Introduction
The Behringer XENYX 502 is a small and simple audio mixer made for people who are new to sound equipment and have smaller setups. It’s not too complicated and doesn’t cost a lot, which makes it a good choice for beginners in music, podcasting, or setting up a basic home studio.
Design and Build Quality
- Compact and lightweight design
- Sturdy construction with durable knobs and sliders
- Easy-to-use layout, perfect for novices
Performance
- Four input channels (mic and line inputs)
- Quality preamps for clean sound
- Basic EQ controls for fine-tuning audio
Usability and Connectivity
- Straightforward setup and operation
- Limited but functional connectivity options
- Works well for small-scale projects
Pros
- Affordable and suitable for beginners
- Compact and portable design
- Decent sound quality for the price
- User-friendly interface and controls
Cons
- Limited input/output options
- Not suitable for complex audio setups
- Basic EQ controls might be limiting for some users
Conclusion
The Behringer XENYX 502 is a simple and affordable audio mixer made for people who are new to mixing sound. It’s not very fancy and doesn’t have lots of connections or extra features, but it works well for small projects and beginners because it’s easy to use and does a decent job.
carz auto sales –
Good deal
Victor –
I loved the price more than anything. The build quality is great, honestly i cant complain. Its used for an audio setup that doesnt get moved much so cant speak about durability but we have ours last around 2-3 years. its usually a short in our lines that will fry these things, not because of anything with the device itself.
Mike –
So, I’ve been using it for about 2 months now. The usage scenario: recording a narration for Youtube videos. Hardware used:Â
Neewer NW-8000
 condenser mic as input; RTL ALC-269 of my Samsung R580 as output.
Overall I’m quite satisfied with this purchase. It came in good packaging, undamaged, the power socket connection is good, other sockets and knobs seem to be reliable as well. It gives very low noise itself, and it seems most of the noise is actually picked by 2xJack-to-3.5mm cable between apparatus and my laptop.As a summary, yes, it’s definitely good product for simple tasks, especially given it’s price.
But there is one “but”. I followed manual. I tried to reset all knows to defaults and worked with voicer. I experimented a LOT with recording devices. But nope, whatever I do, the level indicators on the device do not match real output levels. My usual settings are:
– gain to min (it reads -10 but actually it’s 0 as per my perception)
– mic level to -6 (-2 large ticks, since +5 large ticks = +15, I guess -2 large ticks = -6)
– main mix level to -6 as well
– sound card mic input boost: 0
– sound card mic level: 100%
This gives clear vocals without almost any noise (<-54dB, acording to Auditon, no noise reduction needed at all!), so sound quality is great… but sound level indicators on device never light up. I tried to tune gain and levels so that I see the lights, but then the sound is clipped on the device itself (if I lower the sound card to 25%, there is no clipping in Audition but the input wave is clearly hard-gained, both visually and audibly).
Hence the header – it’s like you buy a Mustang which can’t do “drrrrrr”…
Cesare –
Ho acquistato il Behringer XENYX 502 Mixer premium a 5 ingressi per miscelare il suono e il metronomo durante le prove della mia band. Devo dire che sono rimasto soddisfatto del prodotto, anche se ho riscontrato un difetto nello spinotto dell’alimentazione che non ha tenuta.
Ecco alcuni punti che ho notato:
Punti positivi:
Qualità del suono: Il mixer Behringer XENYX 502 offre una qualità del suono eccellente, con un preamplificatore microfonico XENYX ed equalizzatore britannico che garantiscono un suono pulito e preciso.
Facilità d’uso: Il mixer è molto facile da utilizzare, grazie al suo design intuitivo e ai pulsanti di controllo semplici da capire. I 5 ingressi (1 microfono, 2 stereo) consentono di ottenere senza sforzo un suono di qualità superiore.
Compattezza: Il mixer è abbastanza resistente e compatto, il che lo rende molto indicato per i lavori in casa o per i dj amatoriali e principianti.
Punti negativi:
Spinotto dell’alimentazione: Ho riscontrato un difetto nello spinotto dell’alimentazione che non ha tenuta. Questo ha causato alcuni problemi durante l’utilizzo del mixer.
D. Bayne –
To start off, let me say that I’m pretty new DJ. When I first started I had an extremely modest setup consisting of:
– Numark iDJ Pro Controller
– Apple iPad Air
– TWO QFX Speakers (3 12″ Woofers in each cabinet)
– Pyle-Pro Microphone
– 2 Stellar Labs Portable Light Stand
– 8 RGB LED Stage Lights
– 64 LED Monster Moonflower Beam LED Effect Light
When I got my second speaker, I was wondering how in the world I could connect both sets to my controller, all while sounding great AND on a tight budget… I asked the question here IF you could hook up to powered (active) speakers to one controller and all the answers came back with YES, using this unit. Sadly, I had ordered another brand (one with very good reviews), which failed after only 5 months, so I ordered this one and all I can say is I really like it.
