Behringer XENYX 802 8-Channel Compact Audio Mixer

Nice inexpensive Mixer

I bought this for both live performance (Cuing Round Dance) and recording (of same). So far it appears to be doing the trick nicely. It's small enough to put in my laptop ...Read complete review

I bought this for both live performance (Cuing Round Dance) and recording (of same). So far it appears to be doing the trick nicely. It's small enough to put in my laptop case, and is quiet enough for my uses (certainly much better then the really old, half broken Radio Shack mixer I was using for recording before which introduced a horrible hum into the audio stream).

With only 2 mic hookups and 2 (fully controlled) stereo hookups, it isn't that large a board, but it is perfect for my use. For live cuing, this board gives me enough inputs to do a duet with another cuer or have a space open for a caller at a dance, or plug in both wired and radio mics.

The only gripe I have relates to the power supply. It's a proprietary plug which means if it ever went out, I would have to buy a replacement from Behringer, it's also a huge power block (although thankfully not a wall-wort) and weighs almost as much as the mixer does. On top of that (as many reviewers have mentioned) there is no power switch, so the only way to turn it off is to unplug it (or cut power).

Although the mixer does a good job for my purpose, I can also see that several features are lacking in comparison to my larger (1804FX) mixer that I have in my music room. There is only one FX channel, very few routing options, and I have already run up against the limitations of the board. While recording, I wanted to mix two input channels (one stereo one mic) into the control room / phones, but route the only the mic to the main mix out. I immediately discovered there was simply no way to do this because the routing options are NOT there.

The control room is essentially just a slave of the main mix, with it's own fader. The only switching options you have is with the Aux Tape Inputs and when you switch those to the control room, it mutes the main mix on the control room out.

That said, the major reason I bought the 802 rather then the 1202 or 1204 boards which are close in price and have more features, is because this is one of the only small boards in the Behringer line that has full 3 band EQ on ALL the inputs, both Mic and Stereo. Most of the larger boards only have it on the Mic Inputs (The next model up to have this is the 1204FX which is significantly larger and more expensive).

This is very significant for cuing since it is often necessary to tweek the sound for both the music and the vocals to make sure the dancers can hear the cuer well. Too much base, especially will kill your sound quality and muddy your vocals in large auditoriums like we often dance in.

Considering I already have a 1804FX for my more musical mixing needs, and that I was going for portable, I just couldn't justify the extra expense and size for what was supposed to be a cheap "go with me" mixer for live cuing.

Since I've only been using it for a few weeks, I don't have any idea of durability or how much abuse it will take... We will see. I bought the extended warranty just in case (it is getting schlepped from dance to dance after all, and the extended warranty is suppose to cover accidents).

Bottom line, for the price, it's a good little board. It does exactly what I need and no more. Just make sure you know it's limitations and that they won't "cramp your style".

Nice inexpensive Mixer

I bought this for both live performance (Cuing Round Dance) and recording (of same). So far it appears to be doing the trick nicely. It's small enough to put in my laptop ...Read complete review

I bought this for both live performance (Cuing Round Dance) and recording (of same). So far it appears to be doing the trick nicely. It's small enough to put in my laptop case, and is quiet enough for my uses (certainly much better then the really old, half broken Radio Shack mixer I was using for recording before which introduced a horrible hum into the audio stream).

With only 2 mic hookups and 2 (fully controlled) stereo hookups, it isn't that large a board, but it is perfect for my use. For live cuing, this board gives me enough inputs to do a duet with another cuer or have a space open for a caller at a dance, or plug in both wired and radio mics.

The only gripe I have relates to the power supply. It's a proprietary plug which means if it ever went out, I would have to buy a replacement from Behringer, it's also a huge power block (although thankfully not a wall-wort) and weighs almost as much as the mixer does. On top of that (as many reviewers have mentioned) there is no power switch, so the only way to turn it off is to unplug it (or cut power).

Although the mixer does a good job for my purpose, I can also see that several features are lacking in comparison to my larger (1804FX) mixer that I have in my music room. There is only one FX channel, very few routing options, and I have already run up against the limitations of the board. While recording, I wanted to mix two input channels (one stereo one mic) into the control room / phones, but route the only the mic to the main mix out. I immediately discovered there was simply no way to do this because the routing options are NOT there.

The control room is essentially just a slave of the main mix, with it's own fader. The only switching options you have is with the Aux Tape Inputs and when you switch those to the control room, it mutes the main mix on the control room out.

That said, the major reason I bought the 802 rather then the 1202 or 1204 boards which are close in price and have more features, is because this is one of the only small boards in the Behringer line that has full 3 band EQ on ALL the inputs, both Mic and Stereo. Most of the larger boards only have it on the Mic Inputs (The next model up to have this is the 1204FX which is significantly larger and more expensive).

This is very significant for cuing since it is often necessary to tweek the sound for both the music and the vocals to make sure the dancers can hear the cuer well. Too much base, especially will kill your sound quality and muddy your vocals in large auditoriums like we often dance in.

Considering I already have a 1804FX for my more musical mixing needs, and that I was going for portable, I just couldn't justify the extra expense and size for what was supposed to be a cheap "go with me" mixer for live cuing.

Since I've only been using it for a few weeks, I don't have any idea of durability or how much abuse it will take... We will see. I bought the extended warranty just in case (it is getting schlepped from dance to dance after all, and the extended warranty is suppose to cover accidents).

Bottom line, for the price, it's a good little board. It does exactly what I need and no more. Just make sure you know it's limitations and that they won't "cramp your style".