Pre purchase Product Questions

[Greg]

Hi, I am considering updating my my Behringer X 18 and buying an Allen & Heath AH-CQ20B.

In advance of purchase, I had a few questions I was having trouble getting the answers to online.

1) how good is the Wi-Fi will need an external router. On the x18 it was mandatory.

2) can you route the main mix to an auxiliary send? I like to have the monitors the same as the main mix as the band uses in -ears.

Thanks in advance.

[Brian]

1) While the WiFi is better than the XAir systems, you should always use an external router. These rack consoles aren’t designed with WiFi in mind. They are designed to provide a convenient audio interface and WiFi is a secondary (or tertiary decision). You don’t want your WiFi antenna sitting on the floor surrounded by a bunch of copper cables. You want it isolated from other metals and as high up as possible.

2) While there is not a way to “route” the Main L/R output out of the aux sends, it would be simple enough to duplicate the Main L/R mix in an aux output by setting all of the send of faders to unity, and then choosing “post fader” in the aux setup menu. You can even reverse the pan so that it mirrors what the musicians would see/hear on stage vs what the audience sees/hears in front of the stage.

[Greg]

Thanks for the advice Brian,

I planned on having some sort of router, even if only for back up. But I was hoping the Wi-Fi was strong enough in many cases to not have to add that extra piece of equipment.

I’m not quite sure how to accomplish what you say in number two but at least I can use your instructions as it starting point.

[Greg]

I have a few more pre purchase questions.

1) Can I download the software to my iPad and start to preconfigure the mixer before I own it?

2) Where are the shows saved? On the iPad, the device? I have an xAir 18 and I can save the show presets to my computer and I believe they are also saved on the iPad. If the iPad breaks or gets lost I would want a way to have the presets saved.

3) Is an Airport Extreme powerful enough to use as an external router? I know it’s a bit old but I have extra ones lying around. I’d rather put it to then buy a new router.

TIA

[Greg]

Hi Brian,

I asked Chat GPT if I could send the main mix to Bothe the main outs and an Aux and this was the reply. Is ChatGPT Full of S***?

“Sending the Main Mix to Both Main Outs and an Aux Send

Access the Mixer Interface:
Open the control interface for the AH-CQ20B on your device (e.g., an iPad or laptop).

Navigate to the Aux Sends:
Go to the Aux Sends section of the interface.

Select the Desired Aux Send:
Choose the Aux Send you want to use for routing the main mix.

Route the Main Mix to the Aux Send:
In the Aux Send settings, look for an option to route the Main Mix (often labeled as “LR” or “Main”) to the selected Aux Send.
Adjust the level of the Main Mix being sent to this Aux Send using the appropriate fader or control.

Main Mix to Main Outputs:
The Main Mix is already routed to the main outputs by default, so you don’t need to change anything for the main outs.
Simultaneous Output:

With the Main Mix routed to both the main outs and the selected Aux Send, the same mix will be sent to both outputs simultaneously.

Adjust Levels Independently:
You can independently adjust the output levels for the Main Mix going to the main outputs and the Aux Send. This allows you to control the balance for different purposes (e.g., different zones or recording devices).

Applications
Monitors: Use this setup to send the main mix to both the front-of-house speakers and stage monitors.”

[Brian]

I don’t have a CQ console myself, but when I read reading through the user guide I do not see a way to route/duplicate the Main L/R on an aux send. It’s possible that I am mis-reading the documentations, but honestly I think the AI is wrong (mixing up the different A&H console systems).

As far as the memory is concerned, there is space for 1 show file on the internal memory of the console. Each show file can store up to 100 different Scenes. If you want to be able to switch between show files, you can store them on a USB drive and load/save them from the drive when it is plugged into the console. I am not sure if the CQ Mixpad app can save/store show files on their device or not. Some other A&H systems allow for this functionality, but I don’t see it mentioned in the documents for the CQ.

CQ-20B Resources

[Greg]

I spoke to my sales repeat Sweetwater and he contacted his A&H rep.

You were right.

The A&H rep said it was not possible to send the main mix to an Aux. So I am back to what I did on the xAir 18 and run the headphones to the monitors for a main mix. The only upside is the CQ-20 has the phone level in software allowing to adjust volume from iPad vs the xAir where the volume was on the unit itself.

The way you save patches is totally different, and Im not sure if better or worse. I cannot connect to my Mac and backup patches, I have to use a Flash Drive.

The CQ-20 can only store one show at a time, correct? It has no internal memory.

However I can have multiple flash drives with backups in case the unit or iPad gets lost stolen or broken.

Since I am using this for my working band, my setup is virtually the same. I’m not a sound guy juggling multiple bands and setups.

[Author]

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