Which one: Behringer XR16, Mackie DL16 or Soundcraft Ui16?

[Shaster]

Thinking of getting a small digital mixer to augment and/or replace my aging analogue stuff that I use in my seven piece band. Been using a very small digital Mackie mixer for my solo stuff, and I also do a solo gig with a venue supplied Behringer X32R - yes it's used for a solo gig! Anyway, I'm kind of familiar with the Mackie and Behringer formats, but the X32 has died twice, maybe three times in the last year, so I'm wondering about the whole Behringer line. The Mackie might be nice but it's more expensive than the Soundcraft Ui 16 although that's not a major issue. Just wondering if folks have thoughts, preferences on the three choices - or if there are some other stage box mixers I should check out. Thanks.

[Dookietwo]

When your on your search be sure to look at the Apps available for the unit. Cross compatible Apple, Android, etc. I use MixStation Pro with my M32R and its great. Does the XR16 have close to the same app? I've heard nothing but good about the X32R and am surprised that club is having that many problems. The X32R is getting lower in price and I've seen it under $900 in places. I also heard the Soundcraft Ui16 has a new update in its OS systems. I don't know the details but being able to daisy chain 2 units I believe is one of the features. I friend of mine who runs Downeast Sound has one and he really likes it. You could contact him if you have any questions.

 

https://www.facebook.com/downeastsoundco/?eid=ARCEiNkuPo8ctK92Cz3TZq-VbGY5UhG5ZK8WyYxurCe0c2uHR5esq6EY_7mhAchACD2Q7IVtyyjzxTrB&timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=812845129&fref=tag

 

Let us know how your search goes.

 

Doug

[Shaster]

When your on your search be sure to look at the Apps available for the unit. Cross compatible Apple, Android, etc. I use MixStation Pro with my M32R and its great. Does the XR16 have close to the same app? I've heard nothing but good about the X32R and am surprised that club is having that many problems. The X32R is getting lower in price and I've seen it under $900 in places. I also heard the Soundcraft Ui16 has a new update in its OS systems. I don't know the details but being able to daisy chain 2 units I believe is one of the features. I friend of mine who runs Downeast Sound has one and he really likes it. You could contact him if you have any questions.

 

https://www.facebook.com/downeastsou...45129&fref=tag

 

Let us know how your search goes.

 

Doug

 

Thanks for the info. AFAIK the Soundcraft uses a web browser to operate; apparently any web browser. I reckon all of the three units I mentioned would need a more powerful router, if you wanted to mix from a significant distance Although, I can get forty or fifty feet away with the iPod for the house venue X32R and it's not a problem - no external router.

 

Don't know why the venue in question is having problems with the Behringer X32R, but I've heard the Midas versions are better, even if they're ostensibly the same animal.

 

I'll keep working on this, and see where I get.

[RiddimRider]

 

Thanks for the info. AFAIK the Soundcraft uses a web browser to operate; apparently any web browser. I reckon all of the three units I mentioned would need a more powerful router, if you wanted to mix from a significant distance Although, I can get forty or fifty feet away with the iPod for the house venue X32R and it's not a problem - no external router.

 

Don't know why the venue in question is having problems with the Behringer X32R, but I've heard the Midas versions are better, even if they're ostensibly the same animal.

 

I'll keep working on this, and see where I get.

 

Yep, I have the Soundcraft UI16 and love it. The only real drawback is the recording capabilities and a max of 5 aux outs. You don't need an expensive router, any ol' router will do. Just make sure you turn off the internal wifi. Go browser to router, router to UI16 using Cat5/6, There is a Facebook group for all of the mixers, everything you would need to know. By the way they all suffer from disconnects when using the internal wifi.

[Kalina2]

Hello! I cast my vote for Midas MR18

[Shaster]

Thanks for the responses guys. I decided against the Mackie because they seem to be chasing their tail product wise (IMO) and I didn't like the look of their app. I would have been very interested in the Soundcraft but my preferred stores in my area were sold out - about eight of them. So I'm dipping my toes in the water with the XR16 (I've got gigs coming up soon so needed something quickly). I like the after market Android app, and if I like the unit I'll get an XR18 (or the Midas) and perhaps keep the XR16 and use it as back-up. Because I do a bunch of solo and duo gigs on the XR32 it made sense to stay with Behringer and their apps, although I really did like the looks of the Soundcraft.

[bigjd]

I've got both the ui16 and the 24.

After trying the Xr18 I like the soundcraft better.

easier, cleaner to my ears.

[OneEng]

Hi Shaster,

 

I have an X32 myself and as others have stated, have never had a single issue either at practice or at a gig since 2013 (I got one of the first ones off the boat).

 

Having said that, if I were to purchase something today, I would likely go with the Ui24. The xr16 you have is a nice little mixer for the money. The X32 has more flexibility for advanced usage, but I would go for the Ui24.

 

Please note that the lower Ui’s are not as good and have some serious noise issues IMHO

[Shaster]

In fairness to the X32 line, the problem mixer I mentioned, is AFAIK used everyday, and often by people that don't know what they're doing. For example, they have house mics, cables, stands and so on. One day I came in and they had moved the mic stands, and a staff member came up to me and said, "do you need the black thing?". These are often the people messing with the mixer, so who knows what goes wrong and why...

