Midas MR 18

For its price point at the time of purchase (£4 than the XR18), the MR18 was a worthwhile upgrade over the Behringer XR18. For this review I'm only going to explain why I think the MR18 is better than the XR18.

The pre-amps sound fantastic. The first microphone I tested them with was an AKG C414 on vocals and acoustic guitar and I was blown away. They are in my opinion better than the pre-amps on the X/XR series (which are already very good) and they are considerably better on some older digital mixers (Yamaha 01v96i in particular).

The genuine neutrik locking xlr connectors are fantastic and mean I no longer worry about cables getting pulled out and the 10 year warranty is also fantastic and gives me great confidence.

The wifi is sadly as poor as on the XR18 and you will need a wireless router with you to ensure a strong, reliable and secure connection. The MR18 also lacks hi-z inputs (the XR18 has these) but this is because the Midas Pro Preamp design lacks the circuitry for hi-z, but I prefer to use a DI anyway - hi-z was just a nice 'just in case',

This was our first digital mixer. We opted for the higher quality preamps over the XR18 model. The only drawback here is that there are no Hi-Z inputs. This was not a concern of ours, and we use a DI box for our Bassist usually.

Firstly - If it hasn't been beaten into your skull yet - you need an external secure wifi router connected. I'm a technical nut - so I bought a cheap one and put OpenWRT firmware on it. This way I can easily bridge the house wifi (w/NAT) to our own personal band network which then gives our devices house internet access, AND secure access to the mixer control.

Second - Expect a learning curve. My mate has a degree in audio recording, and I am an electrical design engineer. It still took us hours playing around to understand the signal routing, aux bussing (for IEMs), and FX. It took about 4 rehearsals to have it figured out enough for gigging.

Third - I LOVE THIS THING, it has amazing sound, and is a 100% Linux compatible interface, class compliant (no driver needed). I multi-track record all of our gigs with great results! I use electronic drums, and also record the MIDI hits directly with the audio. I am using 100% FOSS software for this on Dell laptop. Fedora Workstation (w/ native pipewire!), Ardour (DAW), Carla (signal routing / onboard effects). The requirements of this system are stupid low. To test that, I was able to multitrack record on an ancient dual-core laptop with 4G of RAM, and a slow spinning rust HDD. (But you NEED to be running Linux for this - windows is too bloated)

Fourth - I haven't tested it yet (but will soon) - but apparently a midi control surface (like Mackie MCU Pro) can be used as a physical mixer interface. COOL!

We all use the Mixing Station App because it is very flexible, and I can customize my layout on my tablet. Its worth the $5. Also it is quite lovely being able to all have IEMs and control our own mixes.

In closing, this mixer is nothing short of amazing, and can easily find a place in your toolkit, be it in a home studio or on the road.

This might easily be one of the top 5 purchase I've ever done.
This is simply great! I use it as audio interface for recording drums.

I used to go through a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40+adat, and was very concerned about sound quality/noisy pres. There's none of that! If you crank it, you will hear something, but if You record in a safe spot (-12, -6) you will be more than fine! Pres sound very good. I clean the signal at the source, and record after filters/eq on my DAW via ethernet cable, cause I will anyway be the only one using this boy, and have absolutely no plans to use it live for mixing, so I actually have never tried the wifi-router thing.
I was also a bit worried about the USB connection, being used to Firewire-Thunderbolt, but I have to say it's just flawless already recording on an external SSD connected to a 1TB SSD MacMini.
I can't praise this little monster enough!

Absolutely awesome!

This piece of gear is the perfect choice for anyone trying to step up his recording game! Whether its a home studio, live sessions, or album recordings this is your go to if you’re tight or budget. Use an ipad for versatile sound editing and mixing on the spot as you navigate between musicians. Great for multitrack recording and its 6 aux/buses makes it very friendly for group recordings as you can control who hears what and the levels of each. EQ, 4 effects rack, and dynamics options make this unit a mobile beast! Save your presets to navigate from your in studio and live customized templates to save time.

In conclusion, this mixer is hassle free, sounds great, amazing processing, yet might seem complicated at first for the lack of faders but once you get used to it, you will rarely be able to use it to its full potential from the amount of options it gives you.

To start, I do sound engineering for a living and its not the first and only mixer that I have in my hand. But this one is a real desaster... Well build and really compact with beautifull spec on paper... But HOW DO YOU ENJOY IT IF IT DOESN'T WORK ? Seriously, the mixer is impossible to connect and the only very few times I succeeded, it crashes 2 minutes after that. Tried with direct ethernet, external router and built in access wifi. It look like the app is not updated and supported anymore by the brand and even Mixing Station, the famous app that work with a lot of mixer and for what i've paid 18 euro for the M air version, "doesn't recognise this mixer". Even more strange, this is a 1.19 firmware but the last version available online is 1.18... The name when I see it on my (not) available mixer is MR18V2.... "V2" ? But why launching a V2 version without any solution to control it ??? With my SQ6, ok, I still have my fader, but here, it is juste a useless mixer that simply doesn't work. And I'm not the only one complaining on the internet and on the official website/community blog about stability issue and lack of update and reaction to the problem. Just not professional and disrespectful. I needed a small rack mixer for a contract in 2 days and now I will have to pay myself to rent one. Thank you Midas...

