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Church and H.O.W. – Forums for HOW Sound and AV - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Church and HOW Forums => Church Sound => Topic started by: Aaron Kelley on December 10, 2012, 07:32:49 PM

Title: Behringer X32
Post by: Aaron Kelley on December 10, 2012, 07:32:49 PM
So...I'm new here and I want to get to know more of you guys on the church forums.
What do you guys think about the Behringer X32? Have any of you operated or handled one?
Definitely a plus with the Midas preamps in my opinion.
If you have one installed at your church auditorium, I'd love some specs on your installation!
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Jared Koopman on December 10, 2012, 07:47:00 PM
So...I'm new here and I want to get to know more of you guys on the church forums.
What do you guys think about the Behringer X32? Have any of you operated or handled one?
Definitely a plus with the Midas preamps in my opinion.
If you have one installed at your church auditorium, I'd love some specs on your installation!

Well here are our system specs..
http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,138921.msg1308024.html#msg1308024 (http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,138921.msg1308024.html#msg1308024)

I think its a great system for the money. The biggest negative that it has is the name and perceptions associated with that name. That being said it isn't perfect and there are some compromises to be made. But in our case, it is working well. If you take away all the names and marketing, the board does what it should...easy to mix, "sounds decent", connects our stage to FOH, and allows us to multitrack record/virtual soundcheck.

I dont have much experience with other digital boards so I cannot comment on them as better or worse. If your budget is restricted to under $10k or so, then I recommend at least considering the X32 as a solution. Above that mark I think there are more options available that offer a bit more flexibility.
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Frank DeWitt on December 11, 2012, 09:32:19 AM
Well here are our system specs..
http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,138921.msg1308024.html#msg1308024 (http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,138921.msg1308024.html#msg1308024)

I think its a great system for the money. The biggest negative that it has is the name and perceptions associated with that name. That being said it isn't perfect and there are some compromises to be made. But in our case, it is working well. If you take away all the names and marketing, the board does what it should...easy to mix, "sounds decent", connects our stage to FOH, and allows us to multitrack record/virtual soundcheck.

I dont have much experience with other digital boards so I cannot comment on them as better or worse. If your budget is restricted to under $10k or so, then I recommend at least considering the X32 as a solution. Above that mark I think there are more options available that offer a bit more flexibility.

Arron, First, Welcome.  Glad your here.  I think you are not getting a lot of comment on this because a lot of us feel it has all been said.   As has already been said, it seems like a great mixer from a company with a ....  Well, Not a history to be proud of.  Some searching of this forum or a Google search will get you a lot of data.  I personally am of the burned 5 times, not again camp.  Others feel this is a whole new direction for Behringer.  I hope they are right.
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Aaron Kelley on December 11, 2012, 10:20:21 AM
Arron, First, Welcome.  Glad your here.  I think you are not getting a lot of comment on this because a lot of us feel it has all been said.   As has already been said, it seems like a great mixer from a company with a ....  Well, Not a history to be proud of.  Some searching of this forum or a Google search will get you a lot of data.  I personally am of the burned 5 times, not again camp.  Others feel this is a whole new direction for Behringer.  I hope they are right.
Yeah I am figuring that out now as I get more adjusted to this forum. I don't think it'll allow you to remove it lol. But thanks!
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Jared Koopman on December 11, 2012, 10:44:02 AM
Yeah I am figuring that out now as I get more adjusted to this forum. I don't think it'll allow you to remove it lol. But thanks!

also if you have not seen it, check out this thread http://soundforums.net/junior-varsity/4393-x32-discussion.html (http://soundforums.net/junior-varsity/4393-x32-discussion.html) It is a very long thread with pretty much the history of the X32 and anything else in between.

Do you have any specific questions about it?
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Frank DeWitt on December 11, 2012, 02:12:22 PM
Yeah I am figuring that out now as I get more adjusted to this forum. I don't think it'll allow you to remove it lol. But thanks!

No need to delete,  no harm done.  What are your needs, wants, in a new mixer. Things like how many channels. Need for growth. need a digital snake or will analog work?  How about your FOH location?  is it a good one?  Do you have or need IEMs?  Kind of service? Other uses?  Who's on first?
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on December 11, 2012, 02:17:46 PM
Who's on first?

Yes.
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Don Sullivan on December 23, 2012, 12:04:00 PM
I've recently spent quite a few hours on an X32. I met two gentlemen at a local music store who were returning the unit b/c it was "too complicated". I've since trained them on the unit and they are quite happy. The desk has a pretty nice sound but there are a number of petty annoyances I have with the mixer which will keep me a happy Yamaha user for a while:

1. Where did they put those headphone jacks>? Oh- in the side handles. That's ten minutes of my life I will never get back. It is nice, however that there are two headphone outputs, especially when teaching how to use the desk. Unfortunately, the headphone amps need more gain to do the common task of soloing up an open mic to see if it is working.