I had only been playing with my 2 speaker setup for a few days, when I hosted a lounge party with it for a couple dozen people, and everything sounded great. Using an RCA cable I was able to hook up to this mixer easily and then ran 2 TRS cables from the mixer to the speakers. Setup took a mere couple of minutes. I previously had issues with feedback when running my mic from either the DJ Controller or directly from the speakers. Hooking the mic through this mixer worked wonderfully, with no sign of feedback.
There are negatives that I have, although they have not prevented me from doing gigs (I DID subtract a star for the first of these):
– The power cable’s plug that connects to the mixer is some sort of proprietary connector that doesn’t “click” in or stay in very well for that matter. I had one time during dinner music where the plug disconnected from the mixer. Yup, it did, causing all music to go out. Had that been a paying gig, there could have been some serious issues. As it stands, I plugged it back in and kept going on. The other issue with a proprietary plug is that if it breaks, it MIGHT be hard to find a replacement.
-Sound Quality: I cannot quite put a finger on it, but this mixers sound is a little more tinny and lower than my previous, comparable mixer. To compensate for this I simply use the DJ Controllers volume/gain and bass/mid/treble knobs.
All in all, I DO like this mixer and would recommend it to others on a budget.
Andreano Claudio –
L’ho presa per fare delle registrazioni casalinghe. Non sono un esperto di mixer e schede audio quindi consiglio di guardare le recesioni su youtube con esperti veri del settore. Per il mio utilizzo è perfetta, non ho bisogno di molti ingressi. Comunque si può collegare un microfono, una chitarra ed eventualmente un registratore per una base. Permette anche dicollegare un microfono professionale, con alimentazione separata. Ho dovuto aggiungere una UCA 222 per collegare l’uscita con il computer e col software audio. Esiste un prodotto simile a questa scheda che ha già l’uscita USB.
George –
This thing really is useful. I started using one as a simple headphone/monitor control for a DAW here and it sits nicely by the computer keyboard. I’ve since bought a second one and modded the first with some opamp swaps and a less-bright orange power LED (as noted by another reviewer). I also had coincidentally added rubber feet to both of mine to handle that sliding around issue.
Another reviewer mentioned the mic pre going full blast at the very end of the trim knob range. Both mine have this to a degree, but one is way more pronounced. The pot itself is a good part of it (I swapped pots between the two), but it may be the circuit as well. I haven’t tried to resolve that yet and it isn’t that big of a deal here.
Wishes– Phantom power as others have mentioned. A single clean pre which could also do condensers would be great. Also, there is no easy way to grab the mic signal without including the full mix. A pre-fader direct out for the mic channel, or an insert jack which could be used like that would make it a lot more useful for tracking vocals and stuff where you needed the rest of the mixer for DAW/monitor duty. BTW- I don’t believe there’s a newer 502 with phantom as mentioned in another review. He may be thinking of the 802. I bought one of those a few days ago too. Seems nice too, but there’s nothing like the compact size of that smaller one.
Take Care
PS- Looks like my first one was bought used in 2007. The second was within a year of that and they’re in use most of the day, so I guess they’ve had ample time to break if they were going to. 😉
**Edit** After some fishing around, it looks like there actually may be some new modded version of this thing with phantom power, but I can’t find any hard proof of it on their site, and the downloadable docs and spec sheets look the same as always. Some users mention a sticker added to newer boxes stating “Now with phantom power!”, but it sounds as if there is no way to disable it or know that it’s on as with the larger models. Someone else mentioned that it only measured 30vDC, but that may not be a problem. If it really has any, good for B!
lorys95 –
Mi aspettavo che con la funzione 2-tr potessi inserire un canale ascoltabile solo in cuffia (monitoring) e non all’esterno, invece non è così: serve per far sentire solo quel canale, sia all’esterno che in cuffia.
L’ho preso soprattutto per questa funzione che invece non esiste.
Per il resto nulla da dire, fa il suo, è piccolo e compatto, molto versatile per situazioni modeste in cui si hanno pochi strumenti ma si vuole essere comodi nel gestire i volumi (ideale per sessioni da camera, dirette e simili). Credo sia il miglior prodotto e il più economico di questa fascia.
David Gaston –
For the price this mixer works very well