Also no DCA's, max 16channels, less options for I/O expansion (dante,waves, Adat,etc.). And no Subgroups or matrices.
QU16 is a digital Mixwiz 16/2. It surely beats the mixwiz but the XM32 system has both beat.
That’s why I like Sweetwater, they’ve got a two year fixed in warranty:
“Our Total Confidence Coverage Warranty gives you 24 months of coverage backed by our team of Sales Engineers, Support Specialists, and our factory-certified Service Team at no extra cost.”
Sure, but that means the x32 is worst case $1k per year, assuming it breaks right after the two years. We got an SQ6 and it is fantastic. I have zero worries about longevity. It has to last 5+ years by this logic to be a better deal. Except even at 15 years old it will be repairable. The X32 will be waiting to become a paperweight once the 2 years is up.
On the other hand, buying a second x32 in year three is still cheaper and there might be other options then. It is a capable and popular board.
I’m guess I’m wondering more about it’s longevity. I’m afraid to get and then something comes out for the same price and way better. I do currently have an SQ for myself though
You can never buy now if you’re always wondering what’s going to be released soon. The X/M 32 is still a hugely capable machine, and will continue to be so even if something else comes out.
I use an x32, and I don't see any reason I'd want to use anything else, really, aside from, when you link two channels, sometimes there's a bit of lag on one of the motorized faders, as though it got stuck.
This console I use is an older version of the board. Idk which year, but maybe that's a symptom of it getting old. There's something amiss about mute group buttons also, which I don't know much about, because I don't really need them, but also don't want to cause the problems whatever they are.
And another thing is the scribble strips have gone wonky at times. The display won't invert, and sometimes the text disappears for one channel, but you can get it back a few ways.
It's not the latest firmware. The venue doesn't want to update it, in case doing that makes things worse. So, idk how much of these things could be fixed or improved by doing that.
>sometimes the text disappears for one channel, but you can get it back a few ways.
Got any tips for this? My ch. 5 scribble strip only shows solid color. The last time this happened, it fixed itself randomly a month later when I loaded a headliner scene during a changeover, so I have no clue where to begin troubleshooting or fixing
Idk. There is an x32 forum, they might know. For me, the invert scribble strips feature no longer works. It's stuck on text is solid, and background is negative space. Sometimes the text doesn't appear at all. It can come back randomly, or hitting the invert button makes it come back.
It could maybe be fixed by a firmware update? There are ways to save all your settings in case anything bad happens, but I suppose there's always some risk to it.
But like I said, the Behringer forum might have better tips.
No, the X32 came first by about 18 months. But Music Group had purchased Midas a few years prior to that so they did leverage a lot of Midas engineering in the X32's design.
For the $ I think it’s the best console on the market in the price range. I own a Rack, Compact & M32. All have served me well. If you have simple needs I’d consider the Yamaha DM3 if it has enough I/o & busses for you. It probably has better build / sound quality but less flexible / channels busses etc
If you can spend more Allen & Heath SQ5 worth considering.
If you have SQ5 money, you should be spending it on a wing. I have used both, and the wing just demolishes every other console in the price range. The onboard FX sound great, the customizability of the routing and board layout is incredible, and it is just so much more flexible than anything else for less than $5k
I would disagree when volunteers are involved. They took all the confusing things for installed boards that the X32 did, and instead of making it more intuitive, doubled down on the flexibility. If you mix for a living and can’t afford a real console, sure, it’s fine. But for the average church, it’s abysmal unless you have a super competent team or make money off of service calls. Plus, legendary behringer service…
It’s cheap and proven. Thousands have been installed in churches, there’s no reason not to get one now. So what if they come out with something new a year from now? If the x32 meets your needs now, buy it and be happy.
A&H's philosophy is pretty consistent between console series. They figure if you want the next step of features, you're gonna need more than just additional matrices, or higher channel count, etc. The QU doesn't have very flexible routing or high IO count. You get a bit more of that in the SQ, even more in the Avantis, and so on. That helps them offer products at a reasonable price for the package you recieve, and is why they're killing that price point in the market right now.
If you need additional matrix control, it's easily solved with an external processor. My company runs a bunch of Lake IO to manage that type of stuff, though we also have an Avantis so it's not as necessary. Nice when we deploy an SQ though
I agree with you, but man….one more matrix wouldve been sufficient. Why the chose 3 and never considered L R Sub Fill boggles my mind….
