Behringer X Air X18 Tablet-Controlled Digital Mixer

I just finished my first testing session with this mixer and so far so good... really good!I was quite hesitant about this mixer in general because I couldn't seem to find that many reviews. And the reviews I did find were not really all that helpful.Let me explain a few things real quick. I am completely new when it comes to setting up and using any audio equipment such as mixers, PA, speakers, whatever. I do, however, consider myself quite knowledgeable (perhaps even an expert) in the field of electronics in general: computers, tablets, phones, tvs... you name it.I'll start with explaining my set up. I have 2 15inch mains, 18inch sub, 4 wireless mics, 2 synths (piano), and 2 wired mics. This set up is to be used for my indoor marching band called Project Arts. As suggested we perform indoors in high school gymnasiums.What I have done so far is hook everything up to the mixer and it is working flawlessly. The main concern I am sure many people will have is the wireless connectivity. But let me assure you that for me it has been working great. I have it set up to an Ipad Air and a Sony Vaio Duo 11 (ultrabook). It doesnt say this anywhere so I only assumed, but it does connect to multiple control panels such as the ipad and sony vaio at the same time. Connected to 2 devices: when you adjust levels on one device it mirrors on the other device in real time. For my purposes one performer will have the Sony Vaio next to him to control levels from the floor and I will have the Ipad from the stands (audience level) to make adjustments as needed during performances. I have only tested the distance connectivity to about 100 feet and no problems so far. I will be using an external router as well for performances to help make sure connection stays strong.About the appYou control the mixer using the app for your device. So either the android app, the desktop app, or the IOS Apple app.Again, I am new to PA systems and what not, but I have found it pretty user friendly and self explanatory. I imagine if you already know how to use a regular mixer then using this app as the mixer should be easy. I will say that the app on the Sony Vaio is much more user friendly than the ipad one is. They both look pretty similar but I guess the app is just set up more accessible on the Sony Vaio for whatever reason. My Sony Vaio Ultrabook is really just a fancy laptop so I guess the app is considered the desktop version of the app, and I am not sure if the android version is the same. But the Apple version of the app is definitely different than the desktop version and I like the desktop version better. I couldnt tell you if the app seems out of date or not. I noticed a considerable amount of complaints about the app being out of date and I just dont know what those people are looking for the app to do. Its doing everything I need it to do so yea... Overall, I mention again that if you have any kind of knowledge with the lingo of a mixer then it should be pretty manageable for you to use this app. I was able to jump right in with no problems. And the convenience of this all being wireless is really awesome and exactly what I needed for my group. If you are absolutely NOT tech savvy I guess I could see how this could be "hard" to use.. but if you have common sense and know anything about mixers then using this app should be no problem at all. Sure in the future I may have some questions how to do some more advanced features but its nothing I cant look up on Youtube.Effects:I have 4 wireless mics hooked up to the mixer. These mics are used by my woodwinds: Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax. I applied different effects to each mic and it really sounds wonderful. I thought applying each effect to the different ports was simple and self explanatory. There is a wide variety of effects to use and adjust and I am really happy with how it has turned out so far. I was able to save my set up for everything and turn it back on ready to go.Sound qualityTo me everything sounds crystal clear. Overall sound quality seems to be in line with many other set ups from other bands I have heard. I imagine your exact speakers will play a larger role in the quality of sound you get.The only CON I have for this device is I had to order it twice. The first one I ordered was from the Amazon trusted website/warehouse or whatever, but it was used and in "like new condition". It arrived speedy, but the wireless function and Ethernet function did not work. Basically I couldnt adjust any levels because it would not connect to any device (ipad/laptop). My devices just were not finding the mixer. I returned it to amazon with no problem and got my money back and then bought it from Amazon again... This time I just bought a new one instead. Not a big price difference. The new one works great and connects to both devices with ease. My advice for anyone is just to buy a new one because it will be more unlikely to have any defects.I will definitely update this review when I get more hands on experience with it. I hope this information was helpful! Thanks for reading!

This is a surprisingly able mixer. I have been doing audio for years as both a musician and a sound tech. I was worried about not having all the knobs and sliders and I still am a bit. However, I think Behringer nailed it when they went all in with this board. I do believe this is the future. While you don't have the traditional surface, you have so many other indicators that you would only find on high end boards. I am an electrical engineer, so signal routing comes pretty naturally. That said, the interface, while pretty well polished, is complex at times, especially when trying to do things like inserts, etc. There are a great series of You Tube videos on how to run it.I was a little disappointed that is doesn't work with an iPhone, only iPads for Apple folks. I was able to download an APK for my Kindle Fire and it worked well. I didn't think the Android app was as polished at the iPad one, but definitely serviceable. The Kindle Fire makes very a very inexpensive control surface.The XR18 seems to be more popular, but they appear nearly identical in features. Based on what I saw on the Behringer web site, they even use the same firmware. All the XR18 guides I have seen have been 100% applicable to the X18.

Good product, small and neat. Used in a band

First of all, if you are going to use Wi-Fi, get an external router as the built in Wi-Fi is terrible. No range to speak of and super laggy (I have no other wireless devices other than the iPad controlling it). I am toying with giving this 3 stars due to the built in Wi-Fi and I have to lug around a router, power supply, and RJ45 cable with this just to use the XAir 18. It is way too late to exchange this for the XR18 which has an external antenna.Secondly, the XAIR for iOS app is difficult to use if you are doing anything other than very basic mixing. When you go to a 'tab' on the mixer, it will show the name that is a nicely matching and sized font, then over the top of the nice looking tab name is a smaller tab name in a white font. There has been a lot of trial and error, but for the most part, it is working well.On the UX topic for the device, I have tried to play with the PC version on my Surface, however, it does not fit on the screen correctly and I just have not bothered with it. Most apps I have used, if you maximize them, they will just do the right thing for the screen size/resolution you are using.A feature I would like is a "soft reset". What I mean by a "soft reset" is to move all faders to infinity, mute all channels, move the gains to '0.0', reset to default the EQ/Gate/Compressors/etc, clear the names of any channels that I named, and remove all the effects/inserts I have. If there are effects I will always use, I can always have a basic show saved that I can load after the "soft reset".

I would not comment based on Product itsself, because the Mixer is great and powerful with many FX effects to use on Live Band. But the the App X Air for which it was meant to work it crashing all time and that’s very disappointing. I had spend a week trying to overcome , but no luck. Had to return the mixer 🙃.

I like this board , it works awesome when using usb or ethernet . If you are planning to use the ipad app beware. If the venue has wifi , or other people are in the building with cell phones the signal will drop . Once the signal drops you no longer have control Of the board . Suggestion , plug in via ethernet and use the controll on your laptop . The laptop program is pretty reliable and good for basic mixing. Thank Me Later ....