Behringer Xenyx X1832USB Mixer with USB and Effects

I typically don't rate a product until I've had time to use it for a while but this mixer just blew me away the first night. I spent months trying to find the right set up for a home karaoke system. I have a high end Harmon Kardon 7.1 receiver amp and an Onkyo 7.1 receiver amp that I use in 2 different rooms for karaoke purposes. Each amp provides all the HDMI connections, component video connections, L-R RCA audio connections, digital audio connections (optical and coaxial) and of course the speaker connections. Each amp has plenty of RMS wattage to handle the speakers in each room. I actually use just the 5.1 speaker setup (2 front, 2 rear, 1 subwoofer) in each room because for karaoke purposes you actually DON'T want too many speakers because they will then start to ruin your vocals while you're singing depending on where you are standing/sitting in relation to all the speakers.I have purchased several mid to high-priced powered karaoke mixers from the big brands (BMB, VocoPro, etc) over the years to use for karaoke, because I didn't know any better. They are OK for what they were designed to do which is to provide a VERY SIMPLE karaoke setup whereby you plug in something like a DVD player, 2 dynamic microphones, and a pair of speakers. These powered mixers can drive a pair of passive speakers with just normal speaker cables. However I did not use these mixers to output to my speakers since I have the much better Harmon Kardon/Onkyo receiver amps to do that. So I had the powered mixer outputs the sound to a receiver amplifier (either the Harmon Kardon or Onkyo) and from there the amp outputs the sound to the speakers. However, I think because they were powered mixers, they introduced a lot of interference/noise into the sound. I kept getting a static hum/hiss sound even when I was using Shure Beta 57A and SM58 wired dynamic microphones plugged directly into the powered mixers (the mixers had 1/4 inch TRS microphone holes). No matter what I did, I could not get rid of the static/hum noise. I tried adding an equalizer in between the mixer and the amplifier to see if I could eliminate the exact sound channels that was making that noise. Nope, that didn't work. I tried using more expensive microphone cables that had gold-plated 1/4 inch TRS connectors--nope that didn't work. I tried switching one mixer out for another (I had 3 mixers to use), and tried to switch the amplifiers out as well to see if I could come up with a combo of mixer-amp that would work without the darn static/hum noise. Nope, all that work didn't do much to improve the situation. Then I tried plugging all components into the same electrical outlet because I read somewhere that there could be a ground loop causing a hum around 60 Hz. Nope, that didn't work either.Finally, after reading reviews after reviews of various non-powered mixers here on Amazon, I bought this Behringer Xenyx X1832USB. I must admit this is my first real analog mixer and the number of buttons were overwhelming even for a technologically-inclined guy like me (I pride myself on being able to put together very complicated sound system setups involving 8-12 devices). I connected 2 wired microphones to Input 1 and Input 2 using the XLR connections, connected my DVD player to the Inputs (red-white plugs) for 2-track/USB, then connected the 2 main XLR outputs on the back of the mixer to my receiver amp using female XLR-to-male RCA cables. After playing with the various buttons and sliders, I managed to find out that for each Input on the mixer that you want the sound to come out to the main output signal, there is a little black button that says "Main" on that Input channel that you need to press down so the sound of that Input will then be sent to be "mixed" into the overall main output. I also had to adjust the Gain button on Input 1 and Input 2 so that the microphones was loud enough. Voila so I got my microphones working and the karaoke songs were coming from the DVD player, all mixed into the overall main outputs of this Behringer mixer. Now get this, remember that stupid static/hum/hissing noise that I could not get rid of before? Well by plugging my microphones and my audio source into this same Behringer mixer, I have ELIMINATED that nasty static/hum/noise. I could not believe my ears. The sound is crystal clear coming from my microphones and the karaoke music coming from my DVD is also clear. Hallelujah! I have finally fixed the noise problem. I spent the next hour playing around with various settings on this new mixer and all the buttons seem solid and smooth. I sang a couple of songs just to test out the system and it was so sweet to be able to increase the overall volume on my amplifier WITHOUT hearing any static/hum/hiss from the karaoke. I am ecstatic beyond words. I don't know if other non-powered mixers would do the same, but I'm keeping mine right here. I'll probably buy another one for the other room since it works so well. My only complaint is that I had to purchase a bunch of XLR cables of various types (Male to Female, Y adapter, XLR to RCA, etc) because I didn't really know which cables I needed to buy. My advise to others looking to hook this mixer up to a receiver amp like I did: you need at least 2 female XLR-to-male RCA cables so you can connect the main sound output of the mixer to your receiver amp (if your amp only has RCA inputs like mine and no XLR inputs). You should also get a bunch of female RCA-to-male 1/4 inch TRS connectors and regular RCA cables so that you can utilize the inputs Line 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14 to bring in stereo sound from various devices that have L-R RCA outputs (DVD & bluray players, game consoles, etc). If you want to connect your iPod, iPhone, Android devices to the mixer, then get a 3.5mm to 1/4 inch TRS cable (like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068O36?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER) or get a 3.5mm to dual-1/4 inch TS cable like this one for stereo sound: http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-Breakout-10-Feet/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1454750489&sr=8-5&keywords=1+4+inch+to+3.5mm. This mixer has more than you need for a home karaoke setup and that's a good thing. I'm still enjoying the fact that I now have a crystal clear sounding karaoke system with no static/hum/hiss. Love it.

A really nice product. Layout and design is easy to navigate and comfortable. Chassis is solid and feels strong.Built-in EQ is effective in the audible range. Channel gain is notable and SNR is high. Low hiss at low volumesFaders are smoothe and volume increments are well spaced. Lights/LEDS are bright. EQ LEDs are driven by signal strength.Wishlist: web interface/streaming. More mail outputs.

Got this as an "upgrade" from a smaller model for use in a small home studio. Behringer makes some good stuff considering the price. Sure there are more expensive brands out there that offer less but in a pinch these are fine.There are a couple quality control issues here such as some of the sliders get scratchy after awhile but nothing that some slider lubricant cant cure. and the "program/parameter" knob assembly feels like it gets loose on occasion, and tightening the screw between the knob and the "tap" button corrects the issue. The array of effects are ok but I don't use them much as I have another FX processor for my effects.Unlike the lower end version of this mixer that comes with a wiring block diagram, this model doesn't have it. IMO block diagrams are necessary to show how sound is routed through the mixer to optimize connection of additional equipment. I also always make block diagrams for all my hookups as well.My main complaint is the USB interface. I would prefer to use the built in USB over the system Im using now but I play audio from my machine, and I would like to mix it with the controls on the mixer and add effects or other stuff to it. An option to route the usb output (from PC) to another bus would make this system more versatile. Right now, its stuck on the main-mix bus, and cannot be routed anywhere. A lack of a proper routing block diagram made length of this discovery unnecessary. So now I'm using the UCA200 and a 4ch recording snake to connect to the mixer and the USB interface is not used. Such a waste.If anyone uses this for recording (I use Mixcraft), make sure you also use the ASIO drivers to improve audio latency for monitoring and recording.