Behringer 2442FX 24-Input 4/2 Bus Mixer with Effects and USB Review

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(More customer reviews)With the previous UB series mixers, Behringer began to shed its reputation as a maker of throwaway gear for DJs and touring bands who don't have money to burn. The UB series turned out to be solidly built mixers that delivered a lot of bang for the buck and were darn near impossible to destroy. The XENYX series completes the transformation. No longer snubbed by serious musicians as a bargain-basement brand, Behringer is now a genuine contender. I wouldn't be surprised if other gear makers are taking these things apart to see what makes 'em tick.
At the top of the XENYX line is the 2442FX with 12 fader channels. The first 8 are mono mic or line inputs, followed by a pair of mono mic or stereo line inputs, shades of the Eurodesk series. Another pair of stereo line inputs rounds things out.
The mic pre-amps are dead-room quiet, delivering vocals with a natural presence. The line inputs are just as impressive, imbuing my wife's Martin guitar and Dean Markley ProMag Gold pickup with a warmth and range I hadn't heard before.
Additional inputs include mono and stereo insert points as well as sends and returns for modifying the sound with external processors, none of which we'll ever use at church but nice to have nonetheless. You can mix the sound down to 4 subgroups before sending everything to the main mix. The uses for the subgroup faders and routing switches are limited only by your imagination.
And then there's that built-in effects processor. Our church is a steel-frame building that acoustically doesn't cut it, so we add in some hall reverb (setting 8), giving the music those ethereal few seconds of hanging in the air. With the effects routed to subgroups 3/4, I can press a single button to turn the reverb on and off at will. For spoken readings during a hymn, the reverb can be potted down on individual channels. The subgroup buttons also function as standby switches, muting all the mics and instruments between hymns.
As if all that wasn't enough, Behringer includes a USB interface box so you can lay down tracks directly on your Mac or PC. Suddenly, you're not just a musician. You're a record producer as well.
So much performance for the price. It's almost sinful.

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Premium Low-Noise, High Headroom Analog Mixer
Professional from input to output, the XENYX 2442FX console features 24 inputs, four Aux Sends per channel and four subgroups for supreme routing flexibility. With its onboard 24-Bit Multi-FX Processor, highly-musical "British-style" EQ and built-in USB connectivity, you simply will not find a better mixer in this class than the Behringer XENYX 2442FX.

Superior Mic Preamps The BEHRINGER XENYX 2442FX represents a significant milestone in the development of mixer technology. Equipped with our premium XENYX mic preamps, it can easily hold its own against the most expensive stand-alone mic pres, both in terms of sound quality and available headroom. XENYX preamps offer a staggering 130 dB of dynamic range, with a bandwidth that extends from below 10 Hz to well above 200 kHz.
These preamps provide such transparent, crystal-clear performance you just might think someone upgraded your mics. And thanks to available onboard phantom power, you can deploy studio-quality condenser mics--pretty cool for drum overheads and tracking vocals in the studio.

Sublimely Musical "British" EQ The British consoles of the 1960s and '70s changed the sound of rock and roll--without them the "British Invasion" might not have happened. Those legendary mixing desks soon became the envy of engineers and producers all over the world. The EQ on our new XENYX Series mixers is based on that very same circuitry, allowing you to imbue signals with incredible warmth and detailed musical character. Even when pushed to extreme settings these equalizers exhibit superb audio quality.
All channel strips on the 2442FX feature HIGH and LOW filters of the shelving variety, with cut-off frequencies of 12 kHz and 80 Hz respectively. Mono channel midrange EQ is handled by a semi-parametric filter with a Q of one octave, tunable from 100 Hz to 8 kHz--simply dial up the FREQ and the amount you wish to cut or boost. Due to the nature of their typically complex signal content, Behringer opted to give the stereo channels additional HIGH- and LOW-MID controls, so you can fine-tune the critical midrange zone.
Built-in Effects Processor Outboard digital effects are expensive and typically come with huge manuals that no one reads. You won't need outboard effects with the XENYX 2442FX because Behringer has included 100 of the best sounding, easiest-to-use 24-bit digital effects on the market. Just choose the effect you want, from a small hall to a robust stadium reverb, or anything in-between. There are even combination effects for layering delays and reverbs, choruses and reverbs, or phasing and chorusing, just to name a few. And since your hands are probably busy either playing or mixing, Behringer incorporated the convenience of on/off footswitch control.
Flexible Routing Made Easy Behringer anticipated all of your signal routing needs on the XENYX 2442FX, including four AUX Sends & Returns, so you can create multiple monitor mixes, with or without effects, and Stereo AUX Returns for use with external stereo processing gear. You can also use the AUX Sends in conjunction with our POWERPLAY PRO headphone distribution amps to create multiple independent headphone mixes.
Need to track up to four separate signals in a single pass? Connect the 2442FX's Sub Outs to your recorder and start tracking. How about recording eight tracks in a single pass? Just use the direct outputs of channels 1-8 without giving up your insert paths. Behringer even included insert points for the Main Mix Out, providing the best option for incorporating graphic EQs or dynamics processors into the final mix.
USB Ready While many mixers require a separate card to connect to your computer, Behringer has included superb USB connectivity with each and every XENYX 2442FX. No drivers to download, no complicated setup routines, just plug the included UCA200 2-input/2-output USB/Audio Interface into your Windows or Mac computer and start tracking!
Free Software Of course, to take full advantage of the 2442FX's USB capabilities, you'll need software. And Behringer has an incredible software package for you, indeed. If you're new to audio recording, the latest versions of Kristal Audio Engine and Audacity are available free of charge--just click the free software link on this page for your downloads. It's FREE and always fresh!
energyXT2 Compact BEHRINGER Edition Included If you're ready to take your projects to an even higher level, XT Software's energyXT2 is just the trick. This amazing DAW (digital audio workstation) makes it easy to manipulate your audio and MIDI files, turning song ideas into stunning CD or web-ready recordings. energyXT2 includes built-in synthesizers, which can be accessed directly via an external controller or programmed by step-write mode. There's even a built-in drum machine and internal multi-FX processor.
What's in the Box Behringer 2442FX 24-Input 4/2 Bus Mixer with Effects and USB, Power Supply, Rackmount Brackets, User's Manual

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