[LAU] Multichannel analog I/O audio interface: experiences and tips

[Christopher Arndt]

Am 12.06.22 um 22:57 schrieb Jeanette C.:
 > [...] Behringer X Air XR18 [...]
 >
 > The Behringer requires the app, which I have not been able to test, 
but its accessibility is not that important, if the XR18 will remember 
settings across power cycles. [...]
 >
 > Any experiences and further suggestions are very much appreciated!

I have the MIDAS MR18, which is the same as the XR18 but with better 
pre-amps and no instrument inputs.

The device is rather bulky, when viewed as an audio interface.

The provided app works well under Linux, you can install it on Arch 
Linux via the AUR [1] [2]. There are solutions for command line control 
of the device in varying states of polishedness.

The app and the mixer communicate via OSC, so you need a network 
connection, which can be via wifi or ethernet. The built-in wifi isn't 
very good, so I used a raspberry pi 3 connected via ethernet to the MR18 
and via wifi to my network as a gateway (so I didn't need to run an 
ethernet cable across the room).

The device starts up with the main mixer outputs muted, so you need the 
app for getting things started.

There's also an Android tablet app and a third-party Android app with a 
few more convenience features.

The device can be switched between 2x2 and multi-channel (18 in / 6 out 
IIRC) audio interface operation. Both work out of the box with ALSA / JACK.

Since the device is actually a full-fledged digital mixer it provides a 
channel strip with EQ and compressor per channel, complex routing 
options and built-in digital effects.

I have used the MR18 as the hub of my synth wall, mainly only as a sub 
mixer, but I also tried using it as an audio interface and did a few 
test recordings using it as a multi-channel audio interface and 
encountered no major problems, besides the complexity of setting up the 
routing.

Chris


[1] https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/m-air-edit-bin
[2] https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/xairedit