Don't buy.. all those five star ratings.. how?? i guess no-one has ever worked on a real console.

i bought it because my old one needed a repair and this was the only available to buy.

crappy app.. useless on tablet. to have full features you need a laptop or computer.

on channels one to four you have 60db of gain at laptop and tablet.

on channels 5 to 12 you have 60 db of gain on laptop and 20 db at the tablet.. really?? were are the other 40??

on channels 13 to 16 you have 60db of gain on laptop and oups... were is the gain on these at the tablet?? really??

lets go to auxiliary now.. only on tablet you see a full mixer at the auxiliary and fx. try that on the tablet.. you only have access on the master of each.

the app is slow as hell and doesn't help you at all when you need to do something fast especially on a live situation.

unfortunately i can't return this because my 30 days have passed so i have to sell it since i got my old console back.

the visuals on the app... just don't exist.. stupid compressor, gate , eq views slow q there , the spectrum analyser is seconds slower that what really happens at the time.

I could write for hours about this useless gear. i believe that when this is your first console you have it as a God. when you see a real console you think what a crap was that midas. oh.. i bet that the behringer is worst that this.

i can't understand how such bad piece of gear became a standard and all use.

if by mistake you have a speaker on an you either turn it on or of you have a big surprise there. there is a bang sound so loud. really?? no protection there?

Don't buy!! never!! buy the Mackie great console great app! nice visuals full access app no computer needed and really fast in everything you do. no bang sounds on opening and closing it even when you have a speaker on.

The future is here, no more need for heavy and cumbersome stage snakes, this small box takes care of everything. I've heard you should prepare with an external wifi point if you inted to use this wirelessly, as the included wifi is somewhat weak and drops out easily when everyone in the audience has smart phones in their pocket. With this, you can also record everything on a computer with 16 separate tracks, which is a huge plus! Instant live album, which you can mix later in your home studio. The guitar effects are uselessly horrible sounding, but basic EQ, compression and gate work ok, the reverb isn't too good. So not ultimate hifi experience, but that's not required when you look at the price tag and think what this tiny box accomplishes. Just few years ago that would have required a huge and heavy rack. Mixing from ipad with no cables is awesome.

The Android app is quite ugly but works fine, the ipad app looks a lot better. Oh, and a side note, the recording driver for windows is different in Midas and Behringer versions of the mixer, so don't try to install the wrong one and then wonder why it doesn't work.

Bought another MR18 for my company, received the unit and I was unable to connect to it using iPad app M-Air, contacted Music Tribe, and this was their reply : "We appreciate you reaching out for support. From what I understand, the newer units manufactured from 2023 are running V2 hardware, which is not compatible with the old iOS app, at least not currently. We are developing a new app, but I cannot verify a release date. You could try MIXING STATION as an alternative in the interim. The new app will have a limited feature set, and it will take several release before the new app is fully featured, so it would be beneficial to use a computer EDIT program or MIXING STATION. " So I now have a iPad controlled mixer that does not have a full feature iPad app (Mixing Station needs you to buy a license) that I need to connect to a laptop....
After complaining... to them , this is the reply I got from Music tribe:
"Let's be clear, the X-Air/M-Air mixers have been around for quite some time. It is only recently within the last year that Apples iOS 16 update caused incompatibility with our iPad app, which is why we are working diligently to produce a new application. While the iPad is the preferred method of remote control, it is certainly not the only method of remote control. We as well have MAC/PC EDIT apps that can connect wirelessly. MIXING STATION is an option for iPad, even though it is 3rd party it is definitely an option and many people would tell you that it's a superb app for a few dollars, just check the reviews if you're not sure about it. So to be absolutely clear, you have several steering wheels to choose from, but it is up to you to decide how to proceed."

The overall sound quality is good and noiseless. that's primary function so that's good. in terms of the configuration it requires some practice and would be confusing how the FXs are controlled, i think that that part could be done better, rest is clear and perfectly fine.

In terms MIDAS pre-amps, I have not problem with it is really solid part.

I decided to get this equipment because I was planned to control it through MIDI interface. it works good however transition from one FX setup to the other takes 2-3 seconds, which is not expected behavior.
Missed item is no pedal FX ON/OFF possibility.

Well know issue with WIFI, could be solved. I replaced antenna, and secured network, no issues identified.