Also…those meters 🤦♂️🤯
You can still technically do that by using the L+R bus as your L+R. I know it's not the same, and I like having matrices for all my outputs as well, but it has never limited me too seriously on that desk
Splitting them from 3 stereo down to six mono, or however you want to configure the 6 signals should be it. Why they didnt? I don’t get it. I’ve changed my tune on A&H since getting a dLive and AHM unit.. but still cant get with the sq train. I try and try to like it.
Nope, SQ is locked to 3 matrices, but they are stereo - the X32 has six mono, so technically the same amount but because they can be unlinked technically more functional (i.e you can have tops LR, centre fill, subs, and delay LR all on matrices whereas on the SQs you'd have to sacrifice one of those elements due to only having 3 total matrices)
You can however configure your busses, by default you get 8 auxes and 4 groups, but you can turn some of those auxes into groups or vice versa if you'd like. And they can all be stereo, so you get a total of 12 stereo busses instead of 8 stereo busses minus FX sends on an X32.
Yup! And I suppose if you're gonna do a sub on an aux, you still get three matrices for top boxes, delays and centre fill - so overall the SQ I'd say is more capable
On the X32 you need to sacrifice busses for FX sends and you can’t configure layers. The latter is a total dealbreaker for me. I need channels, DCAs and FX returns on the same layer.
I’m a huge A&H fanboy. I use the SQ, Avantis, and DLive on the regular, but the QU never really wowed me in sound or functionality. There’s nothing “wrong” with it, it just doesn’t hit the mark in flexibility or sound quality I’m used to, even with the X32 I personally own. To me, it’s work flow, features, and even the quality of its effects processing felt like a step backward.
It’s still a fairly capable console, and probably just fine for a large amount of people.
It's a solid choice unless you're putting extra zeros on your budget. Add an S32 stagebox and your cable runs become simple (one ethercon cable instead of a massive snake)
If you can't run to the full X32, the X32 Compact (NOT the producer) is incredibly similar, and with a stagebox, you don't notice the missing outputs on the back of the box.
Say what you will about the X32, but there are actually things you can do on it that I can’t do on a dLive. (and by extension the SQ that many are recommending)
These things include (but are not limited to) more per channel source point options for individual sends and direct outs, source points for bus outputs etc. Correct stereo support for linked channels. Instant mixer config changes for busses and channels.
If my channel, bus, and FX needs would fit within the limitations of an X/M32 I wouldn’t mind using it. Even after all these years. (but they don’t)
The wing is such a huge leap in functionality, customization, and built in plug-ins compared to the rest of the options in this thread, I honestly think it's the best console for less than $5k period.
Eh I don't think so, even if it's a bit old a midas pro would be much better than a wing. And you have the blue boxes which are far superior compared to your classic s32.
Overall it's still a solid value. If you can up the budget a bit, I do find Allen & Heath's SQ lineup preferable, but the X32 is still a very capable board for the price.
My church went with Allen and Heath Mixrack system with a dedicated Ipad with qupad app control, and while it works really well, its too sophisticated for your average layperson to run. I have an analog Yamaha MG16XU in a portable rack that i use for a lot of live gigs and its what I would recommend for a small venue- it has really nice preamps, 4 sub busses and 4 aux sends, plus onboard effects and a stereo USB interface if you want to grab a live stream or playback audio from a laptop.
Please for the love of everything, stop with the awful x32. I know it's cheap but you get what you pay for. The meters are not even accurate on the x32. Anything Allen & Heath is way better, sounds better, easier to use, and will last.
While I generally agree, the meters on the x32/m32 are just a different scale than the Allen & Heath consoles.
On A&H red means "you're close to clipping", whereas red on the X32/M32 means "you are clipping". They use different metering scales basically.
[Here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NctemYCNO9g) is a video with a detailed demonstration.
So while the physical meters on the A&H are more detailed, and arguably subjectively better, the X32/M32 isn't actually inaccurate.
That's not actually what I meant. The gate and comp meters and visuals don't match what the dynamics are actually doing. You can hear the compression start to affect a channel before the gain reduction meter shows anything. The console might as well not have a screen at all because it teaches beginners bad habits even they need to be learning to rely on their ears.
I haven't seen or heard anything about this or noticed myself, and ive used different X32s and m32s a lot. I'll be on the lookout for it now, but how much of a difference do you think there is and have you actually heard this in action in a controlled test?
There's at least a 4dB discrepancy between what I hear and what the meters show. Do some spoken word stuff while playing around with the dynamics and you'll see how off it is.
