DMXDesktop

Behringer Xenyx USB mixers: audio into DMXDesktop

The USB-equipped Xenyx mixers give the computer a straightforward stereo recording feed. That makes setup very quick, and it also sets a hard limit: what DMXDesktop receives is the main mix, and you cannot pick out individual channels.

This article is part of Connecting a Sound Mixer to DMXDesktop, which covers the shared rules and the problems common to every console.

Models covered

Any Xenyx with a stereo USB interface, including:

  • 302USB, Q502USB, Q802USB, Q1002USB, Q1202USB
  • 1204USB, X1204USB, QX1204USB
  • QX1832USB, QX2222USB, QX2442USB, X2442USB

Setup

  1. Connect the mixer's USB Type-B port to the computer.
  2. Check the music channels are assigned to the main mix.
  3. On models with a 2-TR/USB TO MAIN button, leave it off unless you need to hear the computer through the mixer.
  4. In DMXDesktop, open Settings → Audio and select the Xenyx USB input.
  5. Channels 1 and 2 are the only option, and are correct.

There is no channel picker to worry about here. The interface is stereo, so DMXDesktop captures the pair and that is that.

What you cannot do

  • DMXDesktop gets the main mix. There is no separate USB feed.
  • Individual channels cannot be selected over USB.
  • If the desk is handling microphones, they are in the feed, and there is no routing option that removes them.

Getting a music-only feed anyway

If your Xenyx has two usable aux or subgroup outputs, you can build a music-only mix on them and take that into a separate small interface, bypassing the built-in USB entirely.

  1. Build an aux or subgroup mix containing only the music channels.
  2. Connect those two outputs to a two-input USB interface.
  3. Select that interface in DMXDesktop instead of the Xenyx.

Full instructions and cable details are in Using an analogue mixer with a USB audio interface.

Still not working

Work through the shared checks in Connecting a Sound Mixer to DMXDesktop, 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.