In November 2019 Behringer introduced its latest digital mixer - the Wing. Although it is described as a 48-channel mixer with 24 motorized faders, that description is misleading. There are only 8 onboard Midas preamps, 8 Aux inputs and outputs, and 8 XLR outputs. Additional channels can be added using three AES50 ports for stage boxes. Each of its 48 channels — 40 Inputs plus eight returns — can operate as mono, stereo, or mid-side. And when you assign a stereo Source to a channel, it automatically renders the channel in stereo. On top of that, each channel features an alternate (ALT) input that can be stereo as well, which makes toggling between two Sources a breeze. The mixer can support up to 144 channels using 3 AES connectors, and it can support up to 374 inputs and outputs using various digital protocols.
An initial review of the Wing was published by John Spicer in Church Production.
The Wing is also an excellent digital recorder. Record up to 64 channels directly to dual-SD cards, use optional expansion cards to attain Dante, SoundGrid, or MADI support, or deploy the WING’s built-in 48-in/48-out USB audio interface to record straight to your DAW. The mixer includes a number of plugins that can be applied to each channel. Five plugins can be applied simultaneously to each channel. Another interesting feature is that the effect of an individual band of an EQ processor can be previewed using headphones before it is actually applied.
The Wing is truly amazing. There are too many aspects to describe in a blog page, but Behringer has published a detailed 18-minute video describing various aspects of this rather unusual digital mixer. I highly recommend it:
