# Behringer Eurodesk SL2442fx-pro soundboard



## AlexD (Aug 2, 2009)

Easy one this. Is this a good board? whats your [FONT=&quot]opinion [/FONT] on it? this is the board that my school has at the moment and i would like to know if its anygood


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## Chris15 (Aug 2, 2009)

There is no such thing as easy when you are asking for opinion on a product...

Take general opinions on Behringer expressed previously...


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## AlexD (Aug 2, 2009)

Yes but opinions on Behringer have been some are terbal but they do have some good stuff so i wanted to know if i had something good.


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## museav (Aug 2, 2009)

Yes, Behringer does make some good value products, for example the ADA8000 is fairly well thought of. However, I don't think that their mixing consoles are generally looked at as being that good beyond giving a lot (quantity, not quality) for the money.

To me things like short (and not that high quality) 60mm faders, only two aux sends, four groups but only in stereo pairs, three band EQ with fixed high and low pass and a single band pass that lets you adjust only frequency and level (not bandwidth) and unbalanced aux, group and control room outputs limit the SL2242FX-PRO in professional installed, live sound applications.


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## rwhealey (Aug 2, 2009)

No. It is probably not good.

If it is good now, it will probably not be good sometime in the future, when it breaks.

I have a Behringer Eurorack that likes to not actually take a channel out of the mains when the fader is at negative infinity.

In the world of cheap, look at Peavy and Yamaha. At least they design their own circuits.


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## AlexD (Aug 2, 2009)

lol. Ye i am thinking of a soundcraft they any good?


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## soundlight (Aug 2, 2009)

This specific board has had issues with the mute buttons not fully muting channels, bleed all over the place, and not enough headroom in some cases (at least that's my experience with this board specifically).

Soundcraft is great, as is Allen & Heath.

The Allen & Heath ZED series are a great bunch of mixers for the money. The ZED 24, ZED 420, or ZED 428 would probably be the ones to look at there.


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## narc792 (Aug 2, 2009)

ive never used soundcraft...but i can recoment yamaha, mackie, and rollands. It all depends on what you need. Yamaha's MS32\14 is an excellant basic board and the LS9 series are among the best of the digital boards on the market(along with their M7CL and PM5D). Mackie has some easy to use cheap basic boards as well. Rolland...well Ive only used their top line digital mixer the V400...thats essentially and LS9 with a digital snake built in.

So like i said it all depends on what you need, if you dont need to go fancy Id say get a yamaha, SamAsh has their normal large analog mixers at around 800-1000 bucks.

Oh Allen & Heath is good as well as soundlight posted, I almost ordered one of their boards before I got the V400. Midas is always good too, but extremely expensive, the Venice is an excellent mixer though.


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## mbenonis (Aug 2, 2009)

I'm a big fan of Soundcraft, or at least their pro-level large format FOH/monitor consoles. I mixed on a Live 8 for years and loved it.

I wouldn't touch Behringer with a ten-foot pole.


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## rwhealey (Aug 2, 2009)

What Soundcraft?

My theater has an MH3. It's one of the best analog boards out there. 

Of course, cheaper boards are cheaper. We have a GB2R to use as a video submixer and, while of lesser quality, is still a good board.

What is your budget? If it's not too low, look at the Allen & Heath Mixwizard. If you have a lot sitting around, check out the APB ProRack.

(Edit- oops! I should really think before I write...)


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## avkid (Aug 2, 2009)

rwhealey said:


> If you have a lot sitting around, check out the APB MixRack.


Minor correction,

APB-DynaSonics ProRack


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## AlexD (Aug 2, 2009)

I was looking at the  [FONT=&quot]soundcraft LX7 ii 16 change soundboard. And my budget though not defined i am going to be sensible and keep it to resnable standerd so i can spend up to 800 quid on a desk.
[/FONT]


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## AlexD (Aug 2, 2009)

On the APB-DynaSonics ProRack what is the difrence betwen the house and the monitor? As in y is it called monitor? is it a mixer dedicated for a monitoring system?


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## rwhealey (Aug 2, 2009)

It is a dedicated monitor mixer.

If you look at the pictures, you'll notice it has no faders and 8 monitor sends. It also has a built-in splitter.

The idea is, you plug your mics into the ProRack Monitor, take the split output and plug that into the ProRack House.

Now you have 8 mixes and independent control over what happens in the monitors, as well as independent control over the sound in the house.


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## AlexD (Aug 2, 2009)

wow thats a grate idea


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## avkid (Aug 2, 2009)

AlexD said:


> wow thats a grate idea


That's what happens when you get some of the best minds in the industry together.


