Recording - March 2013 - 18

Behringer X32

standards for flexibility and transparency
with respect to what’s on the other side.
When you install the drivers (currently
available for Windows XP/Vista/7; Mac
OS X is plug-and-play) and plug in the cable
to your DAW, whether FireWire or USB, the
X32 is instantly recognized as a 32-channel
audio interface. You just assign inputs, hit
Record, and go! The interface allows you to
record control movements and fader moves
into your DAW and play them back, controlling the console remotely.
And that’s not all! The built-in Ethernet connection allows the X32 to be given an IP
address so it can live on a computer LAN.
When it’s connected to a network that features
a Wi-Fi hotspot, it can be wirelessly accessed
by an iPad running a fairly full-featured
remote-control app called XiControl. This lets
users control levels, watch meters, and tweak
many of the X32’s parameters while away
from the board. A more full-featured Windows
program called XControl allows for complete
access to the X32’s feature set from a laptop
PC; this can be done via wireless or wired
Ethernet connection to the LAN, or a wired
USB connection to a dedicated computer. See
the screenshots on this page for examples of
XiControl’s pages and see page 16 for how
XControl mimics the X32’s hardware LCD and
all its displayed information.
Just before we went to press, Behringer
released version 2.0 of XiControl, with
greatly expanded features and updated
graphics. The screenshots that appear in this
article are in fact of the new version, whose
added features we were only able to test
very briefly. We didn’t run into any bugs,
and the new version offers a much more
consistent graphic look when compared to
XControl and the mixer’s main display.
In use (and use and use...)
We worked with the X32 over a period
of several months; among other applications, it was our primary console and
recording interface for the 2012 Different
Skies electronic music concert taking place
at the Arcosanti architectural laboratory
north of Phoenix, AZ, and at the Farewell
To Fritz Concert given at the Fiske
Planetarium at the University of Colorado,
Boulder. The X32 was set up for rehearsals
and for the shows themselves, and we
made heavy use of its ability to record
direct to DAW, sweeten signals with a variety of processing, and provide customized
monitor mixes as needed.

In every case, we were struck by how easy
it was to set up the X32 for any given set of
instruments and applications, and how good
the results sounded. Allen worked with the
board for a couple of weeks before the
Arcosanti concert, and arrived with it fully
configured for the ensemble. Wiring up the
eight participants’ instruments and soundchecking was so quick and easy that
rehearsals began a full day earlier than
usual! We ran the board connected to a PC
running Cakewalk SONAR X1 and captured
multitrack audio for all rehearsals and the
show itself with impeccable quality and nary
a hiccup in six days of songwriting, rehearsing, and performance in the brutal Arizona
desert heat. (You may never need to run this
board in blazing sunlight at 110 degrees, but
if you do, we can tell you it should hold up
better than you probably will.)
In all applications the X32 functioned
perfectly as both live-sound nerve center
and as recording interface. During the
shows, Allen was able to run the board
from his iPad while participating in the performances, and came away so impressed
with its transparency and flexibility that he
stated flat-out that no other digital console
at up to twice the price would satisfy him
for future gigs... which is why, when it
came time to return the board, he posted a
photo on his Facebook page of himself
clutching the X32 and weeping.
Wrap it up
The places where we feel the X32
could be measurably improved (at least
for recording-studio use) are few and far
between; separate headphone level pots
would have been nice, for example.
There are a few functions we’d still like to
see added to XiControl, such as remote
transport/recording functions, but by and
large our experience was very favorable,
and the PC XControl software was just
brilliant. We didn’t get to test the X32’s
integration with other Behringer products
such as the P-16 personal monitor system
or the S16 Digital Snake I/O box (which
allows MIDAS preamps to be placed on
stage while the X32 sits at FOH).
Short answer? If you’re looking for a digital console that doubles as a multichannel
audio interface, has great-sounding preamps and effects, is very flexible in its routing options, and offers luxurious levels of
hands-on tweaking as well as wired or
wireless remote control, the X32 demands
a closer look. You’d have to consider it seriously, even at twice the price. And if you’re
looking for “something smaller”, check our
NAMM coverage next month, when we’ll
tell you about four new versions of the X32,
with more compact designs and even lower
price tags!

Price: $3769.99 ($2999.99 street) • More from: Behringer, www.behringer.com
Allen Goodman (goodman@recordingmag.com) is a recording musician who hasn’t been out of Arizona long enough to be
happy about this stuff that Denverites call “snow”.
18

RECORDING March 2013

http://www.behringer.com

Recording - March 2013

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