Behringer X32

[Dogoth]

Got to see one in action. The fellow running it (it was used as a monitor board) I know pretty well and he gave me a brief tutorial. Operationaly I have to admit it looks like a pretty user friendly board. It has a TON of cool features.

I never thought I'd be giving a "B" product a good review and I'm still not. In about 5 years we'll see if they are truly a roadworthy piece of gear. Behringer has developed such a bad rep amongst audio folks "in the know" that even if this IS one of their few decent products, I think it will be years before it ever (if ever) becomes acccepted as an industry standard.

[dcastar]

 

As with all things "B".... it has come with significant issues.    Check the soundforums . net board.... they already have a thread going of  "Things to check when you unbox your x32".

 

Even one reader who had to return units 3 or 4 times before he got one that actually fully-worked.

[Vinny D]

It seems like the board doesn't like being lifted or leaned on in the center/front...a few cases of issues with doing that!

 

IMO...it's still a typical *B* product with a bigger price tag.

It is funny reading posts by others (on other forums) showing the all of a sudden *B* love, yet they are making all the same claims in their reasoning of why they purchased said product..just as the people they used to bash for buying there low cost items...

 

While I will admit their new product lineup in that series looks interesting, I will never be purchasing any of it.

 

Who know's, maybe *B* will prove me wrong.....(just so you know I am laughing while I typed this).

[LittleWiggler]

I have 2 X32's, 2 of the S16 snakes (just arrived), and 4 of the P16Ms.  The X32's have done 22 shows without issue (transported in a trailer in ATA roadcases).  No issues with the boards. I actually bought 2 - one for FOH and the other for snake/monitor duty.  Now that the S16's are here and the iPad/iPhone apps have been updated, I may not need the second X32.

Where the X32 stands out is in the club/bar shows.  The last show we did was a pretty good sized club.  Single Cat 5 from the stage to FOH @ 140 feet away and a single outlet needed for the X32 (we could have used paper clips to suspend the cable if needed ).  Very compact and quick setup / strike.  Club owners loved it - they were able to keep another set of tables they usually need to pull for the FOH footprint of most bands.

I need at least 12 outputs from the board.  (4 stereo mixes for in-ears, 4 output channels for mains/fills).  The X32 does it, and sounds good as well.  We have actually had it in clubs with big analog boards where their in-house guy has preferred it to their big analog desks (the fact that channels levels were pretty much set up and monitors were dialed in pre-show probably helped).

I had a Presonus 1642, but sold it.  I still have a 01V96V2 for smaller stages/shows. I have no FOH rack equipment any more - just the X32.

Up until now I have been anti-Behringer.  I did not have any Behringer equipment any where in my setup.  I took a X32 out as a demo for a show at the recommendation of some folks I work with and was immediately sold.  The 3 year warranty, Las Vegas service center, and their apparent commitment to service made the choice a little less stressful.

For now, I am happy.  If I can get 3-4 years out of the board I feel it will be a worthwhile purchase.

[agedhorse]

getting 3-4 years out of a console isn't much of an expectation eh?

[StratGuy22]

Nope. No blue buttons, no nothing on mobile.

 

 

Which sucks. Because I don't use a computer except when doing sound.

 

No quote it img tags for me I guess.

[StratGuy22]

No quote or image tags.

[Art Flood]

 

---

LittleWiggler wrote:

 

 

 

I

 

had

 

a

 

Presonus

 

1642

, 

but

 

sold

 

it

.  

I still have a 01V96V2 for smaller stages/shows. I have no FOH rack equipment any more - just the X32.

 

 

---

 

 

My ears pricked up on this one as I am thinking of upgrading to a Presonus 1642. What's the main reason you opted for the X32 over the 1642? Was it just the number of channels or something else?

 

Cheers

[Mogwix]

if you're not moving forward, you get left behind. this applies to all of us in varying degrees. I got to toy with the x32 the other day, but the real test will be using it in real life. I doubt I'll get that chance but I'm keeping my options open.

