Midas MR18 v's Behringer XR18

[Phil Starr 865]

I'm about to take the plunge and go digital. This is for live work with a covers band. It's hard to look past the XR18 but is it worth spending the extra on an MR18. What do I get other than better mic pre's? Am I likely to use the extra features in a live situation? It's not a huge extra cost (less than the money for a single gig) So does anyone have any thoughts?

 

https://www.behringer.com/Categories/Behringer/Mixers/Digital/XR18/p/P0BI8#googtrans(en|en)

 

https://www.midasconsoles.com/Categories/Midas/Mixers/Digital/MR18/p/P0C8H#googtrans(en|en)

Edited January 13 by Phil Starr

[tonyf 20]

Calling @EBS_freak! 😉 

[EBS_freak 3,644]

3 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

I'm about to take the plunge and go digital. This is for live work with a covers band. It's hard to look past the XR18 but is it worth spending the extra on an MR18. What do I get other than better mic pre's? Am I likely to use the extra features in a live situation? It's not a huge extra cost (less than the money for a single gig) So does anyone have any thoughts?

 

https://www.behringer.com/Categories/Behringer/Mixers/Digital/XR18/p/P0BI8#googtrans(en|en)

 

https://www.midasconsoles.com/Categories/Midas/Mixers/Digital/MR18/p/P0C8H#googtrans(en|en)

You've pretty much summed it up... the mic pres.... however the only other, yet significant difference, is the warranty. Midas comes with 10 years...

Edited January 13 by EBS_freak

[Phil Starr 865]

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

You've pretty much summed it up... the mic pres.... however the only other, yet significant difference, is the warranty. Midas comes with 10 years...

Thanks, I was hoping you'd spot this.

How good is the backup with Midas? if it is the same as Behringer then it is problematic, I had real trouble getting spares for a Behringer floor monitor that was out of guarantee by a month or so (but cheap enough when I tracked down a supplier) If it is proper pro backup then that's worth the full price never mind just the difference. Any direct experience?

As to the mic pre's?  We're using QSC K12's and RCF speakers and I really notice the difference between the Behringer mixer and my Yamaha MG which surprised me at that price point, the Yamaha's are really much better despite it basically being a cheap mixer. Are the Midas pre's going to be better by a similar amount? If so that's worth it for me, 5-10 years of just not quite being happy with the sound has got to be worth thinking about.

[EBS_freak 3,644]

Well - I’ve not had experience of Midas warranty. I’d imagine that due to their presence in the pro sector that it would have to be pretty superb as people would be bailing out to the likes of A&H and Digico in a heartbeat if it wasn’t.

As for the pres... well... sound is subjective. I’ve not ABed them side by side to give an answer.

 

[Jakester 244]

I’m looking at getting an XR18 imminently and of the user reviews I’ve seen, there is a fair amount of praise for the mic pre’s. 

[Mudpup 599]

I was advised recently by someone who works in the music trade and who had a Behringer himself one to go for the Midas one. Better preamps and also some amp modelling which may be potentially useful apparently. 

[EBS_freak 3,644]

48 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

I was advised recently by someone who works in the music trade and who had a Behringer himself one to go for the Midas one. Better preamps and also some amp modelling which may be potentially useful apparently. 

The software is the same (apart from gui colour scheme) I believe, it's the hardware that is different. (Mic pres and the computer interface element (even though it effectively does the same)). I did think there were different DACs too - but that may be incorporated as part of the "Midas preamps".

[mike257 206]

Big difference between the two is in the output section. +16dBu on the Berry, +22dBu on the Midas. Will deliver a hotter signal in to your amps.