Behringer X32 Rack + S16: Do I need a splitter too? Help!

Pelikanen

Inspired
I'm thinking of buying a Behringer X32 Rack + S16 bundle. Does anyone know if these two units are all that's needed for IEM mixes and then sending everything to FOH, or do I need a splitter too?

I'd be super grateful if someone could explain this to me!
 
What dpeterson said. If I'm bringing my X32 to a show where there is a house sound guy with a house mixer, and I'm running our stage monitors and nothing more, I bring a split snake. But if we are also mixing FOH ourselves from the X32, not needed. There are plenty of outputs on the X32 to send to IEMs and/or wedges and also send a signal to FOH.

FWIW - We put the X32 on stage right next to the drummer. I have it in a 6 space rack with a couple of XLR patch bays/breakout panels mounted in the same rack so all of the connections are at the front of the rack. My band uses less than 16 inputs, so no need for the S16. But I can see the need for the S16 if you are over 16 inputs.

For a splitter, I have a couple of the ART S8's in a rack with a couple of Whirlwind snakes attached. I like the ground lifts and transformer isolated outputs.
 
What dpeterson said. If I'm bringing my X32 to a show where there is a house sound guy with a house mixer, and I'm running our stage monitors and nothing more, I bring a split snake. But if we are also mixing FOH ourselves from the X32, not needed. There are plenty of outputs on the X32 to send to IEMs and/or wedges and also send a signal to FOH.

FWIW - We put the X32 on stage right next to the drummer. I have it in a 6 space rack with a couple of XLR patch bays/breakout panels mounted in the same rack so all of the connections are at the front of the rack. My band uses less than 16 inputs, so no need for the S16. But I can see the need for the S16 if you are over 16 inputs.

For a splitter, I have a couple of the ART S8's in a rack with a couple of Whirlwind snakes attached. I like the ground lifts and transformer isolated outputs.

So do I understand this correctly? - if I only use the X32 (16 channels) I don't need a splitter to send the signal to FOH, but if I need more than 16 channels I need a splitter as well?
 
”...splitter to send the signal to FOH...”

Can you clarify what this means to you? X32 and s16 together can have up to 24 physical outputs (16 xlr , 6 aux out and 2 monitor out) plus some other out connections like adat, usb, p16, etc.

But, x32 only has 16 mix groups which I use to create 5 stereo IEM mixes, 4 wedge mixes and 2 effect send mixes. My L and R feed power amps to speakers when we run our own FOH speakers.

If “the signal” is a left and a right to FOH, prob can do without splitter. If it is some number of out and sub mixed outs that combined with your IEM need doesn’t run out of physical outs prob don’t need a splitter. Be advised if you run “direct out” from x32 to physical output it is after the preamp - no way around that I have found.

But if you want a sep. FOH system to control individual channels in the mains, prob need splitter. Lot of flexibility in these digital systems.

We run 24 channels input, and I have the options to run 16 channels to a different FOH board by sub mixing drums to kick, snare, hhat, drum l, drum r. Then the other 11 channels for instruments and voices. I do use 2 art S8 splitters in that setup, with 5 channels coming from x32 for drums and other channels from splitter. I like my eq and effects on the drums.
 
So do I understand this correctly? - if I only use the X32 (16 channels) I don't need a splitter to send the signal to FOH, but if I need more than 16 channels I need a splitter as well?
You need a splitter anytime you want to split the signal to your X32 and FOH separately.
 
Just to clearly answer something you've asked a couple times.

The purpose of using the splitter is so you can send the same INPUTS to two OUTPUTS - your mixer and the FOH mixer. This duplicates the inputs so that both your IEM mixer and the FOH mixer can independently mix the inputs as needed.

In our rig, we have 2 ART S8 splitters. As mentioned by someone else above, each input has a pad and ground lift button and the inputs are completely isolated as far as I am aware.

Some use a splitter snake box, so you'll have a box with inputs and have two actual hardwired snakes coming out, one for your mixer and the other for FOH.
 
We use significantly more than 16 channels, so we have the X32 rack AND the S16 snake from Behringer. Then, we are setting up multiple saved “scenes” where we use this in various ways (only IEM monitors-sending a separate split snake to FOH, AND IEM monitors plus mixing ourselves-where we send a stereo feed to FOH———-—>fully mixed
The split snake is simply just like a regular input box with 2 output tails—>one for you, one for FOH

It really seems like a great way to go in order to be able to cover all possibilities.
Sometimes there is plenty of time to set up, yet saving scenes cuts the time needed.

Good luck
 
Back
Top Bottom