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## jkowtko (Aug 5, 2009)

AlexD said:


> I was looking at the  [FONT=&quot]soundcraft LX7 ii 16 change soundboard. And my budget though not defined i am going to be sensible and keep it to resnable standerd so i can spend up to 800 quid on a desk.
> [/FONT]



I found an LX7-32 (original series) for our theater, and it sounds great. The Soundcraft provided noticably "cleaner" sound than the Mackie CFX-20 that it replaced.

The only drawback I've found with the LX7 for live performance is lack of LED meters on each channel. If you can find a used Allen & Heath GL2200 or GL2400 for a similar price (they're usually more expensive though) I would suggest getting that instead. But either one will gain you lots of respect in the theater community.

Behringer is ridiculously less expensive than pretty much anyone else -- makes you wonder how they actually make any money on those things ... so unless you just flat-out don't have the money to spend but need the channels and can't find a used Mackie board for the price, I would try for a better board.


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## museav (Aug 7, 2009)

jkowtko said:


> Behringer is ridiculously less expensive than pretty much anyone else -- makes you wonder how they actually make any money on those things ...


A few simple things:

Use a resistor that's a penny cheaper here, an IC a few cents cheaper there and pretty soon the difference can start to add up, in both the good and bad sense.

Make the product cheap enough that replacement rather than repair makes sense, then you don't have to support a large service operation.

Sell to everyone you can, use quantity to your advantage whenever possible.

Use low cost manufacturing. At least in my recollection, Behringer was one of the earliest adopters in the industry of the "design here, build there" approach that moved the manufacturing to someplace with significantly lower material and labor costs.

Avoid expensive and time consuming R&D and market research efforts by largely copying, either literally or in concept, successful products from other manufacturers.

I'm sure there are others, but these all add up.


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## AlexD (Aug 9, 2009)

Yes, I am asking this to see if it is worth getting a bigger (quality) mixer than a smaller one for just mic’s and effects and leave the bad mixer for the pit band. I am going to go for the bigger mixer so I can put small pit bands through it (will have to use bad mixer for big pit bands my school though small musically have 2 tympanis, marimba large drum kit and tunes more percussion instruments… takes up half the pit band just that)


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## llewop (Aug 11, 2009)

I have one. I use it for a few live events per year and every friday and saturday night.
I agree it is short on features and certainly not the finest quality. However you are not paying a high price for a mixer that will get the job done. (Assuming the job is not very demanding) I do recognize the shortcomings mentioned by MUSEAV and they are very real. All I can say is I do plan to upgrade when funds will allow but the SXL2442FX has allowed me to get loud with ease and with my simple system mix all I need. 
You usually get what you pay for.


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## Anonymous067 (Aug 11, 2009)

mbenonis said:


> I wouldn't touch Behringer with a ten-foot pole.



What about a twenty-foot pole?


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## Anonymous067 (Aug 11, 2009)

AlexD said:


> Yes, I am asking this to see if it is worth getting a bigger (quality) mixer than a smaller one for just mic’s and effects and leave the bad mixer for the pit band. I am going to go for the bigger mixer so I can put small pit bands through it (will have to use bad mixer for big pit bands my school though small musically have 2 tympanis, marimba large drum kit and tunes more percussion instruments… takes up half the pit band just that)



This has been one of my pet peeves ever since they spelled this wrong in the yearbook last year... 

"tympanis" is spelled "timpani"


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## Chris15 (Aug 12, 2009)

Blah067 said:


> What about a twenty-foot pole?



Knowing the precision on the average cheap fader, the result would be about as coarse...


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## jkowtko (Aug 13, 2009)

In cautious defense of Behringer, I have heard that the MX3282A has had at least a couple of satisfied owners for long-term use. For $500 or less used (they're not available new anymore), 32 input channels and 8 subs, it's got great price/performance for live shows where you can get by with less-than-ideal sound quality.

Otherwise I'll suggest that the Soundcraft LX7-32 (original series) can be found for under $1000 used if you look hard, and is a great bang for the buck at that price point.


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## mixmaster (Aug 14, 2009)

Once, I went to a dealer looking for a board for my church. The man dealt Berhinger, as well as soundcraft, A&H, and Yamaha. I explained to him that I needed a board, 24 channels, 2 auxes, tight budget, the usual stuff, but failed to mention originally that it would be installed in a church. Given that info, he took me straight to the Berhinger shelf. Once it came up that this was a local install in a church, he changed his tune. Said that Berhinger had RF shielding and ground problems, and he didn't want to sell me a board that would pick up some trucker's CB conversation from the interstate during a sermon. He said he knew we wouldn't be satisfied with that board and refused to sell it to me, Siad he never sold them to churches or schools because he want repeat business, not pissed off customers. This was years ago, the original Eurodesk IIRC, I assume they've fixed that particular problem (one would hope) but I've never looked at another Berhinger product since. I figure if a dealer doesn't want to sell it, why in the world would I want to buy it? 
Get a Soundcraft LX7ii or an Allen & Heath GL series, even a Mackie would be better than Berhinger.


