--- title: "Allen & Heath Qu: audio into DMXDesktop" description: "Send a stereo music feed from a Allen & Heath Qu mixer to DMXDesktop for Live Wire and beat detection, with a music-only setup." canonical: https://www.dmxdesktop.com/knowledgebase/allen-heath-qu-audio lang: en source: /knowledgebase/allen-heath-qu-audio --- # Allen & Heath Qu Series: audio into DMXDesktop Qu mixers stream up to 32 channels to the computer over USB-B. The one thing to know before you start is that the main mix does *not* arrive on channels 1 and 2 by default: it is on 17 and 18, on every model. This article is part of [Connecting a Sound Mixer to DMXDesktop](/knowledgebase/connecting-a-sound-mixer), which covers the shared rules and the problems common to every console. ## [Models covered](#models-covered) - Qu-16, Qu-24 and Qu-32 (classic) - Qu-Pac - Qu-SB USB channel counts differ by model: - Qu-16: 24 channels to the computer, 22 back from it - Qu-24: 32 to the computer, 30 back - Qu-32, Qu-Pac and Qu-SB: 32 to the computer, 32 back Qu-SB has no screen, so do the patching below in the Qu-Pad app. The newer Qu-5, Qu-6 and Qu-7 use different menus and different defaults. The principles here still apply, but the exact menu paths will not match. ## [What you need](#what-you-need) - A USB cable to the rear **USB-B** streaming port. - On Windows, the Allen & Heath Qu USB driver. The Qu is not class compliant on Windows, so the driver is needed even for ordinary stereo capture. - On macOS, nothing. The interface is class compliant. ## [Connect the console](#connect-the-console) 1. Connect the rear USB-B streaming port to the computer. 2. On Windows, install the Qu driver. 3. In DMXDesktop, open **Settings → Audio** and select the Qu. **Qu-Drive does not block USB-B.** The Global USB Source setting only decides where the channels' USB *returns* come from. The recording sends go to Qu-Drive and to USB-B at the same time, whichever source is selected. ## [Fastest setup: the default LR on 17 and 18](#fastest-setup-the-default-lr-on-17-and-18) Out of the box, the Main LR mix is already sitting on USB sends 17 and 18, on every Qu model. If nobody has changed the patch, there is nothing to do on the console at all. 1. Open **Setup → I/O Patch → USB Audio**. 2. Confirm USB 17 is `LR L` and USB 18 is `LR R`. 3. In DMXDesktop, select the Qu. On macOS, or on Windows with the Qu ASIO device, select channels **17** and **18**. On Windows with the ordinary Qu stereo input there is no channel choice to make, because that input already carries USB 17 and 18. ## [Windows without ASIO: the stereo input](#windows-without-asio-the-stereo-input) The Qu driver gives Windows one ordinary stereo recording input, and it is always fed from USB sends 17 and 18, the same pair Qu-Drive uses for stereo recording. On that input, whatever you patch to 17 and 18 is what DMXDesktop hears. **Do not move the mix to USB 1 and 2 for this.** The ordinary Windows input would not hear it there. To capture any console channels other than 17 and 18, select the Qu ASIO device instead. ## [Recommended setup: a music-only bus](#recommended-setup-a-music-only-bus) 1. Pick a stereo Mix you are not using for monitors, name it `DMXDesktop`, unmute its master and set it to 0 dB. 2. Send each music channel to it at 0 dB, and choose pre-fader or post-fader sends. Keep the sends fully down on speech microphones and talkback. 3. Open **Setup → I/O Patch → USB Audio**. 4. On Windows with the ordinary Qu stereo input, assign the Mix's left and right to USB `17` and `18`. That is the only pair this input hears. 5. On macOS, or on Windows with ASIO, you can instead use any USB pair nobody is recording on, and select the same two numbers in DMXDesktop. **USB 17 and 18 are also the Qu-Drive stereo recording.** Assigning a Mix there changes what Qu-Drive records in stereo, and what those two tracks carry in a USB multitrack recording. Music channels players, DJ, live band Speech mics and talkback not sent to DMXDesktop ↓→ Stereo Mix music channels only ↓→ USB sends I/O Patch, USB Audio USB↓→ DMXDesktop the matching pair ## [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) ### The level ignores the channel fader By default the input channels feed USB from their insert send point, which is before the processing and the fader. On the USB Audio screen, set the **CH/ST/Grp source** to Direct Outs, so the USB sends follow each channel's direct output settings, which follow the fader by default. Or feed USB from a Mix, which is post-fader. ### Channels 17 and 18 carry the wrong thing Somebody has changed the patch. Do not assume the factory mapping. Open the USB Audio patch and look. ### Windows offers no channel choice You are on the ordinary Qu stereo input, which always carries USB 17 and 18. Patch the mix you want to 17 and 18, or select the Qu ASIO device to choose other channels. ## [Still not working](#still-not-working) Work through the shared checks in [Connecting a Sound Mixer to DMXDesktop](/knowledgebase/connecting-a-sound-mixer), which covers the faults that are not specific to one console. If you need to contact support, have these five things ready, because they resolve most cases immediately: 1. The exact mixer model. 2. Your Windows or macOS version. 3. How the mixer is connected, and which USB port you used. 4. Which device you picked in **Settings → Audio**. 5. Which left and right channel numbers you selected. For a console with a multichannel USB interface, a screenshot of the mixer's USB output patch is worth more than any log file.