- In this video, we're gonna talk
about the four big differences
between the Yamaha MG10XU and the Yamaha MG10XUF.
We're gonna talk about these four differences
in terms of what they mean in practical terms
when you're actually using the audio mixer,
what my preference and experience is
with each one of these differences
and we're gonna make some recommendations
for you at the end.
Whether or not you're doing live sound,
live streaming, video conferencing,
or home recording with this audio mixer,
we're gonna let you know
what my opinion is on either one of these
and which would be best in which situation.
Now, if you are looking for pricing
or specs for anything that you see in this video,
we do have links down in the description below
with current up-to-date pricing
from a variety of online retailers
to make sure that you are getting the best price possible
if you are looking at buying
anything that you see in this video.
Now, before we talk about the differences
between these two audio mixers,
let's talk about the similarities.
They have the same four combi jack inputs,
the same quarter-inch and RCA inputs
the same XLR and quarter-inch output,
same headphone jack, same foot switch,
everything for connectivity
is the same on both of these audio mixers.
They have the same preamps, the same phantom power,
the same one knob compression,
the same three band EQ,
the effects send works exactly the same
on both audio mixers.
They have the same 24 channels of effects
on both audio mixers
and obviously the panning would work the same
on both audio mixers.
For all intents and purposes the connectivity, EQ
and processing on both of these audio mixers is identical.
It's the bottom half, the actual usability
and the functionality of these audio mixers
that is a little bit different.
The first big difference that we notice
right off the top of the faders here
is that the XUF has an on button above each channel
and for the main stereo output,
while the Yamaha MG10XU does not.
So why is this important?
Why is this a feature
and when would I use something like this?
The on button is extremely helpful
and is extremely underrated in situations that are live.
This could be a live event
or it could be a part of a live stream as well.
Really, the on button is extremely helpful
when you're in an environment
where your sound checks something
or you want a sound setting saved.
An example I would use from live sound
would be is if you're working at a wedding
or something like that,
you might have the band sound checked and mixed
and then you can just turn the channels off.
Now, when the band goes live at the end of the night,
you just turn the channels on
and you don't have to worry about redefining
where everything was mixed.
The channels just come on exactly where you left them.
If you were to try and do that on the Yamaha MG10XU,
you would have to turn them all down
after soundcheck to mute the channels
and then when the band comes on,
you have to re-remember where you were
and you had to adjust for volume knobs at the same time
to try find the mix.
So it can be a little bit more clumsy
in an environment like that.
The same thing goes for live streaming.
If you have a live stream set up
and you have all your inputs preset up,
you can mute your game sound,
you can mute your microphone,
you can mute your guests
and then when you're ready for them,
you just click one button
and you're not worried about adjusting a volume knob,
bring it back up, tweak it, try to re-find a good balance
or a good mix of where you were.
So I think on button is extremely underrated.
It's a really nice feature to have.
Now, the Yamaha MG10XU already had one on the effects,
so that part is the same,
but again, with this on button
on the main stereo output, it's really nice.
I think of it as a panic button
if I need to mute anything because of feedback
or anything like that,
you just have one click and then everything will end.
The feedback will be over
and then you can try to fix your issue.
Now, the next big difference
between both of these audio mixers
is that the Yamaha MG10XU uses rotary knobs
and the Yamaha MG10XUF, that F stands for faders.
So why are faders important?
It really comes down to two things, speed and accuracy.
And when I say speed,
I say speed of mixing multiple inputs at the same time.
It's extremely useful and extremely common
to have four fingers on the faders like this
and you're fine tuning each input,
multiple inputs at the same time.
With the Yamaha MG10XU with rotary knobs,
that is impossible to mix four channels at the same time
with any level of accuracy.
I'm sure you can bulk get them all up,
but you can't be nearly as precise.
While we're talking about precision,
just look at the amount of travel per option here.
You'll notice that the rotary knob
maybe has an inch to an inch and a half of travel
around the circumference of the rotary knob,
where the faders on the Yamaha MG10XUF
have two and a half to three inches of travel.
So you get about three times the precision
when you're mixing with a fader-based audio mixer
compared to something with rotary knobs.
So not only can you mix multiple channels at the same time,
but you can be far more precise.
This is a really big deal, again, for live events
or things that are dynamic like a podcast
or something like that
where things are coming at you pretty quick.
It's nice to have that speed and flexibility.
While we're talking about travel on the faders,
it's also worth noting that you do get a better degree
of detail of what you're actually doing in terms of audio.
If you look at the Yamaha MG10XU,
you'll see that you basically
just have a bunch of tick marks
and a scale from zero to 10.
On the Yamaha MG10XUF,
you actually get proper decibel levels.
You know you're setting your fader at zero.
If your mix is at minus 10 or minus five,
you can communicate that,
you can see it in the software when you're recording.
It's a lot more audio specific
rather than a scale of zero to 10.
You're working with real numbers
that means something that you can communicate to somebody
if you need to say, "Hey, the bass guitar is at plus five."
"Can you turn it down a little bit
"or can you go minus five on electric guitar?"
That actually means something.
If you tell somebody to go minus five on a kick drum
with the Yamaha MG10XU,
you would just have to make a rough assumption.
You couldn't actually make that
in any type of way that is precise.
So the faders are faster, more accurate
and you can communicate better about them.
So it is a really nice upgrade to have,
if you are needing that speed
in what you're doing with your workflow.
The next big difference,
the third big difference that the XUF has
is it has a PFL button.
