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NAMM is proving to be full of surprises (more on that when I can spill the beans), and this new mixer from Allen&Heath certainly falls into the waitbuggermewtf category. The new Xone:22 has come from nowhere and certainly gets you scratching your head. You really need to think about this mixer before making any knee jerk reactions.



Many people (possibly most) see 2 channels and immediately think scratch mixer. So straight away the tablist unfriendly layout and lack of curves and reverses will have many dismissing this is as an ill informed fugly heap of crap. But you know what? You don't need 4 channels to be a club mixer - no really. For many bedroom and mobile DJs, they just use one set of decks with no desire or need to plug anything else into them. But up to now, the usual club mixer goodness has only been found in way more expensive offerings. So this little cherub club mixing for the crunch generation, and in that respect works wonderfully.

Let's take a walk through the words from the mothership:

Professional 2 channel DJ mixer

ALLEN & HEATH LAUNCHES ENTRY LEVEL XONE DJ MIXER

Allen & Heath has unveiled the Xone:22, a 2 channel analogue DJ mixer offering high quality audio and a professional feature set at an entry level price. The smallest and most affordable Xone mixer to date, the Xone:22 is equipped with Allen & Heath’s characteristic sound and build quality, and professional grade features that would normally be found in the booth of a top-rated club.

At the heart of the feature set is a lite version of the renowned analogue Voltage Control Filter (VCF) system offering Low-Pass and High-Pass filters, frequency sweep and ‘mild to wild’ resonance control. There is also a soft switched effects loop to bring in external effects, which are routed back in through the filter system.

The new mixer has 2 stereo channels with dual phono/line inputs, and phonos can be configured to line if no RIAA sources are in use. There is a 3-band total kill EQ, crossfader curve control switch, and the maximum output level is a generous +25dBu.

The main mix output and mic input are on professional standard balanced XLR’s, and there is a dedicated record output. The Xone:22 is equipped with comprehensive monitoring facilities, including a booth output with its own volume control, a cue mix control, and ‘cue-to-master’ switch to preview the master output. There are also 10-segment LED meters with selectable bar or dot mode display for each channel.

“We’ve raised the bar on entry level mixer design with the Xone:22. It’s the first mixer at this price point to have a full cut isolator/EQ, accurate metering, quality faders and pro standard audio headroom. Incorporating a “lite” version of our now legendary Xone filter system is the icing on the cake,” explains Xone designer, Andy Rigby-Jones. “We want to offer the bedroom DJ a quality performance tool and a taste of the professional club experience.”

To complete the club quality effect, the Xone:22 is finished with UV sensitive ink screen for improved low light legibility.

Available from March 2009, SRP for the Xone:22 is £266 (+VAT).

Key features of the Xone:22 are:

• 2 stereo channels with dual phono/line inputs
• 3 Band full cut equalizer
• Voltage Controlled Filter system
• Soft switched (FET controlled) external effects loop
• Accurate signal level monitoring
• Main mix outputs on professional level balanced XLR connectors
• Dedicated local monitor output (booth monitor)
• Pro standard headroom (+18dB) to prevent overload
• +25dBu maximum output level (balanced XLR)
• Low audio distortion (typically 0.002% at +10dBu output)
• Dedicated record output
• Crossfader curve switch
• Cue mix control with cue to master switch
• UV sensitive ink screen for improved low light legibility
• Same high quality components as all other Xone mixers
• Universal voltage power supply (works anywhere in the World)

So as you can see, the Xone:22 has no pretensions of being a scratch mixer, but does instead offer A&H's classic club feature set but in a scaled down 2 channel style. And before anyone asks the obvious question, it does on the face of it look like you can add an Innofader to it. Browsing the manual shows a very flip top mixer with seemingly ample space to fit an Innofader in both the crossfader and line faders as well.

And so to price. In the absence of official PR, no price or ETA has been announced, but the Xone:22 has turned up on some retailer sites at £250. In this economic climate, I wouldn't even hazard a guess at euros or dollars so we'll just have to wit for confirmation on that.



My feelings on this? It's taken me by surprise, but I'm very happy to see it. I think I would have put some more thought into the aesthetics of the layout and made things line up a little more. The centre line of the mixer for example is like a slalom course, but that's just my own gridlike sensibilities.

The mentality of 2 channels = scratch mixer has annoyed me for a while now, as does the same mentality that you must have 4 channels to mix dance music. The Xone:22 shows that you can quite happily mix with just 2 channels if all you use is 2 inputs.