 

Anyway, I'll stay with the Behringer stuff for now. The XR18 price just dropped over $200 in Canada so I've got one on order and will return my XR16.

 

The Soundcraft stuff does still look very nice and maybe I'll jump in if I'm happy with the whole digital thing. got a seven piece band gig this weekend so we'll see how it goes.

 

 

[OneEng]

 

The XR18 is a fine mixer. My bass player has one we use as a backup and we have used it many times for practice.

 

I would suggest an external WiFi router. Anything with 5Ghz would be just fine IMO. I would recommend this for any of the mixers mentioned (and the X32 Rack simply doesn't have an internal router so you really can't mix remotely without it on this mixer).

 

So how did the gig go?

[Shaster]

The XR18 is a fine mixer. My bass player has one we use as a backup and we have used it many times for practice.

 

I would suggest an external WiFi router. Anything with 5Ghz would be just fine IMO. I would recommend this for any of the mixers mentioned (and the X32 Rack simply doesn't have an internal router so you really can't mix remotely without it on this mixer).

 

So how did the gig go?

 

Funny you should ask...

 

The first gig in question is a small room. Holds Maybe 125 to 150 people. PA is behind the band (on stage) as is the double 18" sub. It's a horror show for many, but I'm used to adverse conditions, so even with just a MixWiz I've been able to get sound good enough to please the very picky guys in the band. I set up the XR16, get things dialed in pretty quickly - sounds good, although I kind of prefer the A&H, but then again, I've lived with that board and similar ones for a long time. Everything is great during sound check. I mute the channels, and come back at 8:30 to get things fired up. No connection. I tried several times, finally got connected and quickly unmute the channels - and that was it. No further connection for the night. Luckily I knew the room very well and had a pretty nice sound during the sound check. BTW, one of the things I do is set the PA louder than we might want it, then I turn it down if needs be. Thankfully, the mixer was set at my "louder than we might need" volume, and it was just right for the now full room. Of course, full was what caused the WiFi to stop working.

 

Even with an external router, I don't know if I'll mute anything on a digital mixer. I might look to a physical way of killing the sound - it's just too risky otherwise. I think I'll bring my small A&H mixer as well, so I can at least get 6 channels of vocals, kick and horns in a pinch. Never felt so helpless. I had heard all the horror stories, but now I can join the club Router is the next stop for sure. I worked with one tech that had a router that looked like the CN Tower, but I don't want to go to overboard.

 

[OneEng]

You absolutely need an external router. Really, you can get a decent one for around $60.00. It will make all the difference in the world.

 

The XR18 not only has more channels than the 16, but also has the ability to record multi-track. For me, that would be more than sufficient to pay the little extra for the XR18.

 

Good luck!

[abzurd]

Yes, absolutely get a router. Also, a hard wired connection as a fail safe is a good idea. For around $20 you can get an Ethernet to micro-USB adapter that will let you hard wire an android tablet or Ethernet to lightning for an iPad.

 

FWIW, I used to use an XR18 then moved to the Soundcraft Ui24r and kept the XR18 as a backup. The Soundcraft is worth the price as it does more, sounds better, IMO, and the built in router is usable, though still not great. I never had issues with it when set at 5G and running sound from stage, but I did have my ethernet adapter ready just in case.

[Shaster]

Yes, absolutely get a router. Also, a hard wired connection as a fail safe is a good idea. For around $20 you can get an Ethernet to micro-USB adapter that will let you hard wire an android tablet or Ethernet to lightning for an iPad.

 

FWIW, I used to use an XR18 then moved to the Soundcraft Ui24r and kept the XR18 as a backup. The Soundcraft is worth the price as it does more, sounds better, IMO, and the built in router is usable, though still not great. I never had issues with it when set at 5G and running sound from stage, but I did have my ethernet adapter ready just in case.

 

Thanks for the info and gear assessments. I was going to use a laptop for a hard wired connection, but I like the tablet adapter idea much better.

 

 

[OneEng]

The Ui24 is a better mixer for sure; however, it is right smart close to 2 times as expensive. Depending on your use case, it may well be worth double (many more inputs, better sound). Usually, the Ui24 is compared to Behringer's X32 Rack as a more fair comparison. Between those two it is a matter of features (which the X32 wins in) vs sound quality (which the Ui24 wins in).

 

Note, the XR18 (as you know by now) doesn't sound "bad". It just doesn't quite have the .... I don't know .... smoothness of the Ui24 Folks that have used both universally say that it is just easier to get a good sounding mix out of the Ui24.

 

FWIW, I think that having a hard wired option is a great backup; however, I doubt you will ever need it if you get a good 5Ghz router. The XR18 connection is pretty solid with a good router.

[Hugh1981]

Excellent choice! Mackie is great. [h=2][/h]

[Mikeydude1964]

Soundcrafts sound better behringers have more features.....both are fine

[Tom R]

I have a Behringer XR 18. At the last two shows it has been muting channels randomly during the set. Behringer customer service is the absolute worst in the industry. Started looking at the Soundcraft Ui24 today. I'm sold on it.