---
title: "Mackie DL16S / DL32S: audio into DMXDesktop"
description: "Send a stereo music feed from a Mackie DL16S / DL32S mixer to DMXDesktop for Live Wire and beat detection, with a music-only setup."
canonical: https://www.dmxdesktop.com/knowledgebase/mackie-dl-audio
lang: en
source: /knowledgebase/mackie-dl-audio
---

# Mackie DL Series: audio into DMXDesktop

The DL mixers carry a multichannel USB interface, 16 channels on a DL16S and 32 on a DL32S, and everything is patched from Mackie's Master Fader app. Sending DMXDesktop a music-only mix is straightforward once you are on the right tab.

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)

- DL16S and DL16SE (16 in, 16 out)
- DL32S and DL32SE (32 in, 32 out)
- DL32R (32 in, 32 out; its USB drive port and computer USB port cannot be used at the same time)

## [What you need](#what-you-need)

- A USB Type-B cable to the mixer.
- On Windows, Mackie's current USB driver.
- On macOS, nothing extra.
- The right control app, connected to the mixer, to do the routing: **Master Fader 5** for the DL16S, DL32S and DL32R, or **Master Fader SE** for the DL16SE and DL32SE.

## [Connect the mixer](#connect-the-mixer)

1. Connect the USB port to the computer.
2. On Windows, install the Mackie USB driver.
3. On macOS, confirm the mixer appears in `Audio MIDI Setup`.
4. Open the control app and connect it to the mixer.
5. In DMXDesktop, open **Settings → Audio** and select the DL.

## [Fastest setup: the main mix](#fastest-setup-the-main-mix)

1. In the control app, open **I/O Patch**.
2. Select the **USB** tab. Not Input A, not Input B.
3. Assign `Main L` to USB output `1`.
4. Assign `Main R` to USB output `2`.
5. In DMXDesktop, select channels **1** and **2**.

These tab names are from Master Fader 5. Master Fader SE may lay the patch out differently, but you are still looking for the USB outputs.

## [Recommended setup: a music-only aux](#recommended-setup-a-music-only-aux)

1. Create a stereo-linked Aux bus and name it `DMXDesktop`.
2. Unmute the Aux master and set it to 0 dB.
3. 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.
4. In **I/O Patch → USB**, assign the Aux left and right to USB outputs `1` and `2`.
5. In DMXDesktop, select channels **1** and **2**.

If a recording rig already owns USB 1 and 2, use any other free pair and select those numbers in DMXDesktop.

**On Windows this needs the ASIO driver.** DMXDesktop only lets you choose channels on an ASIO device. On the ordinary Windows device it captures the first two channels that device offers.

Music channels

players, DJ, live band

Speech mics and talkback

not sent to DMXDesktop

↓→

Stereo Aux

music channels only

↓→

USB out 1 / 2

Master Fader, I/O Patch

USB↓→

DMXDesktop

channels 1 and 2

## [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)

**The classic Mackie mistake.** The **Input A** and **Input B** tabs in I/O Patch choose what feeds the mixer's channels. They have nothing to do with what the computer receives. DMXDesktop needs the **USB** tab, which is the patch going out to the computer.

### The mixer appears but there is no audio

You are almost certainly on the wrong I/O Patch tab. See above.

### Only one side

Only one of the two USB outputs got assigned, or the Aux is not stereo-linked.

## [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.