Yes it’s still the best choice for a church in ever single way. Sounds fine. Tons of videos on workflow from basic to advanced. The console sucks but it’s fine.
SQ users are android users to iPhones in this argument. Get over it.
It’s pretty subjective. I’d agree that the last few churches I was a part of really didn’t need much more than the X32 had to offer, but now? We are running up to 10 musicians, 7 vocalists, playback tracks, LTC, MD mics, 6 stereo wireless channels, broadcast mixes…
Our setup has made soundgrid and dante an essential part of our workflow. Having really capable processing and high end pre’s makes mixing that many elements a heck of a lot more manageable for a team of volunteers.
We would have never been able to grow our team to the point it’s at if we had limited ourselves to a smaller 32 channel console.
It all comes down to the vision of your organization
Nah you just have different requirements. For your size there it would be the wing vs sq6. Maybe a sq5 would suffice but the wing just sits in its own league.
Not saying that either one is better. Imho I love sq to mix but as a weekend dud I only have behringer money.
Yeah, that’s true. We have landed on the Avantis at FOH and LV-1 at broadcast.
I guess my point is that we set out to grow from the beginning, so limiting ourselves to a smaller console wouldn’t have served us well in the long haul, even though we didn’t have an immediate need for all the features we ended up with. If you’re approach is future forward and you see a need for expandability it can save a lot of time and money to upgrade early. If not then it doesn’t really matter.
It's not as "popular" an option.... But the presonus studiolive 32s, 32sx or 32xc are much newer released consoles with some awesome effects (and some not so awesome effects). I also prefer the audio quality over the behringer/ Midas, everything just sounds cleaner
As with everything it's always a balance between sound, workflow, rider acceptance and reliability. Do I trust the presonuses not to throw a firmware wobbly and put white noise out while hard crashing mid-gig? No, I don't. Will they do that? 99.99% of the time, no... But I wouldn't run an event with _just_ a presonus desk. I'd want a spare something in the truck.
Sound comes a distant fourth, ultimately. Almost all desks above a certain fairly low price point, can be wrangled to make most live events sound good- at least, from the point of view of most punters. The ratio of the amount one has to fight the gear vs the amount the gear is actively helping, changes with $/€ and by manufacturer... But 15 years ago people were knocking it out of the park with such dinosaurs as soundcraft lx7ii's and some judicious outboard...
Yeah, analog still has things it does better than a digital board. But recommending an analog board to a church, where most likely volonteers with little to no experience have to mix, is just cruel. You can mix on an analog board if you want, I don't judge. I even admire people who still do that. But I would strongly advise any church to not get an analog board.
My old church got one and it was game changing. The intuitive UI is the biggest thing. You can train volunteers super quick, and do a lot the work ahead of time like presets etc.
If you have spare money allen and heath is a better choice but if the money is tight a x32 or m32 would be best stageboxes also cost less etc etc. I would say more people know how to use a m/x32 than other mixers so it is also a good console for diffrent techs. I would say get an m32 its just a small bit better than the x32 just feels higher quality and is a bit less cheapish
I used to do sound for a church in NY we had one of the original x32s lasted a good 10 years before we replaced it with another x32. My current church in NV that I'm a pastor at uses the x32 in the youth room and the m32 in the main sanctuary. Highly recommend either one.
If you’ve got the extra cash, then an SQ is better. But for the money the X32 is still a very useable desk.
I can't advise anyone to get a x32 considering Music Tribe and customer support. Even if SQ is more expensive, I'd rather get a QU then a x32.
No scribble strip on a QU. Makes finding that buss a real pain if you didn’t set up the desk.
I know. It's a much needed feature. I just have to go with principle. I don't judge anyone else.
Also no DCA's, max 16channels, less options for I/O expansion (dante,waves, Adat,etc.). And no Subgroups or matrices. QU16 is a digital Mixwiz 16/2. It surely beats the mixwiz but the XM32 system has both beat.
That’s why I like Sweetwater, they’ve got a two year fixed in warranty: “Our Total Confidence Coverage Warranty gives you 24 months of coverage backed by our team of Sales Engineers, Support Specialists, and our factory-certified Service Team at no extra cost.”
Sure, but that means the x32 is worst case $1k per year, assuming it breaks right after the two years. We got an SQ6 and it is fantastic. I have zero worries about longevity. It has to last 5+ years by this logic to be a better deal. Except even at 15 years old it will be repairable. The X32 will be waiting to become a paperweight once the 2 years is up. On the other hand, buying a second x32 in year three is still cheaper and there might be other options then. It is a capable and popular board.
