Behringer 302USB Premium 5-Input Mixer with XENYX Mic Preamp and USB/Audio Interface
- Ultra-compact and ultra-low noise analog mixer with USB/Audio interface
- Powered through USB or external power adaptor (included)
- Built-in stereo USB/Audio interface to connect directly to your computer
- Free audio recording, editing and podcasting software plus 150 instrument/effect plug-ins and ultra-low latency driver downloadable
- State-of-the-art, phantom powered XENYX Mic Preamp comparable to stand-alone boutique preamps
Need a handy little mixer you can grab with your laptop on the way out the door? Or maybe you don’t want to give up valuable desktop real estate to a large mixer? The new XENYX 302USB is ideally suited for a small home studio or the on-the-go recording enthusiast. At approximately 4″ long and 5″ wide (117 x 135 mm), the XENYX 302USB respects your desk space, while providing an XLR & 1/4″ combination socket, stereo USB/Line channel plus a dedicated 2-Track input. Small, but mighty! Don’t let the
List Price: $ 59.99
Price: $ 49.99
First (and second) impressions,
I’ve been playing around with my new Behringer XENYX 302USB Mixer and so far my impressions are positive.
I was nervous about buying it because there were no reviews at all, so I opened the box carefully and took out only the 302, using my own cable and on-line documentation. That way, if I had to return it, packing it back up would be easy.
I use Audacity (with a single core, Pentium 4 PC running XP Pro) to record, and the program recognized the 302 (as USB codex), no problem.
One thing I wanted to do is record from an iPod Touch 4G to Audacity, then play that Audacity track back and record another track against it from the iPod. I used a mono cable that is 1/4 inch on one end (plugged into the mic jack of the 302) and 1/8 inch on the other (plugged into the headphone jack of the iPod).
I used an app called Chordbot to play a progression on the iPod, which was recorded through the 302 into Audacity. I didn’t care that the track was mono, but if I wanted stereo, I could have used the line input on the 302 with RCA cables going to an 1/8th inch stereo plug.
Once my chord progression was recorded on an Audacity track, I played that back by using an RCAs to 1/8 inch plug to connect the line input on the 302 to the headphone jack of the computer. By pushing the red button on the 302, which selects input from the USB (the computer), and the black button next to it, which sends the signal to the headphones, I could hear the Audacity track playing as I recorded a new track, this time using an app called Thumbjams on the iPod.
It worked very well. No hiss or other unwanted noise present.
The 302 assumes (incorrectly, in my case) that I want to hear the mic input through the earphones as I’m recording. I don’t. I never monitor myself when singing or playing guitar, but listen only to the backing track.
I got around this by using the pan slider on the 302, panning my live performance all the way to the right. I then removed the right earphone from my ear. I panned the sound coming from the computer all the way to the left. This way I could hear the backing track but not my voice in the headphones.
My Audio Technica AT2020 microphone recorded fine–with no hiss or noise–with the 302′s gain set at 12 o’clock, the mic volume maxed, and the main mix volume at about 2 o’clock.
I could generate hiss with the AT2020 if I cranked the 302′s gain and volume all the way up, but I can do that with most any mixing deck.
I could not get as loud a hissless track using the 2020 and the 302 as I would like. A preamp is probably called for. But the signal was usable if I increased the gain a bit in Audacity after recording, or if I doubled a track.
In addition to the iPod experiment, I recorded a nylon-string guitar, then recorded a vocal track against it. Used the AT2020 for both tracks. Worked fine.
I have an old Radio Shack dynamic mic with a built-in TSR cable that I tried. It also recorded well, for what it is. (I sound terminally depressed when I record with this mic, so only dig it out for experiments such as this.)
All in all, I’m liking the 302 and plan to use it instead of the XENYX 802/UCA202 USB interface rig I was using.
WOWSERS. Important update. The USB codec that Windows installed when I first plugged in the 302 doesn’t play nice with Audacity. Often when I try to play back or play back and record, there is no sound through the 302, even though I can see audio levels in Audacity.
I went to the Behringer website and downloaded the ASIO 32 bit driver. Now things are great. Except. Whatever USB slot you install the driver to is taken over by the driver and can’t used by any other audio codec.
This means that if you unplug the 302 and plug another audio device into the same slot, it can only play–if it will–using the Behringer ASIO codec. Other slots are unaffected. It’s possible to undo this by running the setup file again and choosing to uninstall the driver.
I’m willing to give up a USB slot to the 302 because I’m liking it so much and will probably use it every day. YMMV.
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|Excellent Portable Mixer,
PROS:
* Small. Easy to take with you or set on a small shelf.
* If using USB, does not need external power supply. Very convenient.
* Easy-to-use, accessible controls.
* Pre-amp power, works well with condenser studio mikes.
* Plug & play with Windows 8. Didn’t have to install any kind of driver.
* Variety of input options. Dual track with low/high volume sliders.
* LEDs make it easy to tell whether in the green or red range. Easy to adjust.
* Awesome for those who need a mini-mixer– and costs the same as a USB-based preamp-only device.
* Free shipping– gotta like that
CONS:
* Only one power setting, 15v. That may not be enough for some, but works great with my studio mike.
* Line In / USB buttons somewhat confusing, non-intuitive. However the manual shows exact settings for computer use.
* As with other low-end Behringer mixers has a bit of a hiss that one has to balance out. Can take some fiddling to overcome it.
* It’s pretty easy to overpower the computer’s input and cause distortion. Start the sound levels at zero and slowly bring them up until it sounds good.
NOTES:
I purchased this for use with my studio mike, which I hadn’t been able to use with my computer due to pre-amp power needs. Plugged it in, worked first time, no problems.
This unit is very sensitive. If used with a decent mike can pick up background noises from across a room. With a bit of tweaking, is fine for studio work. I use it for guitar/voice solo live Internet music shows.
Overall, I’m quite pleased with the unit. The only reason I give it 4 stars rather than 5 is because it isn’t perfect… but then it’s only fifty bucks. For the price, overall quality, ease of setup, range, sensitivity and plug-and-play, I don’t think one could find a better unit. Two thumbs up. I don’t know how a Pro would rate this… but I definitely would recommend it to those doing recording on their computer with a studio-quality mike above the quality of the average “USB microphones” available on the market. You not only get a pre-amp but a duo-channel stereo volume mixer in the deal. Hard to beat at that price.
ADDENDUM: A few days after the initial review– I just used the device on a live guitar/voice webcast. No background hiss, very good, clear sound, crisp, no distortion, excellent transmission. Friend recorded a video and the sound was precise and identical to the original performance. Quite pleased with this little mixer/preamp.
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|Simple, inexpensive and high quality,
I use this guy primarily with garage band as a simple guitar interface. It works perfectly! It’s very intuitive and can be set up in minutes. My requirements for quality and features are pretty low as I am not a professional recording engineer, but I haven’t noticed any poor quality sound. I’ve used it with Reason in Windows and GarageBand in OS X and it’s very easy to use. Windows requires manual driver installation.
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