2. Too many nested menu levels. Try to re-name the channel strip without cracking open the PDF manual.... I will wait...... I'm still waiting..... Yeah - I don't really like have to press 4 or 5 navigation keys to do something so basic. Nice however to have the b/g color on the channel strip, makes reaching for a fader more intuitive. 

3. Console has input routing, but it looks like only in groups of 8. At least that is what I glean from the UI and manual. This will make it a little tough to bring in a single channel multiple times like I often to on the M7 or 01v96.

4. Console has 16 mix buss and 8 effects, but only 4 of the effects can have their input coming from a mix bus. the other 4 have to be used as insert effects, patched into an input, or as an insert in a mix bus master, which kind of makes them useable, but it takes a long time to achieve this.

Admittedly, these are petty annoyances. The console does sound very nice. The pre-amps are quiet, the effects (the ones I've tried) are effective, the compressors and gates work well, the EQ sounds natural, but frankly I use very little.  There ARE delays available on all the analog outputs and inputs (one of the reasons I won't use a Presonus desk for live work) The USB recorder works pretty well, but you will need a class 6 or better memory stick. The USB output for multi-track is pretty easy to use.

Is the console a good value? You be the judge. My own preference is toward an 01v96 with additional preamps. If recallable preamps are of value to you, perhaps you should give this desk consideration.



Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Scott Wagner on December 23, 2012, 02:02:36 PM
I've recently spent quite a few hours on an X32. I met two gentlemen at a local music store who were returning the unit b/c it was "too complicated". I've since trained them on the unit and they are quite happy. The desk has a pretty nice sound but there are a number of petty annoyances I have with the mixer which will keep me a happy Yamaha user for a while:

1. Where did they put those headphone jacks>? Oh- in the side handles. That's ten minutes of my life I will never get back. It is nice, however that there are two headphone outputs, especially when teaching how to use the desk. Unfortunately, the headphone amps need more gain to do the common task of soloing up an open mic to see if it is working.

2. Too many nested menu levels. Try to re-name the channel strip without cracking open the PDF manual.... I will wait...... I'm still waiting..... Yeah - I don't really like have to press 4 or 5 navigation keys to do something so basic. Nice however to have the b/g color on the channel strip, makes reaching for a fader more intuitive. 

3. Console has input routing, but it looks like only in groups of 8. At least that is what I glean from the UI and manual. This will make it a little tough to bring in a single channel multiple times like I often to on the M7 or 01v96.

4. Console has 16 mix buss and 8 effects, but only 4 of the effects can have their input coming from a mix bus. the other 4 have to be used as insert effects, patched into an input, or as an insert in a mix bus master, which kind of makes them useable, but it takes a long time to achieve this.

Admittedly, these are petty annoyances. The console does sound very nice. The pre-amps are quiet, the effects (the ones I've tried) are effective, the compressors and gates work well, the EQ sounds natural, but frankly I use very little.  There ARE delays available on all the analog outputs and inputs (one of the reasons I won't use a Presonus desk for live work) The USB recorder works pretty well, but you will need a class 6 or better memory stick. The USB output for multi-track is pretty easy to use.

Is the console a good value? You be the judge. My own preference is toward an 01v96 with additional preamps. If recallable preamps are of value to you, perhaps you should give this desk consideration.
This old analog dog has sipped the KoolAid.  Having recently added one of these to the herd, I'll try to help.

1.  A quick look at the manual would have saved you 10 minutes.
2.  Want to label a channel?  Hold the channel's select button and press the utility button.  Done.
3.  It's true there are groups of eight for input routing, but for what you want to do (assign an input to multiple channels) it's easy to do on a per-channel basis with no annoying "groups of eight" nonsense.
4.  It takes a long time to insert an effect into a mix buss?  You must be a lot slower than I am.

I've found this desk to be intuitive, flexible, and decent sounding.  I'm happy to have it in inventory.  It seems to be fairly solid, but time will tell in that department.
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Thomas Lamb on December 23, 2012, 04:45:14 PM
So...I'm new here and I want to get to know more of you guys on the church forums.
What do you guys think about the Behringer X32? Have any of you operated or handled one?
Definitely a plus with the Midas preamps in my opinion.
If you have one installed at your church auditorium, I'd love some specs on your installation!

Played with it a few times. It's not a bad layout. I can't really say anything to bad Bout it. But we chose to go with GLD it cost a little more money but we felt overall it was more flexible, had a good reputation, and Ilive has several years worth of reputation in the digital market. I have had good experiences with several behringer products ultately though they died too soon! I need someone else to have a few years behind one before I will be willing to spend money on one. I do hope it creates a good rep for behringer.
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Bob L. Wilson on December 23, 2012, 07:22:15 PM
1. Where did they put those headphone jacks>? Oh- in the side handles. That's ten minutes of my life I will never get back. It is nice, however that there are two headphone outputs, especially when teaching how to use the desk. Unfortunately, the headphone amps need more gain to do the common task of soloing up an open mic to see if it is working.

