Will these work with the desk we already have?

They need a desk with AES50 ports. In practice that means the Behringer X32 family — including the X32 Rack, Compact and Producer — and the Midas M32 family. An ordinary analogue desk, or a digital desk from another maker, cannot talk to them. Tell us what you have and we will say straight away whether it will work; if not, we hire the desks as well.

We need 32 channels. Two S16s or one S32?

There is almost nothing in it on price — £20 a day for one S32, £28 for a pair of S16s — so let the stage decide. One S32 is simpler when everything plugs in at one point: one box, one network lead, one plug socket. Two S16s win when the inputs are split: one box in the pit for the band, the other at the far side of the stage for the radio mic receivers, linked by a single network lead. Sketch where your inputs live and the answer usually falls out.

How long can the cable be, and will there be a delay?

Up to 100 metres on the shielded Cat5e we supply, which reaches the back of any school hall with plenty to spare. The round trip from stage to desk and back adds about a millisecond — far less than the time the sound takes to cross the front row — so nobody will hear it. If your desk position is unusual, tell us the route and we will send a run to suit.

Home Services Equipment Hire Sound Desk Hire

Digital stagebox hire — Behringer S16, S32 and Midas DL32

Getting every microphone signal from the stage to a mixing desk at the back of the hall used to mean a heavy analogue multicore taped down the aisle. A digital stagebox replaces it with one thin Cat5e network cable. Mics plug into the box on stage; the desk controls it remotely. We hire three — the Behringer S16 at £14 a day, the S32 at £20 and the Midas DL32 at £50 — and all of them talk AES50 to the X32 and M32 desks we hire alongside.

A digital stagebox is the modern answer to the multicore. The box sits on stage, every microphone and DI box plugs into it, and a single Cat5e network cable — the same sort as an office computer lead, but shielded — carries all the channels to the mixing desk, up to 100 metres away. The desk controls the stagebox down the same cable, setting mic gains and phantom power remotely, so once it is plugged in nobody needs to touch it.

The Behringer S16 is the small one: 16 mic inputs and 8 outputs for monitor or PA feeds, in a 2U box weighing 4.7 kg. Sixteen channels covers most plays and smaller musicals. If a show grows, two S16s link together over AES50 to make a 32-in, 16-out system, and the two halves can sit in different places — one in the pit for the band, one at the side of the stage for the radio mic receivers.

The S32 puts 32 inputs and 16 outputs in a single 3U box. That is a full musical: a pit band, a rack of radio mics and playback, with channels to spare. The Midas DL32 carries the same 32-in, 16-out count in the same size of box, but with Midas PRO Series preamps — the design from Midas's touring consoles. Pair it with an M32 desk when the music matters most, or when you are recording the night.

All three speak AES50, the audio networking standard used across the Behringer X32 and Midas M32 families. Conversion is 24-bit, and the round trip from stage to desk and back adds about a millisecond, which no audience or performer can hear. Phantom power switches per channel from the desk, and each box also carries an ULTRANET port for the P16 personal monitoring system.

Choosing is mostly counting. Add up every microphone, radio mic receiver, DI box and playback feed, then allow a few spare channels for the things that turn up at the dress rehearsal. Sixteen or fewer, hire the S16. More than that, the S32 at £20 a day is the sensible default, and the DL32 at £50 is the step up for an M32 rig. Tell us the show and the venue and we will say plainly which one you need.

What you get

The stagebox — S16, S32 or DL32 — with a mains lead

A shielded Cat5e snake cable for the run to the desk: tell us the stage-to-desk distance and we will send the right length

The short AES50 link lead, if you are pairing two S16s into a 32-channel system

Not included as standard: the mixing desk, microphones, stands and XLR leads — we hire all of these, so one booking can cover the whole system

A technician to plug up, set the gains and mix the show, if you would rather not run it yourselves

Good for

School musicals where the band and the radio mic rack are on stage and the desk is at the back of the hall

Village halls with no cable route: one thin Cat5e line replaces a multicore taped across the floor

Am-dram pit bands — mic the pit once and send everything to front of house down a single cable

Dance school showcases running playback, presenter mics and a rack of radio channels from the side of stage

