X AIR X18 18 Channel, 12-Bus Digital Mixer for iPad/Android Tablets with 16 Programmable Midas Preamps, Integrated Wifi Module and Multi Channel USB Audio Interface

it's really good and does lots of good things, worked really well. I wrote a full review explaining why it's so good, but Amazon didn't like it and discarded the draft and pictures, so you'll just have to imagine Behringer's excellent channel strips and EQ visualiser, the ease of connecting USB to an Akai MPC and routing signals to sample, while sending mix busses to an audio interface. You already know the X-Air is a multi-channel audio interface in itself, after all. And the way it took over from a huge 24-channel beast in just 3U of space? Sorry, I can't illustrate that. It also makes posting screenshots of the desktop app's easy routing and controls, intuitive channel strip and effects, and scene management rather difficult. In short, this mixer is great if you're using loads of synths and want a clutter-free easy way to mix them and add effects without adding more cables, since there are four effect slots and they're easily as good as most low-cost rack/standalone or VSTs (being VST-type plugins themselves). You'll get it set up and working in less time than I spent writing a really detailed review for Amazon so people could see how great it is. Now you'll just have to take my word for it so I can at least give the thing the five stars it deserves.

Straight out of the box this looks and feels like a well made, rugged bit of kit. It is quite small but its as big as it needs to be, after all, there are no controls to speak of on the mixer itself. Behringer categorise this as a 'digital stagebox mixer' which is a good description. I'll place it on the floor behind the drums I think. After setting it up for the first time I felt the following could have been better; 1. Locating the correct X-Air software was a little confusing with different versions and even 3rd party options available on the Behringer web site. 2. Only 4 XLR inputs is pretty limiting but I was able to change a couple of inputs to 1/4 jack and now, everyone can connect. To balance the negatives I also noticed these positives early on; 1. Built-in power supply requiring only an IEC cable (kettle lead to you and me) is perfect for a stage power connection. 2. The mixer 'remembers' all the settings when you switch it off and the X-Air software can be set to sync with it automatically on connection. I recommend this because we'll be using 4 devices to control it at various times. two phones, one PC and one tablet. X-Air can also be set to send it's configuration to the mixer when it connects if that would be more useful to you. Both of these sync options can be done manually rather than automatically if you prefer. I guess if you've pre-programmed a stage set-up off-line for example. It took me a while to understand and set up the access point but once it was done reconnection was pretty swift. Add a password to the access point and the Wifi client options because both are open by default and you never know, some technically savvy joker might see an opportunity to mess up your mix. I used an ethernet cable to connect to my home windows PC. Editing the settings is easier using the PC than a phone because the software shows more parameters at once but the phone app is pretty impressive too. I also have a windows tablet which, although smaller than the PC screen, is just as comprehensive and fairly easy to use too (it is exactly the same software). I reckon we'll use the tablet mainly on stage to just mix the sound levels rather than fully configure the mixer. There's a terrific feature for saving a setup and re-loading it is called 'Snapshot' (rather confusingly I felt). If you're using the mixer for multiple events or multiple bands you can can save the setups for all of them (up to 64). The data is saved on the mixer itself so, when you connect to it with a different device you can see new saves right away. One thing to note is that, if you are making changes off-line the Snapshot feature won't be available because it can't save to the mixer if it is not connected. All you have to do is have the mixer on your desk and connect to it. If you really have to do this on the train though you can always sync the PC to the mixer when you do eventually connect rather than the other way around. This is why you might not want to use the auto-sync feature though because, if the device automatically syncs from the mixer on connection, all your work on the train will have been overwritten. The control software is pretty intuitive although some parts are really confusing. Like, why is it that the USB play and record controls are present on the Android version but not on my Win PC version? They're both attached to the same mixer! And what are all those little boxes with 'On' written in them above each track? The user manual doesn't seem to cover them and no tool tip comes up when you hover over them? For goodness sake give me a clue because one of them is engaged and I've no idea why. There are two 'Hi-Z' 1/4" jack inputs (Ch 11 & 12). I used these for my guitar processor stereo outs but I found there was so much noise I had to switch to using inputs 7 & 8 which are not Hi-Z. Maybe I had something set wrong. I'll have to try this again sometime. I like that you can EQ the monitor mixes. That makes my Behringer Eurolive B205D sound much nicer. I was able to take out all the harshness from it. I also like all the effects from which you can select four to use in a kind of pseudo rack. You can access these via send or Insert. I was able to set a nice reverb for the vocals, a separate one for the drums and create a slight doubling effect for my own, weak voice using a pitch shifter. And I still have one slot left. I'm very impressed with this mixer and I can't wait to use it at an actual gig. I do worry about losing connection but I guess that's only because I'm new to digital mixers. Update: I struggled to connect via WiFi Client until a user's video told me I had to set it up from an ethernet connection first THEN switch to WiFi Client. This is mentioned in the user guide but I feel it is not clear. Also, the X-Air software on my Windows PC crashed out while I was dragging the 'Low Cut' to a lower frequency in channel 1's PEQ. This only happened once and nothing was lost after reconnecting. Not something I'd like to experience at a gig. I bought a couple of XLR to TRS adaptors to help overcome the limited number of XLR inputs. These are working perfectly but they do stick out a bit.

