Behringer UB-1622FX
A compact mixer with its own effects and its own compromises, small enough to carry under an arm.
Overview
The UB-1622FX weighs roughly 3.3 kg and is 301 mm wide. It's the smallest of Behringer's UB-series mixers to carry the "-PRO" suffix and an onboard digital effects processor. It has sixteen inputs. In some places it behaves like a much larger console, and in others it behaves like a budget compromise. The metal case houses a 24-bit DSP section running at a 40 kHz sampling rate, with Sigma-Delta converters and 64/128-times oversampling. That looks modest next to the 48 kHz and 96 kHz figures that became standard later, but it was entirely serviceable for the reverb and delay work these mixers were bought to do.
The channel architecture is where the UB-1622FX earns its keep. Every mono channel has a balanced 6.3 mm line input in addition to the microphone input, and an insert point on the rear panel, which is unusual for a mixer at this price. On the larger UB2442FX-PRO the inserts sit on the control panel between the line input and the trim pot. On the 1622FX they're moved to the back. That's either a sensible space-saving decision or a genuine annoyance, depending on how often you patch dynamics processors. The inserts sit before the fader, EQ, and Aux Send. Because they're tip-ring-sleeve jacks, they can double as pre-EQ direct outs if you wire a mono plug with tip and ring tied together. That trick made these desks popular with home recordists who needed to get individual channels into a soundcard without buying a splitter.
The trim control is split into two ranges: +10 to +60 dB for the mic input, and +10 to -40 dBu for the line input. The second range expresses the sensitivity of the line stage rather than a gain figure. The manual says to set trim fully counterclockwise before connecting anything, then dial in to match the source. It also says to use the SOLO switch plus the MODE switch set to PFL (LEVEL SET) to bring the channel up to the 0 dB mark on the meter. Follow that procedure. The headroom on these desks is real but not infinite, and the CLIP indicator will tell on you if you push it.
The aux architecture is where the UB-1622FX differs from its bigger siblings. The FX send is post-fader and post-mute by design, feeding the internal effects processor directly. On the 1622FX and UB1832FX-PRO that send is labeled AUX SEND 2 rather than a dedicated FX knob. The STEREO AUX RETURN 2 jacks are the return path for the internal processor, and they need to stay unoccupied unless you specifically want to pull the effect out via the FX OUT jack. The 1622FX and 1832FX do not have that jack. That's a real limitation, and it sends people looking at the 2222FX-PRO or 2442FX-PRO instead. The 1622FX also lacks the dedicated MON OUT jack that the 1832FX-PRO carries, so monitor routing has to go through the aux sends.
Stereo Aux Return 1 is a proper stereo pot that sums into the main mix. It can be used as a straight effects return, or, via the STEREO AUX RETURN 1 (TO AUX SEND 1) control, to feed an effect into a monitor mix. The manual walks through the wiring for exactly this: send from AUX SEND 2 to an external processor, return to STEREO AUX RETURN 1, and blend it back into the monitor path with the return-1-to-aux-send-1 knob. It's a flexible arrangement for a desk this size.
The output section is straightforward. Main outputs are electronically balanced XLRs at a nominal +4 dBu, with a maximum output of +28 dBu. Parallel 6.3 mm jacks are also there, and on the 1622FX they're unbalanced and mounted on the front panel. Control Room outputs are unbalanced mono 6.3 mm jacks with roughly 120 ohms impedance and a +22 dBu maximum. The headphone output is a single unbalanced stereo 6.3 mm jack rated at +19 dBu into 150 ohms, or +25 dBm. The stereo aux returns are electronically balanced, around 20 kΩ balanced / 10 kΩ unbalanced, with a +22 dBu maximum input and output level.
Noise performance is where the 1622FX shows its price point. Behringer's own measurement notes list main mix noise at -101 dB with the channel fader at -∞, -96 dB with the main mix at 0 dB and the channel fader at -∞, and -83 dB with both at 0 dB. The UB2442FX-PRO is listed at -87 dB and -80 dB in the same conditions, so the 1622FX is actually the quieter of the two. That's a small but real point in its favor for anyone tracking quiet sources.
Power comes from a standard IEC connection with a 100-240 V~, 50/60 Hz supply drawing 37 W, protected by a T 1.6 A H 250 V fuse. Dimensions are approximately 97 mm × 301 mm × 351 mm (3 7/8" × 11 7/8" × 13 7/8"). It's small enough to sit on a desk edge or slide into a gig bag.
Period advertising placed the UB1622FX-PRO at £147 in the UK, alongside the UB502 at £33, the UB802 at £39, and the UB1002 at £55. That price ladder made the step up to a sixteen-input desk with onboard effects remarkably cheap. Sound on Sound (January 2005, p.214) listed it at that £147 figure in a stock roundup. The same publication's July 2005 issue (p.129) described the UB series generally as offering "a variety of configurations" and singled out the range's value for money.
The UB-1622FX is not a studio console and was never sold as one. It's a working desk for small gigs, demos, and home setups, and it does that job with more routing flexibility than the price suggests. The rear-panel inserts are less convenient than the 2442FX-PRO's top-panel arrangement. The absence of a dedicated FX output limits how the internal processor can be used. The 40 kHz sampling rate is a period artifact rather than a selling point. The 24-bit converters, the balanced main outputs, the per-channel inserts, and the two-range trim still make it a useful tool at used prices.
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