gb/256gb, 12.5" screen) for our main mix and I use a Surface Go (8gb/128gb, 10" screen) for my personal monitor. Both have detachable keyboards which is handy. If I had to buy a budget tablet for mixing I'd probably just go for a used Surface Pro tbh.

[Jo.gwillim]

51 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

 

Regardless of platform for your main mix go as big as you can, it's nice to have the screen real estate for touch devices. Honor Pad 8 might be a good budget Android option, Lenovo do some larger Android tablets too.

 

 

I prefer the full Windows X-Air Edit app over the Android, we have a Portege X20t-C (8gb/256gb, 12.5" screen) for our main mix and I use a Surface Go (8gb/128gb, 10" screen) for my personal monitor. Both have detachable keyboards which is handy. If I had to buy a budget tablet for mixing I'd probably just go for a used Surface Pro tbh.

With you on the big screen but that maybe due shaky hands and old eyes! 

[Elfrasho]

I use the xr18. I also run it in the house as the heart of my studio! I love it.

 

I use the internal router at home and never had an issue but I do have an external router housed in the 4u rack as I don't totally trust the internal one. It's never failed at home though!

 

I also have a mini pc running reaper so it's always ready to record .

 

Nor got experience of the xr16 but the extra aux mixes were the deal breaker for me. And, the drummer cam go stereo in ears to get a bit more audio separation in his ears. Well worth the extra money even if you don't instantly think you need 6 monitor mixes. 

 

The unit has never failed or crashed on me and its probably seen 300 hours of use.

 

Regarding the app. I actually prefer the behringer app over what most people recommend using, mixing station. Although it does take a wee bit of patience to get your head round but one you do it's pretty straight forward.

 

I have a 'show' setup for home studio and another for live.  In live I then have a blank scene, then multiple different scenes for places and rehersal rooms we've played. I then can just pull up whatever mix we used last time! When I go home I then just pull up home studio and it's ready to rock.

 

I also change "layer" from home use to live use.  That is essentially how the app is laid out. For band which is always just for iem mixes, I remove everything g other than the 7 channels we use, and then the 4 effects returns. So dies the other band members. But I also save a different layer for home use and for a full desk if I'm running foh.

 

Dunno why I rambled on about the app, but there ye go.

 

[mikegatward]

Thank you all for the really useful info

 

i picked up an XR18 last night for £327 brand new so we’ll start planning the changeover from the Mackie 

 

Need a shallow 6u case next 😀

[dave_bass5]

4 hours ago, Elfrasho said:

 

 

Regarding the app. I actually prefer the behringer app over what most people recommend using, mixing station. Although it does take a wee bit of patience to get your head round but one you do it's pretty straight forward.

 

I have a 'show' setup for home studio and another for live.  In live I then have a blank scene, then multiple different scenes for places and rehersal rooms we've played. I then can just pull up whatever mix we used last time! When I go home I then just pull up home studio and it's ready to rock.

 

I also change "layer" from home use to live use.  That is essentially how the app is laid out. For band which is always just for iem mixes, I remove everything g other than the 7 channels we use, and then the 4 effects returns. So dies the other band members. But I also save a different layer for home use and for a full desk if I'm running foh.

 

Dunno why I rambled on about the app, but there ye go.

 

I also only use the internal router at home, and never really had any issues, but after the first time I tried at a gig and couldn't log on, I don’t take the risk now

I actually much prefer the Behringer app, but Ive found it sluggish and unreliable, so I tend to stick with MS because it's what I know alas works. The Behringer app seems better laid out and very easy to see what's going on. MS can be like that, but it's all too easy to go further with the layouts and over complicate things. 

When I got my XR18 I did use it as my home interface for a while and had no issues at all, nothing really to set up and no drivers etc (im on Mac). I love that I can take one USB cable and record multitrack to my iPad (or even phone) at gigs. This has been very enlightening as far as who knows the songs/can play them properly. Obviously i redo any mistake I make before sending the band the full mix down lol.

[Boodang]

I bought an xr18 for our band and now I couldn't go back to an analogue desk. It's so flexible and we use it for gigs and home recording. Plus we can precision EQ, comp, reverb every channel for a gig and get a great sound using the plugin emulations which would otherwise be impossible. A studio sound at a gig. 

I did have issues at a gig with WiFi so now we take no chances and I use the xtouch universal controller. Not cheap but apart from piece of mind at a gig great for hands on control in the studio setting. 

Can't recommend highly enough.