 

does it sit at the same price point as the studiolive? the SL is a fine board at it's price point, but I'm not quite happy with it. I use a 16.4.2 and 24 almost daily, and I'm impressed with the sound and plug-and-play setup, but it really leaves a lot to be desired for my applications. I've been using an sc48 a lot lately, I really miss the flying faders, dca's and digital snake when I get back to the SL.

 

I realize it's silly to compare the SL to a console that costs ten times as much, but if the x32 can provide these features at a comparable price point and do it reliably... this might be a real contender.

 

IIRC this is the first new product since behringer bought midas and retooled their facilities and QC. after the initial run it'll be interesting to see where they go.

[Joe Sanborn]

 

Hi Guys,

If I can answer any question you may have in regards to the X32 series consoles, S16 Stagebox, P16 Personal Monitoring System, or any BEHRINGER product, please don't hesitate to ask.

We have had a tremendous first 6 months with the X32, having sold over 25,000 consoles making the X32 the number one selling digital console in the world.  At NAMM last month, we also announced 4 new X32 models, the X32 Compact, X32 Producer, X32 Rack and X32 Core.

I look forward to being of service to you and answering any questions you may have.

Best regards,

Joe Sanborn

Manager, Channel Marketing

MUSIC Group

BEHRINGER

 

[wesg]

Hi, Joe;

 

Can you comment on the details of the X32 warranty? Are the parts like the screen and faders eligible for that one-to-three year upgrade you guys have offered on other products?

 

For anybody wondering how long these will last, you should think about how you want to control it...if you're wanting the iPad feature, I would actually be kinda surprised if you had a working iPad to control it 10 or 12 years from now...

[RoadRanger]

---

Joe Sanborn wrote:

Hi Guys,

If I can answer any question you may have in regards to the X32 series consoles, S16 Stagebox, P16 Personal Monitoring System, or any BEHRINGER product, please don't hesitate to ask.

---

Hey, a couple questions. Which will be less expensive - the 3U rack unit or the 1U rack unit with an S16? MAP's on those? I would have preferred a rack mount unit with no controls at all and 24 in, 16 out but you can't hit eveyone's sweet spot .

On another product - what does an NU3000 do if you switch it to bridged mode with the crossover engaged? Unfortunately yous guys don't publish a block diagram for it . 

[StratGuy22]

 

The quote above is priceless...I remember the "good old days" when I was still in Winnipeg and L&M was still on Corydon...anytime I wanted to test something Phil or Glenn had no problem dragging it all out to the rear parking lot and letting it fly, or in winter months in the back room....now when I go into a store anywhere it seems as though they want you to buy based on what the specs say and low volume tests only....the one exception is Axe, they still get that you need to hear the gear the way you will be using it to decided if it works for you or not

----------------------------------------

 

When I was looking for a PA way back, I asked around here and there. They gave me a list of things to try out. So off I went to Axe Music in Edmonton.

 

"Hi, I want to hear this this and this"

 

"No problem"

 

They hooked it up, and turned it up as loud as it would go. Being in bands for the last 20 years I know gig volume and I knew it wasn't going to be enough.

 

So I said how much, they said $2800. I said its not loud enough, what's the next step up? Add subs he said. So he added some subs and cranked it up. It was a country song. It was better than before but still not enough.

 

I said "this isn't my kids band, but this is the style they play" and I handed him an Avenged Sevenfold CD. He put it in and said "at gig volume that would rip this setup to shreds"

 

Ok the wife and I have to think about things so we might be back later. We went for supper and decided if we were going to do this, we might as well do it right.

 

We went to L&M, we handed the PA guy the A7X cd and said "our kid plays this, we want to do shows for about 200 people. What do you have?

 

He listened, smiled and said "have I got the set up for you" the then plugged in a pair of Unity15's over a pair of LS800p's and let it rip.

 

Gig volume, the wife and I looked at each other and said "holy {censored}" the PA guy turned it down, and said "these bad boys aren't even breaking a sweat"

 

So that's what we went with for our FOH, and haven't regretted it for a moment. Those subs rarely hit the limiters, like I can't remember the date of the last time. So not like 2 weeks ago or anything. I don't think I've ever clipped them.

 

But being able to open them up and HEAR them definitely let us know what we were getting into.