The PFL button is very underrated,
much like the on button on the Yamaha MG10XUF.
What the PFL button does is it allows you
to blind setup a channel.
What I mean by that is when I make a tutorial
on how to use the Yamaha MG10XU,
I always have to tell them to turn the stereo level up,
that triangle zero or unity position,
then do the level knob
at the triangle zero or unity position
and then, only then can you set the gain
because when you turn this up here on the main stereo level,
that's what wakes up the led meter.
But on this audio mixer,
you can see that the main stereo knob
is turned all the way down because I have the PFL button on.
That allows me to monitor this channel accurately
without it affecting the main mix.
So you can actually blind setup a channel.
You can click on PFL while you have an event going on,
you can move your fader to zero,
you can set your gain properly
and then when you're ready for that new microphone,
say, you just set up a new wireless microphone
at an event, something was happening on the fly
you had to adapt.
Now it's all properly set up,
you can sound check it completely silently
and then when you're ready,
you just turn it on and it goes to the main mix.
Another big benefit of the PFL button
is that you can monitor two to three, or four, or five,
however many you want inputs at the same time.
So if you have a band going on the Yamaha MG10XUF
and you wanna hear how the two vocalists are interacting,
you can hit the PFL on both of their channels
and then you can just hear them in your headphones
and maybe you're gonna make some EQ changes
to make sure that their voice play a little bit nicer
and mesh a little bit nicer in the mix.
You can do that on the Yamaha MG10XUF,
but you can't do that on the Yamaha MG10XU.
The headphone output on this audio mixer, the XU,
can only monitor the main stereo mix,
you can't just isolate certain channels.
So that PFL button is really, really important
and really, really helpful as well.
Now, the biggest, most obvious difference,
the fourth big difference between both of these audio mixers
is that the XUF is quite a bit larger
than the Yamaha MG10XU.
This is where you need to start weighing
the pros and cons of all those features
against practical application.
Which environment has the space for this bigger desk
and which environment
do you need a more compact form factor?
If you're in a live sound environment,
I've never run out of desk space,
you can have an eight-foot table with your wireless,
your video, your audio, your lighting
and you can just keep adding tables if you need more.
But if you're working at your desk
where this thing is living on your desk
beside you all day with your keyboard,
your mouse, your computer, your monitor,
your stream deck, your notes,
your whatever else you got going on on your desk,
that's when you're really gonna notice the difference
between these two audio mixers,
not so much a live sound,
but definitely in your home studio
you're gonna notice the difference.
So in practical terms,
when would I recommend one over the other?
I've kind of hinted at this already,
but for live sound,
I would say the XUF is a far superior audio mixer.
You get more speed, you get more accuracy.
If you sound check a band,
you can mute them all when you're done
and then turn them all on at the same time.
The PFL is helpful if you're wanting to monitor
or isolate couple channels.
You can blind setup mics and you never miss the space.
In fact, I prefer working on a larger console.
It's more comfortable than to be bent over
a small audio mixer with rotary knobs.
I much prefer to be relaxed
and have a bigger surface to interact with
when I'm doing an audio mix.
So for live sound, I think this is a no brainer
that the Yamaha MG10XUF is by far the best option.
Now, what about live streaming and video conferencing?
For both of those options
where you're just working from your desk at home,
I would go with the Yamaha MG10XU.
I do wish that this had mute buttons,
but I think all the other shortfalls of this audio mixer
are made up for with its small size.
When this thing is actually living on your desk,
this is a big five or six inches,
or four to six inches of space that the XUF takes up
that the Yamaha MG10XU doesn't.
Generally, if you're live streaming or video conferencing,
you're not making really, really big changes.
You might be unmuting things,
in which case you kind of have to remember
where you have the level set,
maybe you can use tape
or something like that to mark where it was
so you can quickly pull it back up,
but other than that,
I would much prefer a smaller form factor
if this is living on my desk at home all the time.
I think it's a no brainer to go with the smaller version.
Now, what about recording?
This really comes down,
I'm gonna break it into two different sections.
If you're recording something really dynamic
like a podcast or a band
and you're full-time at the mixer,
then I would go with the XUF,
because if something's dynamic,
you need to react really quick to those changes,
whether you're muting somebody, adjusting their volume,
adjusting their EQ, all that,
the faders are a lot faster and easier to work with.
You can isolate them to make changes in your monitors
so I do think that's really important.
But if you're a singer songwriter recording at home
and you have a vocal mic and your electric guitar,
acoustic guitar or something like that,
it's not a real dynamic environment.
You're gonna soundcheck it,
you're gonna record it
then you're gonna work on your computer with it.
So I don't think the size of the XUF is as important
in that home recording environment.
If you're a singer song writer, it's not really dynamic,
but if you have guests and you're working with them
and you need speed, then the XUF
would probably be worth it to you.
So I hope this helps to answer your questions.
Basically, it comes down to size versus features.
I'm not factoring money in this too much
between the two audio mixers,
but I am just coming at it
from a perspective of where this device is gonna be
and whether or not you have the space
and you really, really need the features
that are on the XUF.
If you have any questions
about anything that we covered in this video.
please leave a comment down in the comment section below.
Again, if you are looking for pricing or specs
for either audio mixer
or anything else that you've seen in this video,
please check out the links down in the description below
for current up-to-date pricing.
And if you wanna see more videos like this in the future,
please like and subscribe.
Thank you for watching.
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