Used one of these for a couple of years at a venue and got on ok with it so decided I'd like one myself. The only reason this is four stars instead of five is the firmware that came with it would drop Wi-Fi connection in seconds, repeatedly. Props for letting me update using a Linux machine (thanks Behringer) but when the Wi-Fi is so bad as to be unusable out of the box, maybe update the firmware before they get sent out. After the update is was rock solid and didn't disconnect for literally twelve hours on a test. On board effects are great, recording is great, all good.

Spent a lot of time researching which WiFi type mixer to use. Eventually landed on this one for a number of reasons. At church we use a Mackie 1608 and this has been outstanding, so I nearly went for one of those. I also looked closely at the Soundcraft UI16 too. So what set the XR18 out ahead of the pack? Well, many things! First, the size of the XR18 is excellent and very compact, unlike say the X18 or the Mackie 1608. Second, the pre-amps are excellent and definitely clearer than even the Mackie, in my view at least. Third, unlike the badly titled Soundcraft UI16 which only really gives you 12 'proper' channels, the XR18 gives 16 XLR channels and a couple of jack inputs, making it truly have 18 channels. Fourth, the XR18 has software across various devices, including Mac, PC, Android and iOS. OK so I believe only a third party app is available for iPhone (forgive me if I'm wrong there) but this is very cheap off the App Store. But the ability to use various devices and operating systems to control the XR18 sets it well above the Mackie, which can only (currently, as of this review) be controlled by iPad. The Soundcraft has an html5 interface which means can be controlled by anything with a browser and is therefore consistent across devices - unlike the XR18. The Behringer software across devices is different - I've used on Mac, iPad and Android and they all have various quirks. But as we live stream, the Behringer into a Mac works very well (albeit via USB return from the device). Be aware that the XR18 software does has a learning curve and the one downside that I have found (compared to the Mackie) is that the X Air software does not have such a clear GUI as Mackie's Master Fader 4, which is very easy to navigate. However, the X Air software gives you more and the reverbs are significantly better on the X Air compared to Master Fader, as one example. The X Air has more depth and options and its inconsistency across devices can lead to some head scratching at times. But I highly recommend Behringer's online videos and other user videos. Build quality on the XR18 is bomber (as it is on the Mackie). The Soundcraft has had huge issues with noise and other problems. I'm sure this will be sorted in time but as of now, the XR18 has a very clear edge. I actually chose to buy an Airport Express instead of using the XR18 built-in WiFi, but that was about being able to use the 5GHz range (less crowded than the 2.4GHz range) and so I could use AirPlay from an iPad. The setup was confusing (I used a forum tutorial on Behringer's website) but it worked. Have also used the Behringer's in-built WiFi no problems as well. All in all an outstanding system. Behringer makes some dodgy products IMO (for example their DI boxes!) but this is outstanding.

