Behringer Flow 8

Honestly, I'm pretty amazed. Got it to expand my little home studio capabilities from a small 2 input audio interface to so something that could accommodate a couple of extra instruments, and it kind of surpassed my expectations in more ways than one. To begin with, it's more or less on the price range of most entry level analogue mixers, offering about the same stuff as them (4 XLR ins, 6-8 faders, 8 channels, 1-2 monitor outs, various FX, etc.) but with the extra perk of being a digital mixer as well, meaning being able to control it remotely (up to bluetooth range, like 10m). Let's calculate the pros and cons:

Pros:
-Very user friendly
-Small in size, will easily fit any backpack
-has faders, not rotary knobs
-sleek design
-bluetooth connectivity for remote control
-a very nice screen for the menu, effects, etc, identical to the channel screens on the m32/x32
-bluetooth connectivity for audio input
-EZGain for, well, easy gain on every channel.
XLR out, not Jack or RCA

Cons:
-needs to be connected to the phone to control all parameters. Cannot truly access gain, pan, fx parameters without it.
-micro usb for power supply, which on the one hand is widely available, on the other is a pretty weak and easy to break plug, and anything after 2020 should really have a usb-c connector instead of micro-usb
-phantom power on only the first 2 channels

All in all, for its money i think it's well worth it, personally i have even used it in small events with limited number of inputs needed. It has appeared to be trusty, not lacking anywhere compared to a similarly priced analogue mixer. Certainly not a "1 and only" mixer in your setup, it's still a fine addition for small events, studio use, and as a personal "pre" mixer in a live show (for example with multiple keyboards, etc)

Would buy again

I'm giving this little mixer 5 stars in each category proportional to it's price. Obviously it does not include all of the pro-features found in more expensive digital mixers but the features which are available at this price point are simply unmatched. For years I have been searching for a potential upgrade (more out of curiosity than need) and still haven't found anything which compares. For the price and size: sound is great, features are abundant, input channels are abundant, output options are great with the ability to have 2 separate monitor mixes (and these can be delayed if needed), bluetooth is stable enough (both the app and for streaming music), it can double up as a useable recording device....I really can go on and on. I use it primarily for live, small, acoustic setups (professionally). This thing is like a handy little pocket knife. It's just extremely practical and offers great options in a tiny, affordable package. Probably the most usable feature (for me personally) is that it runs on of usb power (very efficiently). In fact, I have never used it on mains power. I simply connect it to a 10,000 mah power bank and can plan on it lasting for over 4hrs easily. I find it to be my most useable piece of equipment. By the way, I do own other more feature packed mixers such as an Allen & Heath CQ 20B (also a great little mixer). Head to head, of course the CQ20B is a more capable and better mixer overall (very happy with it - I use it for larger setups) but if I had choose which is more incredible in terms of what you get for the money and the sheer usability for small events, the Flow 8, in my opinion, is currently unbeatable. I can use it in ways which I can't use other mixers, such as a civil ceremony in an outdoor venue where there is no power supply available and I need to connect some (battery powered) delay speakers. Even when I don't need it, this mixer is always with me as a backup in case I have a technical issue with another mixer. I'm recommending this mixer as highly as I can recommend any piece of equipment. Not because it is the the best overall but because (in my opinion) it is such extraordinary value for money. Not every gig requires the absolute best sound that money can buy. The Flow 8 is a very useful problem solver for certain logistical situations. I'm very curious as to how it will be upgraded and honestly, not at all surprised that it has not been upgraded for such a long time. I imagine, it's difficult to improve on it while keeping to the same price point.

If You are looking for small mixer with all digital features - which also can record multitracks over usb - you can stop searching. The Flow 8 is a great mixer. I like the easy handling to connect an iPhone to run both the Flow 8 app and also the Bluetooth pairings which allows you to play music from Spotify etc directly to the mixer. The newer firmware also allows 4 channels to be played back over usb.

I tried multitrack recordings with Roland Zentracker on my iPhone and also my owned developed app for raspberry pi devices - and it records 10 tracks without any problems.

The final step was to use an usb based power pack to see if I could run it completely “free” for concerts outdoors - and with a 20000 mA battery - the mixer did run for 2.5 hours. :-). The only small concerns I did found is the Bluetooth is running with 16bit streams.

A nice mixer!