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## museav (Aug 15, 2009)

mixmaster said:


> Get a Soundcraft LX7ii or an Allen & Heath GL series, even a Mackie would be better than Berhinger.


Ironically, some of the earlier Mackie mixers had severe RF problems on the inputs. Maybe those are the versions Behringer copied. 

As I said earlier, Behringer does make some good value products and some plain good products, but do your research and keep in mind that many of the reviews on online music retailers are made in relation to garage band and similar applications and not necessarily to installed theatre systems.


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## AlexD (Aug 18, 2009)

jkowtko said:


> Otherwise I'll suggest that the Soundcraft LX7-32 (original series) can be found for under $1000 used if you look hard, and is a great bang for the buck at that price point.



I had briefly looked on Google to find a soundcraft LX 7 (original series) but It only came up with the LX 7ii series, iv been away on holiday so I haven’t been able to look harder but I will look a bit deeper. Any idea how much the 24 channel could cost?


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## jkowtko (Aug 18, 2009)

AlexD said:


> I had briefly looked on Google to find a soundcraft LX 7 (original series) but It only came up with the LX 7ii series, iv been away on holiday so I haven’t been able to look harder but I will look a bit deeper. Any idea how much the 24 channel could cost?



Alex, I just did a Google search on "soundcraft lx7 craigslist" and came up with a bunch of current listings. There was at least one 24-channel listed at $800, with some 24 and 32 ch at $1000 and many in that price range. These are of course local listings on Craigslist, but many people will ship for a fee (approx $50-75 shipping for these boards).

Fyi, I got my LX7-24 for $800 from a local seller, then upgraded it to an LX7-32 which I won on eBay for $750 plus shipping. This all happened for me last summer. Both boards were/are in perfect working condition. (I did have to reseat a ribbon cable connector on the 32 channel board ... jiggled loose during shipping) Sometimes the good deals all show up at once, and sometimes it's weeks in between. You just have to watch daily ...

What city are you in, btw? It could help if people know where you are.

-- John


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## Chris15 (Aug 19, 2009)

jkowtko said:


> What city are you in, btw? It could help if people know where you are.



I believe based on his previous postings, he's in Surrey in the UK.
Shipping may be a lil more expensive...


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## jkowtko (Aug 19, 2009)

Chris15 said:


> I believe based on his previous postings, he's in Surrey in the UK.
> Shipping may be a lil more expensive...



Ugh ... oh well, I guess my suggestions won't be that helpful ... :|


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## AlexD (Aug 26, 2009)

ye im in surry in the uk, how exacly do i put it up wher eu guys have it? i been lookign but i cant find it. think im haveing a blond (long) moment. how much more shiping do you think? tbh in england the price is lookign to be 1,200 pounds for an lx7ii 24 and i cant seem to find an lx7 seres in the uk. for an lx7 i would be prepared for long distance shiping, thats if they do long distance.


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## Shillyer (Aug 27, 2009)

I do own this board. While it is certainly not the nicest console I have ever used and I do not really recommend Behringer products most of the time. After 2 years of lite/medium amounts of gigging it has not steered me wrong yet, maybe i just got lucky. 

I probably wouldn't recommend someone to go out and buy this board, but if you already have it and it is working I don't think you should replace it "just because". What are your reasons for wanting to upgrade? What do you hope to accomplish with this new board that you can't do with the old one?

I know we all like getting new toys but make sure you think about why you are buying things and that the money couldn't better be spent elsewhere.

That being said if you decided a new board is what you really want. You may want to look at something like an Allen and Heath GL2400-16 or Allen and Heath ZED-420. I have almost always been happy with their products and they are definitely a step up from Behringer. 

**(I am in the US and have no idea how the prices line up in the UK but I think these boards should be around what the others are suggesting if the pricing is similar to that in the US.)**


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## gafftaper (Aug 27, 2009)

I would think Allen and Heath would be cheaper for you than they are for us since they are located in Europe... and they make excellent equipment.


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## rwhealey (Aug 27, 2009)

gafftaper said:


> I would think Allen and Heath would be cheaper for you than they are for us since they are located in Europe... and they make excellent equipment.



Soundcraft is in the UK too!

Our MH3 was made in England. I'm pretty sure they make all the lower-cost mixers in China, though.


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## AlexD (Aug 27, 2009)

Shillyer said:


> What do you hope to accomplish with this new board that you can't do with the old one?



a master fader would be amazing!! no i have found one that is 24 channles for £800, i have looked around and for the price i have for it, it seems like the best choise (easly able to upgrade the soundsystem with)


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