Whilst looking for a new traditional style mixer I stumbled across the digital mixers. After much research, I went for the X16 in the middle of the range. The usual super fast delivery from Amazon. Wow, this is a game changer for live performances. I have been using mine for solo, duo and in a 5 piece band. It has support for Apple phones, Android phones, Windows PCs, Apple Macs AND Linux. This is a HUGE selling point being able to run this from such a range (especially the latter few). I know how quickly apple stop supporting apps (my iPad one is as good as obsolete and the iPad two being close to that...). So in terms of longevity, this seems well supported. The system is easy to use for the technically minded, is feature rich, has fantastic effects for the price and a great user interface on all systems. The inbuilt router is great for smaller events, but Id advise carrying an ethernet cable for larger events where interference may be a problem (this is a single band 2.5ghz router sharing frequencies with other wifi systems etc). Also, don't forget to put a password on the open-by-default network. Lots of options for setup and routing, 4 inline effects in addition to the noise gate, compressor and EQ on each channel. The 18 channel version of this (X18) acts as an 18 ch sound card for a full 18 channels of inputs and outputs to a DAW such as logic. The 12 and 16 ch version does not have this facility. It does, however, have the ability to record a two-channel stereo mixdown as a WAV to a USB card which is perfect for recording gigs. The X12/16 both have the ability to play back pre-recorded music from USB. Perfect for filling time during breaks/in between sets. Please be aware there is no facility to playback MP3s and audio needs to be converted to .WAV in order to use this facility. This can easily be achieved by downloading the free opensource software Audacity. An alternative would be to buy a small Bluetooth receiver and stream music directly from your phone/tablet. For the price, I love this X16. It has transformed live sound for me with each band member having the ability to control their own monitor mix and for the ability to move around the venue whilst mixing from a tablet/phone.

This was ready to use straight from the box. I downloaded the X Air app, connected it up and I was away. There's obviously more to it than that, but as a start up to see how it worked, within 5 minutes of taking it out the box I had a microphone connected and was able to play with the settings. I've used it at band practice, and if you've ever used a mixer before, there's no real difference in operation, but everything is so much more convenient. I like the fact that the rest of the band have access to it on their devices and can tailor they're own monitor mixes to shit themselves, that alone is worth the entrance fee. I also bought a modem to boost the WiFi signal, not that I've needed to so far, but a few videos I've watched recommend doing that. All in all, I wish I'd bought it a couple of years ago, it does so much more than I thought, it's certainly more versatile than I thought.

This product on the surface looked like it did everything that was needed however when running live setups it will constantly disconnect causing issues for live engineers. This isn’t the worst part though… on disconnection we lost all eq on vocal mics on stage causing the whole system to feedback on the low end nearly costing us a fortune as the limiters just got pushed through luckily we had a failover on our dsp but this could have been an incredibly big loss for us. Definitely not using again for any live application as the risk seems too high. go for an x32 or cq, don’t risk your equipment…

What can I say, this has been one of the best purchases I have made in a long time. I use it at live gigs connected to 2 x Bose L1's , I have a Bose T1 Tonematch mixer, but because it's mono I needed to get a versatile mixer to use in stereo, at first I was worried that it wouldn't sound as good as my T1, but let me tell you, it's brilliant, very versatile, great effects and easy to hook up, I won't bother going over in detail about the features as you could find loads of stuff on the web, what I can say is that I have used this mixer live at gigs and it has not given me a moment of trouble. This is a great sounding board and the fact that you can use it with almost any device makes it very user friendly indeed, the build seems solid and robust, It's compact and tidy. To summarise, it's a totally professional high quality product, I love it.