Behringer UB-2442FX
A four-bus analog console with a 24-bit effects engine, sold at a price that made studio owners do a double-take.
Overview
The UB-2442FX-Pro is the flagship of Behringer's UB Series of analog mixers. EQ (November 2002, p.12) described the line as spanning ten models, from the UB502 at $59.99 up to the UB2442FX-Pro at $439.99. That price for a 24-input, four-bus console with onboard digital effects is the headline, and period reviewers said so. EQ (November 2002, p.12) noted the entire UB line shared mic preamps with response from 5 Hz to 100 kHz and Alps faders. The FX Pro models packed 24-bit digital signal processing based on Behringer's Virtualizer technology with 99 stereo effects. An internal auto-ranging switch-mode supply rounded out the package.
The console is a four-bus design. Mono channels carry both a balanced XLR mic input and a balanced 6.3 mm line jack. The manual warns never to use both on the same channel at once. A TRIM pot handles input gain across two scales: +10 to +60 dB for mic, and +10 to -40 dBu for line sensitivity. The manual walks through the standard gain-staging routine. Set TRIM fully counterclockwise before connecting. Bring it up to the 0 dB mark using the level meter with SOLO engaged and MODE set to PFL. Leave the EQ flat during the process. The CLIP indicator, per the documentation, should light rarely if at all.
Insert points sit before the fader, EQ, and aux sends on the UB2442FX-Pro. The manual specifically calls out that this differs from the UB1622FX-Pro, UB1832FX-Pro, and UB2222FX-Pro, which place inserts on the rear panel. If you've ever had to reach around a rack to patch a compressor mid-session, you'll see the difference.
Stereo channels are built for line-level sources, with two balanced 6.3 mm jacks per channel and unbalanced operation possible. Channels 9/10 and 11/12 add XLR connectors with phantom power for microphones. That makes the board useful for small-format tracking, where a couple of stereo keys or drum machines sit alongside vocal mics. If only the left jack is used, the channel sums to mono. Depending on the model in the series, stereo channels offer either a +4 dBu / -10 dBV level switch or a Line TRIM pot.
The main outputs are electronically balanced XLRs at a nominal +4 dBu, with parallel 6.3 mm jacks carrying the same sum, also balanced on this model. Maximum output level is listed at +28 dBu. Control Room outputs are unbalanced mono 6.3 mm jacks at roughly 120 ohms impedance and +22 dBu max, feeding the monitor system and any soloed signals. Headphone output is a single stereo 6.3 mm jack on the UB2442FX-Pro, and the manual notes some siblings in the series carry two. Max output is +19 dBu into 150 ohms.
With MODE not engaged, the Stereo Solo bus is active. That is Solo In Place, the standard workflow for auditioning a single channel or group. Hit a Solo switch and every unselected channel drops out of the Control Room and Phones feed while the stereo image stays intact. The Solo bus on the UB2442FX-Pro is fed from channel pan outputs, aux sends, and stereo line inputs. The manual points out that on the smaller UB1832FX-Pro, only Aux Return 2 can reach it. The bus is always post-fader. The PAN control uses a constant-power curve, so a center-panned signal doesn't sit louder than one panned hard. Moving fully left or right adds about 4 dB to that side. In Solo In Place mode, channels not panned hard will read quieter on the meters than they would in PFL. That quirk trips up first-time users.
The effects section centers on a 24-bit DSP with sigma-delta converters running 64/128x oversampling at a 40 kHz sampling rate. Stereo Aux Return 1 and 2 act as the return paths for outboard effects. A return can also be routed back out an Aux Send for monitor mixes that need their own effects. The dedicated Stereo Aux Return FX jacks feed the internal processor. If those jacks are occupied as extra inputs, the manual warns to keep the channel FX knob fully counterclockwise to avoid feedback, and to route the effect return through a regular channel instead. The FX OUT jacks on the UB2442FX-Pro allow tapping the processed signal externally.
Subgroup outputs are unbalanced and carry the summed signal of whatever channels were assigned via the SUB switches next to the faders. The manual suggests one practical use: feed an 8-track recorder as 2 x 4 tracks using Y-cables, recording channels 1, 3, 5, 7 on the first pass and 2, 4, 6, 8 on the second. Parallel subgroup output jacks (1-5, 2-6, and so on) are provided.
Noise figures from the manual, measured 20 Hz to 20 kHz at the main output: -101 dB with the main mix at -∞ and channel faders at -∞, -93 dB with the main mix at 0 dB and channel faders at -∞, and -81 dB with both at 0 dB. Power consumption is 47 W with a 100-240 V~ 50/60 Hz auto-ranging supply and a T 1.6 A H 250 V fuse on a standard IEC inlet. Dimensions are approximately 136 mm x 418 mm x 438 mm (5 3/8" x 16 1/2" x 17 1/4"), and net weight is about 5.9 kg.
The UB2442FX-Pro also has a BNC lamp socket for a 12 V DC gooseneck lamp drawing up to 0.5 A. A blue POWER LED and a red +48 V phantom indicator round out the front panel. The manual includes the standard phantom-power warning: don't plug or unplug mics with phantom engaged, mute the monitor/PA before switching it on, and wait about a minute for the system to stabilize before setting gain.
The CD/Tape outputs are wired in parallel with the main outs and carry the stereo sum unbalanced for a recorder, with final level set by the Main Mix fader. The manual notes a limitation: patching a compressor or noise gate after the CD/Tape output means you lose the ability to fade with the faders. The CD/Tape input can be switched onto the main mix via the CD/Tape To Main button, which simultaneously disconnects the Main Mix-to-CD/Tape Output path. That is handy for playing back reference tracks or feeding MIDI instruments that don't need channel processing.
Sound on Sound (July 2005, p.129) summed up the UB Series simply: fantastic value for money. That's the consensus. The UB2442FX-Pro isn't a console anyone bought because it sounded like a Midas — they bought it because it put four buses, 24 inputs, a usable effects engine, and a full set of inserts and returns on the desk for under $450 when the competition was charging multiples of that for less. The trade-offs are baked into that price: the board is plastic-heavy, the pots and jacks are what they are at this price point, and the effects are serviceable rather than inspiring. But for a home studio, a small venue, or a band running its own sound, the feature set is genuinely hard to argue with.
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