For example, aux bus sends can be accessed on a channel by channel basis (using the rotary encoders in the channel strip) or by using eight sends at a time on the centre bank of faders (by selecting a channel and pressing 'sends on fader'). We love that it has several ways of doing things - without too much of a sweat we can do two things, or have two engineers using it at once. Not so with the X32 - just choose what is safe from recall, and off you go. Most digi desks only allow global USB stick recall of desk setup, so if your output configuration changes between different shows, then it can become tricky. The Scene saving/recall feature is brilliant, far better than much more expensive competitors. Jumping between mix snapshots is quick and smooth, and could be used for dropping into crazy effect scenes just for certain sections of a song and back out again. As the X32 has now replaced the audio engine of my DAW, I wanted to automate from the DAW to the X32, but can't yet. However, we were disappointed that the automation control only works from the X32 to your DAW, fitting the Mackie HUI protocol. The layout is brilliantly thought out and the workflow is very intuitive. These ports can be expanded with the AES-50 multi-core in/out and Ultranet personal mixers, and Behringer are looking into option cards such as Dante and MADI. The X32 has a stack of input and output connections - we found the only things missing are some digital ins and a word clock. "The X32 has a stack of input and output connections - we found the only things missing are some digital ins and a word clock" While the faders may feel a little cheap, they still come out on top, when compared to other manufacturers' budget offerings.
#Behringer x32 rack software
We were a little annoyed that there is no way of using a USB keyboard (yet) to name channels, though the PC and iPad remote software does allow this. Labelling directly isn't fast, although there are presets with images available. We ended up labelling channels by colour alone, it's quicker to identify.
#Behringer x32 rack plus
For us the biggest plus is the colour-changing scribble scripts, although some of the colours made the text hard to read.
It takes a respectable 16 seconds to boot up, or only 11 seconds with a good USB key connected, and powered up it looks and feels very solid and quite expensive. "For us the biggest plus is the colour-changing scribble scripts" It even comes with a fabric cover, which is great for keeping the surface clean and free from debris. It weighs a reasonable 20kg, making it smaller and lighter than most analogue 32 channel mixers. The X32 comes in a huge cardboard box, but, once out of its substantial packaging it's actually nicely sized.