BehringerXenyx X1832USB Mixer with USB and Effects

This mixer does lots of things. I am impressed with the quality and capabilities of this mixer. I was completely amazed at the number of features this board has, at an amazingly low price.The equalizer works very well as does the microphone compressors. Its a great mixer to own. Built in FX, EQ,AUX sends and sub outputs. An all in one board.Great packing also. So far I am very happy with this mixer, it has all the features that you could ask for.I brought this mainly for its standard mixing abilities with the added benefit of having the equalizer and for this purpose it is an outstanding mixer.I would recommend this mixer to anyone. Great product for a great price.The three-band (sweepable mid) EG on each channel works really well - it sounds good, and the high and low bands are musically useful. The compressors on the mike channels are also great to have. Once you get them set for each of the singers, they really make it easy to keep the mix good. The built-in effects unit works well, once we found a reverb setting that we all liked. There's another aux send on each channel, which I use to create a "special" monitor mix for one of the singers; it can be set either pre or post. This is in addition to the regular monitor send and effects send (to the built-in effect unit) on each channel.The built-in graphic EQ can be applied to either the mains or the monitor send, and therein lies my sole objection to this mixer: I wish it had a separate EQ for each, even if the monitor EQ was grossly simplified (3-band, for example). Right now, I have to use an outboard EQ just for the monitors. However, the built-in graphic EQ does work well, and once I grew to trust it, the "FBQ Feedback Detection" system actually works pretty well.In conclusion, I'm very happy with this mixer. It has virtually everything we need in one compact unit and it has been completely reliable. It has enough input channels for our needs. It sounds good, and the price is absolutely unbeatable.

This is a GREAT mixer but the user's manual that comes with the mixer is practically useless. I found the following documents are NECESSARY to get all the great features to work. It's silly to have to chase all these files down to use this product effectively but that is Behringer for you. Great products - lousy documentation.If you want to even get close to using the mixer's potential you need to download the better user's manual from:behringer.com/assets/X1622USB_X1832USB_X2222USB_X2442USB_M_EN.pdfIf you want a block diagram showing how signals are routed within the mixer (VERY useful), download the Xenyx 1832FX Technical Specifications Manual:behringer.com/assets/1832FX_P0556_S_EN.pdfEffects:The old version of this mixer had 100 selectable effects but this new mixer has 16 ADJUSTABLE effects, making this much more useful. Unfortunately, instructions for ADJUSTING the effects is absent from the manual and confusing. Once understood, the adjustments are simple but not obvious. To get the ONLY document that lists the Multi-FX Preset Chart (page 4) download the web brochure:behringer.com/assets/1204USB_X1204USB_X1222USB_X1622USB_X1832USB_X2222USB_X2442USB_WebBrochure.pdfTo get instructions for controlling the digital effects you MUST go to Behringer's FAQs. To save you the time and frustration, here is what the FAQ says:Here are a couple examples of how to use the FX processor on the XENYX series of mixers:1. The first example will be for the HALL PRESET 01. With this particular preset, pressing the TAP button will turn on, or off, the BRILLIANCE parameter. Now, if we press the PROGRAM/ PARAMETER knob this will bring up the REVERB TIME parameter. There should be a little blinking dot in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. When this dot is blinking, it means that you can turn the PROGRAM/ PARAMETER knob to adjust the REVERB TIME for this preset. Turning this knob to the left will decrease the REVERB TIME and turning this knob to the right will increase the REVERB TIME. After setting the desired REVERB TIME for the HALL REVERB preset, the blinking dot at the bottom right hand corner of the screen will blink 10 more times. Then the screen will go back to "home", displaying the selected preset number, which was 01.2. Now, let's try using a different preset. Select preset 08, which will be a DELAY. The TAP button at this point will be used to "tap" out the speed of the delay that you would like to hear. So, if you tap the TAP button rapidly a few times, the delay will sound very short. Now, press the PROGRAM/ PARAMETER knob. This will bring up the NUMBER OF REPETITIONS parameter. The same blinking dot in the bottom right hand corner of the screen will been seen to show that you are currently in this particular parameter setting. Turning the knob to the left will decrease the number of repetitions, and turning the knob to the right will increase the number of repetitions. After setting the desired repetition time, wait for the dot to blink ten times and then you will be brought back to the "home" screen, showing the DELAY preset number, which was 08.You can only use one set of effects at a time. You CAN assign different LEVELS of an effect to multiple channels but you CAN'T assign DIFFERENT or MULTIPLE effects to DIFFERENT channels.Compression:The biggest attraction for me to this mixer is the built in compression per channel but is seems many people are mis-adjusting compression. It too is not described well in the manuals. Turn the compression adjustment so that the LED lights ONLY on loud peaks! That is how is should be set. If it is lit all the time, you are squishing all your sound. When set properly it works GREAT.How to record multitrack from this mixer:If you use the X1832 standard USB connection you only get two channels (left/right) equal to the main output left/right. If you are clever and have a little more hardware you can record up to six tracks at a time using the mixer's channel inserts. The following trick works with ANY mixer with channel inserts.Here's how:First, you need to get Seismic Audio - SAST-8-16-5 - 8 Channel 1/4" TRS Insert Snake Cable to 16 1/4" TS - 5 Feet. Plug one TRS end into each insert plug per channel on the mixer. Plug the TS ends (left/right) into BOTH input/link plugs on an 8 channel Behringer DI800 Professional Mains/Phantom Powered 8-Channel DI-Box. By plugging the TS ends into both link ports you are feeding the out signal back into the mixer so the mixer channel is not interrupted. Then use an 8 channel Seismic Audio - 8 Channel XLR Snake Cable - 10 Feet Long - Pro Audio Snake for Live Live, Recording, Studios, and Gigs - Patch, Amp, Mixer, Audio Interface 10'. Plug one end into each output channel on the DI800 (8 channels) and connect the other XLR ends to a Tascam US-800 8 Input USB 2.0 Computer Audio Interface (The US-800 only has 6 channels max) or equivalent. Set all your levels and record all six Tascam tracks simultaneously through the Tascam USB output to your computer into Audacity or other DAW software.Like magic - 6 tracks (or more depending on hardware) recorded perfectly from ANY mixer with channel inserts!Now that you are armed with the necessary information, I think you will agree that this is a GREAT mixer at a GREAT price.

Got this as an "upgrade" from a smaller model for use in a small home studio. Behringer makes some good stuff considering the price. Sure there are more expensive brands out there that offer less but in a pinch these are fine.There are a couple quality control issues here such as some of the sliders get scratchy after awhile but nothing that some slider lubricant cant cure. and the "program/parameter" knob assembly feels like it gets loose on occasion, and tightening the screw between the knob and the "tap" button corrects the issue. The array of effects are ok but I don't use them much as I have another FX processor for my effects.Unlike the lower end version of this mixer that comes with a wiring block diagram, this model doesn't have it. IMO block diagrams are necessary to show how sound is routed through the mixer to optimize connection of additional equipment. I also always make block diagrams for all my hookups as well.My main complaint is the USB interface. I would prefer to use the built in USB over the system Im using now but I play audio from my machine, and I would like to mix it with the controls on the mixer and add effects or other stuff to it. An option to route the usb output (from PC) to another bus would make this system more versatile. Right now, its stuck on the main-mix bus, and cannot be routed anywhere. A lack of a proper routing block diagram made length of this discovery unnecessary. So now I'm using the UCA200 and a 4ch recording snake to connect to the mixer and the USB interface is not used. Such a waste.If anyone uses this for recording (I use Mixcraft), make sure you also use the ASIO drivers to improve audio latency for monitoring and recording.