Adding stage inputs to an X32 Rack or M32 system a school or church already owns

Hall-to-hall youth theatre shows, where the rig has to go in quickly and the same way every time

What you need to know

What it does: Puts the microphone sockets on the stage and sends every channel to the mixing desk down one thin network cable, in place of a heavy analogue multicore.
Which one: Count your channels. Up to 16 mics, the S16. Up to 32, the S32. The DL32 has the same 32 channels with Midas PRO Series preamps — the match for an M32 desk.
Control: The desk sets mic gain and phantom power remotely over the same cable. Works with the Behringer X32 and Midas M32 families.
Power: A normal 13A socket at the stage end. Each box draws 45 to 55 watts.
Where it goes: A 19-inch rack unit between 4.7 and 5.7 kg. Sits at the side of the stage, in the pit, or in a rack with your radio mic receivers.

Hire rates

Choose the one you need. The photo and price follow your choice.

Behringer S16 Digital Stage BoxSixteen preamps at the stage end, one Cat5e run to the desk.£14a day

Behringer S32 Digital Stage BoxThirty-two inputs in 3U — a full musical input list down one cable.£20a day

Midas DL32 Digital Stage BoxThe Midas stagebox: 32 preamps to pair with the M32 family.£50a day

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. A longer hire costs less per day — tell us your dates and we will price the period exactly. Ask us about delivery and hiring with a technician.

Alternatives

Cable crates and the Tourcat reel — the Cat5e run and the audio looms that connect a stagebox to the desk.

Full technical specification (17)

Manufacturer and model	Behringer S16; Behringer S32; Midas DL32
Type	Digital stagebox (AES50 digital snake)
Mic inputs	S16: 16; S32: 32; DL32: 32 — balanced XLR, remote-controllable preamps
Preamp design	S16 and S32: Midas-designed; DL32: Midas PRO Series
Analogue outputs (XLR)	S16: 8; S32: 16; DL32: 16
AES50 ports	2 on each box (Klark Teknik SuperMAC, Neutrik etherCON)
Cable to desk	Shielded Cat5e, up to 100 m
Conversion	24-bit at 44.1 or 48 kHz
Network latency	1.1 ms, stagebox in to stagebox out, including console processing
Phantom power	48 V, switchable per input from the desk
Other digital I/O	ADAT out on all three; AES3 (AES/EBU) out on S32 and DL32; MIDI in/out
Personal monitoring	ULTRANET port on all three for the P16 monitor system
Headphone output	S16 only (quarter-inch jack for line checks on stage)
Rack size	S16: 2U; S32 and DL32: 3U
Dimensions	S16: 482 x 225 x 89 mm; S32 and DL32: 483 x 242 x 138 mm
Weight	S16: 4.7 kg; S32: 5.6 kg; DL32: 5.7 kg
Power	100-240 V switch-mode supply; S16: 45 W; S32 and DL32: 55 W

Common questions

They need a desk with AES50 ports. In practice that means the Behringer X32 family — including the X32 Rack, Compact and Producer — and the Midas M32 family. An ordinary analogue desk, or a digital desk from another maker, cannot talk to them. Tell us what you have and we will say straight away whether it will work; if not, we hire the desks as well.
There is almost nothing in it on price — £20 a day for one S32, £28 for a pair of S16s — so let the stage decide. One S32 is simpler when everything plugs in at one point: one box, one network lead, one plug socket. Two S16s win when the inputs are split: one box in the pit for the band, the other at the far side of the stage for the radio mic receivers, linked by a single network lead. Sketch where your inputs live and the answer usually falls out.
The channel counts are identical; the difference the extra £30 a day buys is the preamps, the amplifier stage each microphone plugs into. The DL32 uses Midas PRO Series preamps, the design from Midas's touring consoles, and it is the natural partner to an M32 desk, especially if you are recording the show. For most school and community productions the S32 is honestly all you need.
Up to 100 metres on the shielded Cat5e we supply, which reaches the back of any school hall with plenty to spare. The round trip from stage to desk and back adds about a millisecond — far less than the time the sound takes to cross the front row — so nobody will hear it. If your desk position is unusual, tell us the route and we will send a run to suit.