Apart from it’s obvious reason of mixing audio signals, does anyone use a digital mixer as a sound card and/or daw controller? There are some digital mixers with lots of potential out there, but I was wondering whether they can be used to replace a dedicated sound card. I mean, in theory they do, but are there mixers (apart from the ones which cost a house) whose ad/da conversion stands up to quality sound cards? Can those mixers also be used for eq and compression with hi-end results or is it necessary to follow the traditional way of dedicated external hardware effects and/or vst plugins?
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Have a look at the Behringer Flow 8 Mixer. Great Bang for the Bug
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well, I am mainly asking whether it’s a common practice for home and small studios, and whether someone here is using one to share impressions, pros and cons. I think the discussion concerning which is one is better or cheaper is a big one any could take up another thread 
Quality mixers will stand up to quality sound-cards just fine, but the added functionality will come at a cost, which most musicians will not justify.
As DAW controllers they are not ideal either as the MIDI aspect is usually an afterthought on mixers, apart from a way of receiving time-code.
Regarding processing, they will sound quite good too, but most mixers will have just one type of EQ, one type of compressor, 4 reverb algos etc. With plugins you have an endless variety, so it’s way beyond good or bad, it’s what you want for a specific sound in a specific track.
Only reasons I could think you would want a mixer is for live recording several musicians on multiple monitor sends where you also need a lot of mic inputs, live recording jams or you just happen to love the workflow and sound of a particular mixer.
There is a practical case to be made, that if you are going to buy a sound card+mic pre’s+ MIDI controller+ monitor controller than you might as well have everything in one box and then there isn’t much of a cost difference at all. But most people just don’t do their shopping in such a concentrated way.
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I tend to think of this in the context of a mostly DAWless workflow, but wanting to record stuff on occasion. A digital mixer does not need to be connected to a computer in order to perform all its built-in functions, so I can leave it connected to my rig, turn it on and go. Currently I’m using an X32 Producer — which I already happened to own because my band plays out a couple times a year and sometimes has to do our own sound —connected to a DT and a eurorack modular with multiple outputs. This mixer is overkill for my needs, but I’ve found that I really like having real, physical channels at hand — same as having real knobs on a modular rather than VCV Rack or VSTs — when I’m noodling around. I’m much more likely now to tweak the EQ or compression on the mixer and get immediate results as I’m jamming and mixing stuff togther, rather than thinking of those as things I’ll add later in the DAW.
As an added bonus, I can run the mixer into an iPad or laptop and capture what I’m doing, and I think the sound quality is as good or better than any of the other audio interfaces I’ve used or owned. I should note that I’m mainly doing this for myself and treat music production as something to provide focus to my jam sessions. I’m an engineer, not a musician.
I have in the past tried to use the mixer as a DAW controller. The X32 supports a subset of the Mackie Control protocol, so you can map faders and pots to DAW channels, which works. I find it less than satisfying, primarily because you end up going back and forth between a keyboard/mouse and mixer faders, which feels awkward. That’s part of the reason I settled on trying to do EQ/compression/etc on the mixer, rather than “in the box”.
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In a professional setting you want (a) specialised sound card(s) and not some kind of compromise solution unless you’re on the look for a roadworthy or portable DAWless solution.
So I take your question from a hobbyist perspective. If you’re asking this question in this context, what keeps you from recording outside of the DAW?
For example, I no longer use any sound card and just record everything into my 1010 blackbox. From there I will take an idea into the DAW (via sd card) once I think that it is production worthy. Today’s computers have most of the processing power you need in a home studio. The use of the bb comes with a very liberating workflow, away from the mouse chasing in a DAW and slightly limited in terms of recording flexibility but the quality and “flow” are definitely there. No need to fire up any laptop and set up any template, and no temptation to edit while feeling inspired. If you need, you can destructively preprocess within the bb, that is if you need any DAW at all (otherwise it can also be non-destructive). Alternative: 1010 bluebox.