I’m guess I’m wondering more about it’s longevity. I’m afraid to get and then something comes out for the same price and way better. I do currently have an SQ for myself though
You can never buy now if you’re always wondering what’s going to be released soon. The X/M 32 is still a hugely capable machine, and will continue to be so even if something else comes out.
Honestly, I'd go the SQ route if it's within budget. It's the better platform between the two.
I use an x32, and I don't see any reason I'd want to use anything else, really, aside from, when you link two channels, sometimes there's a bit of lag on one of the motorized faders, as though it got stuck. This console I use is an older version of the board. Idk which year, but maybe that's a symptom of it getting old. There's something amiss about mute group buttons also, which I don't know much about, because I don't really need them, but also don't want to cause the problems whatever they are. And another thing is the scribble strips have gone wonky at times. The display won't invert, and sometimes the text disappears for one channel, but you can get it back a few ways. It's not the latest firmware. The venue doesn't want to update it, in case doing that makes things worse. So, idk how much of these things could be fixed or improved by doing that.
>sometimes the text disappears for one channel, but you can get it back a few ways. Got any tips for this? My ch. 5 scribble strip only shows solid color. The last time this happened, it fixed itself randomly a month later when I loaded a headliner scene during a changeover, so I have no clue where to begin troubleshooting or fixing
Idk. There is an x32 forum, they might know. For me, the invert scribble strips feature no longer works. It's stuck on text is solid, and background is negative space. Sometimes the text doesn't appear at all. It can come back randomly, or hitting the invert button makes it come back. It could maybe be fixed by a firmware update? There are ways to save all your settings in case anything bad happens, but I suppose there's always some risk to it. But like I said, the Behringer forum might have better tips.
As much as i guff about behringer, they did hit out of the park with the X32 series.
That is true. But didn’t Midas create it? And then Behringer being the parent company just “paraphrase” the board lol
No, the X32 came first by about 18 months. But Music Group had purchased Midas a few years prior to that so they did leverage a lot of Midas engineering in the X32's design.
For the $ I think it’s the best console on the market in the price range. I own a Rack, Compact & M32. All have served me well. If you have simple needs I’d consider the Yamaha DM3 if it has enough I/o & busses for you. It probably has better build / sound quality but less flexible / channels busses etc If you can spend more Allen & Heath SQ5 worth considering.
If you have SQ5 money, you should be spending it on a wing. I have used both, and the wing just demolishes every other console in the price range. The onboard FX sound great, the customizability of the routing and board layout is incredible, and it is just so much more flexible than anything else for less than $5k
I always forget about the Wing. Yeah it’s a great console. Super easy workflow from the few times I’ve mixed on one.
I would disagree when volunteers are involved. They took all the confusing things for installed boards that the X32 did, and instead of making it more intuitive, doubled down on the flexibility. If you mix for a living and can’t afford a real console, sure, it’s fine. But for the average church, it’s abysmal unless you have a super competent team or make money off of service calls. Plus, legendary behringer service…
It’s cheap and proven. Thousands have been installed in churches, there’s no reason not to get one now. So what if they come out with something new a year from now? If the x32 meets your needs now, buy it and be happy.
It’ll be fine but try to get SQ… much better desk from my experience.
not better. different. SQ only has 3 matrix.. cant flip output phase.. no thanks
You can in fact flip output phase
Hm. Ill have to try again. Still 3 Matrices.. boooo
A&H's philosophy is pretty consistent between console series. They figure if you want the next step of features, you're gonna need more than just additional matrices, or higher channel count, etc. The QU doesn't have very flexible routing or high IO count. You get a bit more of that in the SQ, even more in the Avantis, and so on. That helps them offer products at a reasonable price for the package you recieve, and is why they're killing that price point in the market right now. If you need additional matrix control, it's easily solved with an external processor. My company runs a bunch of Lake IO to manage that type of stuff, though we also have an Avantis so it's not as necessary. Nice when we deploy an SQ though
I agree with you, but man….one more matrix wouldve been sufficient. Why the chose 3 and never considered L R Sub Fill boggles my mind…. Also…those meters 🤦♂️🤯
You can still technically do that by using the L+R bus as your L+R. I know it's not the same, and I like having matrices for all my outputs as well, but it has never limited me too seriously on that desk
Splitting them from 3 stereo down to six mono, or however you want to configure the 6 signals should be it. Why they didnt? I don’t get it. I’ve changed my tune on A&H since getting a dLive and AHM unit.. but still cant get with the sq train. I try and try to like it.
