Behringer MX2004A
A 20-input compact mixer that undercut the Mackie VLZ-Pro by hundreds of dollars - and, at least one reviewer admitted, sometimes sounded better doing it.
Overview
The MX2004A is the bigger sibling in Behringer's Eurorack line, billed as a 20-channel mixer and built to go head-to-head with Mackie's VLZ-series consoles. The pitch was simple: same features, lower price, and a mic preamp section that Behringer claimed was lifted straight from its flagship Eurodesk 9000. The retail number was $379, with street prices around $275. The US-built Mackie 1402-VLZ Pro retailed at $629 and typically sold for $435. Audio-Express (July 2001, p.64) listed the MX2004A at $379 with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, and reviewer Gary Galo was candid about where the money went and where it didn't.
The channel count is real. Eight mono input channels carry XLR balanced mike and ¼" phone balanced line inputs, with switchable +48V phantom powering on all eight mike inputs. The remaining inputs are four unbalanced stereo channels, line-level only, bringing the total to 20. Each mono channel gets a gain trimpot and an 18dB/octave low-cut filter, same as the smaller MX802A. All input level controls are logarithmic slider-type faders with 60mm travel, a step up from the rotary pots on the MX802A. Audio-Express (July 2001, p.65) noted the mixer's flexibility and the travel of those faders as among its better features.
The EQ is where the MX2004A separates itself from its little brother. The three-band input channel equalizers add a center frequency adjustment on the mid control, sweepable from 1kHz to 5kHz. High shelving sits at 12kHz with ±15dB, low shelving at 80Hz with ±15dB, and the mid bell covers 100Hz - 8kHz with ±15dB.
Auxiliary send #2 is wired post-fader, but #1 is switchable pre or post. A solo button on each input channel preempts all others at the monitored output. Those buttons never affect the main outputs, which is the correct design. A red solo light in the metering panel confirms when a solo is engaged. Each input channel also has a mute button, and that mute routes the input signal to the Alt 3 and 4 outputs, so the mutes can work as an alternate mix rather than just killing channels. Each input channel carries unbalanced channel inserts for outboard gear, electrically located between the input preamplifier and the equalizer circuitry.
The main balanced XLR outputs can be switched for line or mike level via a resistive attenuator, and a second set of unbalanced ¼" main outputs runs at line level only. The Alt 3 and 4 output pair is unbalanced and line-level. There are separate left and right output faders plus a stereo ganged fader for the Alt 3 and 4 outputs. Aux 2 can be routed either to the main mix or to the cue feed. Metering is handled by 13 rectangular LEDs per channel.
Under the hood, the story is the op amp. Behringer used the NJR NJM4580 throughout the Eurorack series - a dual op amp with a 5V/µs slew rate, 15kHz gain-bandwidth product, 0.0005% harmonic distortion, and 0.8µV RMS input voltage noise. Audio-Express (July 2001, p.65) called it the highest-performance dual op amp seen in an affordable mixer. Reviewer Galo went further, suggesting the 4580's superiority over Mackie's 4560 might explain why he found the Behringer slightly more transparent than the 1402-VLZ Pro sitting in his recording booth. That's a period reviewer's subjective call, not a verdict, and it came from someone who owned both.
The mic preamps themselves are discrete input stages with matched, high-current transistors, claimed to be identical to the Eurodesk 9000's. Bandwidth is specified at 10Hz - 60kHz ±3dB. Mike E.I.N. is rated at -129.5dBu with a 150-ohm source, and -132dBu input shorted. Gain range runs +10dB to +60dB on mike and +10dBu to -40dBu on line. Max input is +12dBu on mike and +22dBu on line. THD+N is specified at 0.007% at +4dBu, 1kHz, staying below 0.02% across 22Hz - 22kHz at normal operating levels. Frequency response across the whole signal path is 10Hz - 120kHz ±3dB. Bus noise with the fader at 0dB and all channels muted measures -100.0dBr referenced to +4dBu, rising to -88.5dBr with all input channels assigned and set to unity. Maximum output is +28dBu balanced and +22dBu unbalanced; auxiliary send maximum output is +22dBm unbalanced.
Audio-Express (July 2001, p.66) verified the manufacturer's claims on THD+N, noting that below 0dB output the distortion was dominated entirely by noise, and that a slight nonlinearity — looking like a very slight power-supply instability — appeared above 0dB but stayed within spec. That's a fair, honest measurement result: the numbers hold up, with one small asterisk.
The power supply is not a wall-wart. Both the MX802A and MX2004A came with outboard transformers with both primary (120V AC) and secondary cords, allowing flexible placement, and six-foot output cables to keep the transformer's hum field away from the mixer circuitry. The DC connector is a screw-on three-pin type, similar to communications-equipment mike connectors. Standard three-terminal IC regulators live inside the chassis.
The physical package is 40/90mm × 410mm × 385mm, with a net weight of 6.0kG — power supply not included. That's a desk-friendly footprint for a 20-input console, and the external supply is part of how Behringer got there.
Behringer does not include a schematic diagram with its products, only a block diagram. Also, the review unit had a real fault: channel 2's input fader was intermittent out of the box. Behringer referred the reviewer to a factory-authorized service center in New York City, the fader was replaced, and total turnaround was about two weeks including shipping, which the reviewer called very reasonable.
Audio-Express (July 2001, p.65) described the Mackie build quality as excellent and perhaps a bit sturdier than the Behringer mixers, while still calling the two Behringer samples very well-made. Behringer's English instruction manuals were judged clear and well-written, but Mackie won on user-friendliness, with manuals full of connection diagrams. The MX2004A is a Chinese-manufactured, German-designed product from a company that was, at the time, being sued by Mackie. That lawsuit was resolved in November 1999 per a Mackie press release, with terms confidential.
On sound, the period verdict was split. Galo spoke with other users and two pro-audio dealers and couldn't find a clear consensus on a sonic preference between Mackie and Behringer. Both firms had enthusiastic followers.
The MX2004A is an inexpensive 20-input analog console with swept mids, inserts on every mono channel, and an alternate bus fed by the mutes. The known failure mode to check is fader intermittency - the review unit shipped with it, and these are old mixers now. The external power supply is one more thing to lose or replace. With no schematic, repairs depend on the block diagram.
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