Connecting an X32 / M32 via direct USB
The Behringer X32 and Midas M32 expose audio and MIDI over a single USB-B port on the back of the mixer (provided the option slot is fitted with the standard X-USB or X-Live card — the factory default on most models). Plug an iPad, iPhone, or Mac into that port and ShowPlayer Pro talks to the mixer directly — no extra gear in between.
What you need
- A Behringer X32 or Midas M32.
- An iPad, iPhone, or Mac (Apple Silicon only).
- A USB cable matching your device:
- USB-C iPad / iPhone / Mac — USB-C to USB-B cable.
- Lightning iPad / iPhone — Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter, plus a USB-A to USB-B cable.
How to connect
This order works on every supported iOS version and is the most reliable across older and newer iPads:
- With the mixer powered off, plug the cable into both the mixer's USB-B port and your device.
- Launch ShowPlayer Pro.
- Power on the mixer and let it fully boot.
- In ShowPlayer Pro, open MIDI Interface from the menu and select the mixer.
- iPad / iPhone: no audio selection is needed — iOS routes ShowPlayer Pro's audio to the mixer automatically as soon as it's the connected USB audio device. Mac: open System Settings → Sound and pick the mixer as the Output device.
If the mixer doesn't appear as the audio destination: power-cycle the mixer (off, wait a few seconds, on) with the cable still connected. That re-runs the USB handshake into an app that's already listening, and the audio device should appear.
Notes
- Cable quality matters. A loose or marginal USB-B cable causes repeated handshake failures — the mixer keeps trying to enumerate and ShowPlayer Pro never sees a stable connection. If something seems off, try a different cable before assuming a software problem.
- Power. Newer USB-C iPads have plenty of headroom. Older Lightning iPads sometimes can't supply enough current through the Camera Adapter — see Connecting via powered USB hub.
- Allen & Heath mixers (Qu series, SQ, Avantis, dLive) use the same direct-USB approach. They appear as class-compliant USB Audio + MIDI devices and ShowPlayer picks them up the same way. Cable and adapter requirements are identical to X32.
- No USB card? If the X32 / M32's option slot has been replaced with a Dante, MADI, or other expansion card, the on-board USB-B port is gone. In that case use a separate USB audio + MIDI interface to send signal into the mixer: the audio interface's stereo outputs (L/R) feed a pair of the mixer's analog inputs, and the MIDI interface's MIDI OUT feeds the mixer's MIDI IN. See Connecting a DIN MIDI mixer.
- Why this order? USB MIDI works regardless of launch order. USB audio on older iPads needs an app holding the audio category at the moment the mixer enumerates — launching ShowPlayer Pro before powering the mixer ensures that. On newer iPads the OS handles late binding automatically, but the same procedure works there too.