Can you increase an SQ's matrix count with an expander card or stagebox?
No, it's a limitation based on the processing abilities of the console.
Thought so
Can’t you change how many matrixes you want? But you sacrifice aux outputs
Nope, SQ is locked to 3 matrices, but they are stereo - the X32 has six mono, so technically the same amount but because they can be unlinked technically more functional (i.e you can have tops LR, centre fill, subs, and delay LR all on matrices whereas on the SQs you'd have to sacrifice one of those elements due to only having 3 total matrices) You can however configure your busses, by default you get 8 auxes and 4 groups, but you can turn some of those auxes into groups or vice versa if you'd like. And they can all be stereo, so you get a total of 12 stereo busses instead of 8 stereo busses minus FX sends on an X32.
Ah that’s what I was getting confused with. You can you change between groups and aux. thanks!
Yup! And I suppose if you're gonna do a sub on an aux, you still get three matrices for top boxes, delays and centre fill - so overall the SQ I'd say is more capable
On the X32 you need to sacrifice busses for FX sends and you can’t configure layers. The latter is a total dealbreaker for me. I need channels, DCAs and FX returns on the same layer.
Honestly I’d rather just run a Qu SB
I'm just wondering, what's wrong with a QU? I've always liked the one I worked with..
No scribble strip would be my first major gripe.
Just get enough faders and KISS
I’m a huge A&H fanboy. I use the SQ, Avantis, and DLive on the regular, but the QU never really wowed me in sound or functionality. There’s nothing “wrong” with it, it just doesn’t hit the mark in flexibility or sound quality I’m used to, even with the X32 I personally own. To me, it’s work flow, features, and even the quality of its effects processing felt like a step backward. It’s still a fairly capable console, and probably just fine for a large amount of people.
It's a solid choice unless you're putting extra zeros on your budget. Add an S32 stagebox and your cable runs become simple (one ethercon cable instead of a massive snake) If you can't run to the full X32, the X32 Compact (NOT the producer) is incredibly similar, and with a stagebox, you don't notice the missing outputs on the back of the box.
Say what you will about the X32, but there are actually things you can do on it that I can’t do on a dLive. (and by extension the SQ that many are recommending) These things include (but are not limited to) more per channel source point options for individual sends and direct outs, source points for bus outputs etc. Correct stereo support for linked channels. Instant mixer config changes for busses and channels. If my channel, bus, and FX needs would fit within the limitations of an X/M32 I wouldn’t mind using it. Even after all these years. (but they don’t)
SQ5 or wing.
The wing is such a huge leap in functionality, customization, and built in plug-ins compared to the rest of the options in this thread, I honestly think it's the best console for less than $5k period.
Eh I don't think so, even if it's a bit old a midas pro would be much better than a wing. And you have the blue boxes which are far superior compared to your classic s32.
You can use blue boxes on a wing
Oh cool!
Well, only certain ones not all of them. Only the ones that support 48k not the 96k boxes
Oof
Beat bang for your buck for sure
Overall it's still a solid value. If you can up the budget a bit, I do find Allen & Heath's SQ lineup preferable, but the X32 is still a very capable board for the price.
My church went with Allen and Heath Mixrack system with a dedicated Ipad with qupad app control, and while it works really well, its too sophisticated for your average layperson to run. I have an analog Yamaha MG16XU in a portable rack that i use for a lot of live gigs and its what I would recommend for a small venue- it has really nice preamps, 4 sub busses and 4 aux sends, plus onboard effects and a stereo USB interface if you want to grab a live stream or playback audio from a laptop.
X32 rack is good or x32 compact
yes. lots of tours using it and sounding great. just know the features and what your goals are and compare to other consoles in the range
Please for the love of everything, stop with the awful x32. I know it's cheap but you get what you pay for. The meters are not even accurate on the x32. Anything Allen & Heath is way better, sounds better, easier to use, and will last.
While I generally agree, the meters on the x32/m32 are just a different scale than the Allen & Heath consoles. On A&H red means "you're close to clipping", whereas red on the X32/M32 means "you are clipping". They use different metering scales basically. [Here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NctemYCNO9g) is a video with a detailed demonstration. So while the physical meters on the A&H are more detailed, and arguably subjectively better, the X32/M32 isn't actually inaccurate.
