Behringer MX-2442A
A 24-input, four-bus tabletop console that Behringer advertised as the mixer the competition didn't want you to see.
Overview
The MX-2442A is a 24-input, four-bus analog mixer - 16 mono channels and four stereo channels - in a compact tabletop chassis. Behringer's own advertising in EQ (June 1998, p.41) called it "the new MX2442A" and led with a blunt headline about fifteen reasons the competition didn't like it. That tells you how the company positioned the desk: feature density as a weapon. The pitch was a true four-bus design that lets an engineer group any combination of the 24 channels down to four mono subgroup buses, each with its own output, pan, and solo controls.
The mic preamps are what Behringer pushed hardest. The company described them as balanced ULN - Ultra Low Noise - stages built around discrete conjugate-pair, high-current transistor circuitry, and claimed "large frame console sonic performance" in a tabletop box. Whether that claim holds up is a matter for the bench. The surrounding numbers are more concrete. Behringer rated the preamp bandwidth at 5 Hz to 100 kHz, with the wide bandwidth and high gain meant to buy headroom and keep the signal-to-noise ratio respectable at every gain setting. The internal gain structure runs at professional +4 dBu.
The EQ isn't the same across the board. Mono channels get shelving high and low bands at 12 kHz and 80 Hz respectively, with a midrange sweepable from 100 Hz to 8 kHz. Stereo channels use a four-band EQ with two fixed midband frequencies at 500 Hz and 3 kHz. All channels offer 15 dB of boost and cut. A 75 Hz low-cut filter at 18 dB per octave handles rumble and stage noise on the mono inputs.
Around the channel strips, the MX-2442A has six aux sends, two aux stereo returns, 16 channel inserts, and a built-in talkback mic with an assign section that can be routed to selected aux sends. The faders are 60 mm Panasonic units, which Behringer advertised for smooth travel. Internally the desk uses NJM 4580 op amps, claimed to run about 30 percent quieter overall than the alternative. Power comes from an external 2U rack-mountable supply. Per the company's literature, that was a deliberate choice to keep the transformer and its heat out of the audio chassis and preserve headroom.
The price is the part that stings if you bought one new. Distributor listings from the period quote a manufacturer's list of $1,099.00, discounted to $899.00 - $902.00 depending on the sheet. Behringer's December 1997 EQ advertisement (p.135) grouped the 2442A with the larger MX3282A and pointed out that both shipped standard with an external fan-cooled power supply, a feature the copy described as unheard of in that price range.
This archive lists the MX-2442A under synth, but it is an audio mixer, not a synthesizer. Its uses are project-studio tracking, live sound, and keyboard submixing. The model also appears in period comparison charts under the Eurodesk banner, sometimes with slightly different configuration figures depending on the chart, so treat any single number as approximate until you've confirmed it against the unit.
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