There is an icon and arrow on the surface on each side. This was actually fairly smart as the jacks are both off the PCBs now and mounted to the most resilient part of the console the injection molded side panels. No more will an accidental yank on the headphone jack while reaching for something cause a channel to stop working. (I actually saw this happen on a Roland console one time.)
Title: Behringer X32
Post by: Jared Koopman on December 23, 2012, 09:10:03 PM
I've recently spent quite a few hours on an X32. I met two gentlemen at a local music store who were returning the unit b/c it was "too complicated". I've since trained them on the unit and they are quite happy. The desk has a pretty nice sound but there are a number of petty annoyances I have with the mixer which will keep me a happy Yamaha user for a while:

1. Where did they put those headphone jacks>? Oh- in the side handles. That's ten minutes of my life I will never get back. It is nice, however that there are two headphone outputs, especially when teaching how to use the desk. Unfortunately, the headphone amps need more gain to do the common task of soloing up an open mic to see if it is working.

2. Too many nested menu levels. Try to re-name the channel strip without cracking open the PDF manual.... I will wait...... I'm still waiting..... Yeah - I don't really like have to press 4 or 5 navigation keys to do something so basic. Nice however to have the b/g color on the channel strip, makes reaching for a fader more intuitive. 

3. Console has input routing, but it looks like only in groups of 8. At least that is what I glean from the UI and manual. This will make it a little tough to bring in a single channel multiple times like I often to on the M7 or 01v96.

4. Console has 16 mix buss and 8 effects, but only 4 of the effects can have their input coming from a mix bus. the other 4 have to be used as insert effects, patched into an input, or as an insert in a mix bus master, which kind of makes them useable, but it takes a long time to achieve this.

Admittedly, these are petty annoyances. The console does sound very nice. The pre-amps are quiet, the effects (the ones I've tried) are effective, the compressors and gates work well, the EQ sounds natural, but frankly I use very little.  There ARE delays available on all the analog outputs and inputs (one of the reasons I won't use a Presonus desk for live work) The USB recorder works pretty well, but you will need a class 6 or better memory stick. The USB output for multi-track is pretty easy to use.

Is the console a good value? You be the judge. My own preference is toward an 01v96 with additional preamps. If recallable preamps are of value to you, perhaps you should give this desk consideration.

1. I actually have found the location of the headphone jacks ideal...it's easy to keep the cable out of the way yet still handy when needed.

2.  Again I think that once you learn where stuff is at it is really quite easy to mix on. So what if it take 5 minutes the first time, after that its quick. They moved all the channel scribble strip settings to the setup menu, or you can simply hit the select button + utility or the channel you wish to edit.

3. The only place that the "blocks of 8" really factor in is when using the digital snake and patching to a daw or something. You can patch input 1 to all 16 faders I you want to.

4. Not sure what you mean by take too much time. Simple select that channel you want to an effect bus and hit bus 13-16 up in the channel strip and rotate the knob for the effect you wish to route to. Inserting is also simple. Which part is slowing you down?

With any digital board I think there is a learning curve. It's like buying a new car...all the same controls are there, just in different locations. And you have to learn where they are at. But once you do it's simple enough to navigate.

It's not for everyone but I think overall it's a decent mixer to learn on.
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Thomas Lamb on December 23, 2012, 09:21:19 PM
1. I actually have found the location of the headphone jacks ideal...it's easy to keep the cable out of the way yet still handy when needed.

2.  Again I think that once you learn where stuff is at it is really quite easy to mix on. So what if it take 5 minutes the first time, after that its quick. They moved all the channel scribble strip settings to the setup menu, or you can simply hit the select button + utility or the channel you wish to edit.

3. The only place that the "blocks of 8" really factor in is when using the digital snake and patching to a daw or something. You can patch input 1 to all 16 faders I you want to.

4. Not sure what you mean by take too much time. Simple select that channel you want to an effect bus and hit bus 13-16 up in the channel strip and rotate the knob for the effect you wish to route to. Inserting is also simple. Which part is slowing you down?

With any digital board I think there is a learning curve. It's like buying a new car...all the same controls are there, just in different locations. And you have to learn where they are at. But once you do it's simple enough to navigate.

It's not for everyone but I think overall it's a decent mixer to learn on.


What is the street price.  for a console and 32ch worth of digital snake out if curiosity though?
Title: Re: Behringer X32
Post by: Scott Wagner on December 23, 2012, 09:57:12 PM


What is the street price.  for a console and 32ch worth of digital snake out if curiosity though?
MAP (minimum advertised price) is $2999 for the X32, and $899 for each (of 2 necessary) S16 digital snake.  That gives you 32 channels with 16 returns.  Of course, actual pricing would be a bit lower after some shopping around.