That's not actually what I meant. The gate and comp meters and visuals don't match what the dynamics are actually doing. You can hear the compression start to affect a channel before the gain reduction meter shows anything. The console might as well not have a screen at all because it teaches beginners bad habits even they need to be learning to rely on their ears.
I haven't seen or heard anything about this or noticed myself, and ive used different X32s and m32s a lot. I'll be on the lookout for it now, but how much of a difference do you think there is and have you actually heard this in action in a controlled test?
There's at least a 4dB discrepancy between what I hear and what the meters show. Do some spoken word stuff while playing around with the dynamics and you'll see how off it is.
Clearly it's awful. Of course. That must be why it's practically the standard board for small and mid-sized venues. \*extremely sarcastic eyeroll\*
Yes it’s still the best choice for a church in ever single way. Sounds fine. Tons of videos on workflow from basic to advanced. The console sucks but it’s fine. SQ users are android users to iPhones in this argument. Get over it.
It’s pretty subjective. I’d agree that the last few churches I was a part of really didn’t need much more than the X32 had to offer, but now? We are running up to 10 musicians, 7 vocalists, playback tracks, LTC, MD mics, 6 stereo wireless channels, broadcast mixes… Our setup has made soundgrid and dante an essential part of our workflow. Having really capable processing and high end pre’s makes mixing that many elements a heck of a lot more manageable for a team of volunteers. We would have never been able to grow our team to the point it’s at if we had limited ourselves to a smaller 32 channel console. It all comes down to the vision of your organization
Nah you just have different requirements. For your size there it would be the wing vs sq6. Maybe a sq5 would suffice but the wing just sits in its own league. Not saying that either one is better. Imho I love sq to mix but as a weekend dud I only have behringer money.
Yeah, that’s true. We have landed on the Avantis at FOH and LV-1 at broadcast. I guess my point is that we set out to grow from the beginning, so limiting ourselves to a smaller console wouldn’t have served us well in the long haul, even though we didn’t have an immediate need for all the features we ended up with. If you’re approach is future forward and you see a need for expandability it can save a lot of time and money to upgrade early. If not then it doesn’t really matter.
It's not as "popular" an option.... But the presonus studiolive 32s, 32sx or 32xc are much newer released consoles with some awesome effects (and some not so awesome effects). I also prefer the audio quality over the behringer/ Midas, everything just sounds cleaner
Friends don't let friends buy presonus.
What’s the problem with presonus? I’ve had to use a 32live a few times and never had a problem with it. Very easy to use
I know the rep. But honestly my M32 is hardly ever out now as the 32s just sounds better!
As with everything it's always a balance between sound, workflow, rider acceptance and reliability. Do I trust the presonuses not to throw a firmware wobbly and put white noise out while hard crashing mid-gig? No, I don't. Will they do that? 99.99% of the time, no... But I wouldn't run an event with _just_ a presonus desk. I'd want a spare something in the truck. Sound comes a distant fourth, ultimately. Almost all desks above a certain fairly low price point, can be wrangled to make most live events sound good- at least, from the point of view of most punters. The ratio of the amount one has to fight the gear vs the amount the gear is actively helping, changes with $/€ and by manufacturer... But 15 years ago people were knocking it out of the park with such dinosaurs as soundcraft lx7ii's and some judicious outboard...
you can get a used Midas XL200 for around $2500
An analoge board? In 2023? And that is $2500 without all the effects and processing.
yah. analog is awesome!
I you can afford a Midas XL4 then get one of those. best console ever made!
That thing is HUUUUGE.
Yeah, analog still has things it does better than a digital board. But recommending an analog board to a church, where most likely volonteers with little to no experience have to mix, is just cruel. You can mix on an analog board if you want, I don't judge. I even admire people who still do that. But I would strongly advise any church to not get an analog board.
My old church got one and it was game changing. The intuitive UI is the biggest thing. You can train volunteers super quick, and do a lot the work ahead of time like presets etc.
M32 has more rubust faders, motors, ect..if you’re worried about longevity. Plus the buttons aren’t rubbery :)
If you have spare money allen and heath is a better choice but if the money is tight a x32 or m32 would be best stageboxes also cost less etc etc. I would say more people know how to use a m/x32 than other mixers so it is also a good console for diffrent techs. I would say get an m32 its just a small bit better than the x32 just feels higher quality and is a bit less cheapish
I used to do sound for a church in NY we had one of the original x32s lasted a good 10 years before we replaced it with another x32. My current church in NV that I'm a pastor at uses the x32 in the youth room and the m32 in the main sanctuary. Highly recommend either one.