Moreover, sound cards will only stand the test of time if they comply to long lived standards (I guess most do) rather than requiring extra drivers. Once you need the latter you will be at the mercy of the manufacturer. If you’re looking at a mixer that can be used as a sound card, be sure not to overlook this detail.
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I’m using my XR18 as a sound card, works great. As a controller… not so well for obvious reasons. Haven’t used any built-in effects though.
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It could’ve been an awesome mixer, hadn’t Behringer cheaped out on inputs 1 and 2 by not using combo jacks.
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I‘m using a Presonus 32SC mixer and run it into my computer as a soundcard but I can also record all individual channels on SD card without any computer attached. The sound quality is good but I‘m not looking at it from a technical perspective with comparisons of before/after or anything like that. If I can record a clean signal I‘m good.
The dynamics and FX section is definitely usable but will also depend on what you’re trying to do. As already mentioned the dynamics section on such a mixer is rather limited since they’re not meant for sound design duties but to adjust your signal to fit better in the mix. The FX really depend on the manufacturer but here as well they’re not meant for heavy sound design duties but rather giving your mix a little more depth.
I haven’t used the “DAW Mode“ on my mixer yet so I can’t comment on that. If I used Studio One it would already be pre-mapped and since they both are from the same company, they’re also using a lot of the same plugins. In this case I could adjust all dynamics and FX parameters post recording or even set them all back to default and work with the dry signal. But if I use a DAW I want it to be quick and since I‘m so used to Ableton Live I couldn’t motivate myself to properly dive into Studio One. I don’t know if other Mixer/DAW combinations offer this kind of flexibility but if not then it’s just a matter of time.
One major appealing thing to me besides the hands on experience is the routing possibilities such a mixer gives you (depending on the I/O). It’s basically an included patchbay and in my case has motorised faders, which makes it a breeze to use.
It’s quite an investment though as these mixers don’t come cheap and depending on quality and features can even cost more than the rest of your studio combined. If you don’t have any use for it outside your studio setting and don’t make any money with your music it’s probably not the most necessary investment but it sure adds a lot of convenience once you’re familiar with it.
Rack versions of these kind of mixers are a bit cheaper but require a computer or laptop to properly operate them.
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…i use my allen&heath q-pac since a few years now and apart of the fact that it has no faders, it’s a full fledged shapeshifting mixer/16channel interface/standalone recorder/stem player/fx rack/live siderack patchbay…
purists might disagree, as they always do, for it’s small rack mix footprint due to the fact it’s faderfree but internal touchscreen handling and 48k processing “only”, but it does all that in a prestine fashion while easy to switch individual user configs and heaps of various individual scene settings that always include various possible routing options…
in the real world it’s decent 48k converting skills are all it really needs, it’s eq’s are top notch, it’s on board fx’s cover all the bread and butter stuff u can ask for, internal compressing and limiting jobs can be inserted on all 16 internal channels plus the master and it’s 8 group/bus outputs, it’s routing/signalflow options are endless but always practicable and in all kinds of live situations u can, of course also remote it via some additional external touchpad and internal wlan connection from anywhere in the venue including delay compensations for various speaker feeds…
and with various small extension racks u can add another 16 inputs of same quality and functionoptions flawlessly to it’s inner mix matrix and/or spent it even more mixgroupoutputs…
working within a daw setup it follows external clocking or act as masterclock and controls the standards like play/stop/record…no further external midi control options though…
it’s always with me in a standard narrow 19" case and it’s hight is just 3 rack units…
and also replaces my studio interface setup from time to time…
and yes, even in comparison to my metric halo set up, i don’t really miss any “soundquality” for real…
i would add it here, but to my surprise, it seems not “in production” anymore…
it once was around 2 grant, but i had good timing with purchasing it due to some british pound exchange rate low and bought it for around 1200 euros…which means, if u can find it anywhwere 2nd hand, it won’t be much more than 1 grant…
but even for full price, every house engineer who has not heard about it, is still surprised about it’s built and sound quality and how many channel and routing options it offers…and they all love me, since i’m always done with soundcheck within 15 minutes max… 
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