MIXDESK X Manual ← Product page Download — free

MixDesk X Manual

MixDesk X turns your Mac or Windows PC into a full software mixing console and system processor — capture system or per-app audio, route it to up to 16 stereo outputs, and shape every channel and bus with EQ, a real-time analyzer, crossover, delay alignment, a feedback destroyer and CLAP plugins. Free, no account, works offline.

New · v1.42.030The software DriveRack, completed

  • Feedback destroyer per mic channel — auto-notches ringing feedback, in adaptive LIVE or FIXED mode.
  • Low-cut / rumble filter (LC) per channel — 40–160 Hz high-pass, 12 or 24 dB/oct.
  • Builds on X-OVER crossover + automatic delay ALIGN (.028) and 16 UI languages (.029).

Together with the 31-band Auto-EQ, RTA, per-bus delay and safety limiter, MixDesk X now covers the full outboard rack — in software, on the laptop you already own.

What MixDesk X is

Think of it as three tools in one window:

Audio-grade throughout: the internal signal path runs at 48 kHz / 32-bit float. Your devices keep their own rates and are converted at maximum quality.
Nothing colors your sound unless you switch it on. Gain, pan, EQ, the low-cut filter and every effect each toggle into the signal path — bypassed, the channel stays bit-transparent. And it's symmetric: every input channel and every output bus is a full strip with its own EQ (up to a 31-band graphic EQ with a real-time analyzer), CLAP effects and metering.

Getting started

  1. First launch — license. A short freeware licence appears. Scroll to the bottom (you'll see “↓ Please scroll to the end to enable ‘I Agree’”) so the I Agree button activates. It only reappears if the licence text itself changes.
  2. You start with one empty output bus. The status pill top-right reads IDLE until you add a channel, then ACTIVE with a green dot.
  3. Add an input. Click + INPUT and pick a source (see Capturing audio).
  4. Choose the output. On the output bus, pick the device it should play to (your speakers, an interface, a DAC…).
  5. Route the input to the bus with the numbered ROUTE button on the channel.
Language: the footer has a language dropdown — MixDesk X ships in 16 languages. Console words (GAIN, PAN, MUTE, SOLO, EQ, FX, BUS, LIMITER, XRUN) stay in their standard form in every language on purpose.

Capturing audio

Each input channel has a source dropdown, grouped into Special, Apps (cable-free) and Devices.

Cable-free capture

Double audio is normal here. Cable-free capture taps the sound — the apps still play on your default output too. MixDesk X only warns; it never silently moves your default output. If you want the tapped sound to play only through MixDesk X, use a driver/cable route (below) or set the app's own output elsewhere.

Driver / cable route (silent tap)

A virtual patchbay for pros (macOS): the Adelvo driver is a free multi-channel loopback driver based on BlackHole — several independent stereo loops that behave like a patchbay inside your Mac. Route any app or the whole system into MixDesk X, or from one app into another, entirely in software. Get it at github.com/adelvo-software/mde-audio-drivers. On Windows there is no Adelvo driver — pair MixDesk X with VB-Cable (vb-audio.com/Cable) for the same cabled routing.

Hardware devices

Any input or loopback device shows under Devices. A device that disappears stays listed as ⚠ device missing and reconnects automatically when it returns.

Feedback-loop guard: if you pick a loopback device that is also used as an output bus, MixDesk X asks first — capturing your own output creates a feedback loop.

Mac & Windows setup — get the full potential

MixDesk X is a real processor, so its full power shows when each output bus goes to its own device — a second interface, a DAC, or a separate output — instead of everything sharing one. That's how you split subs and tops, run monitor sends, or feed a PA processed while your screen stays clean.

macOSWindows
Capture the system silentlyInstall the free MixDeskEQ System driver, choose “System audio via driver”.Install free VB-Cable, choose “System audio via VB-Cable”. (Or use cable-free Process Loopback and accept double audio.)
Per-app captureGrant Screen Recording once (System Settings → Privacy & Security), then restart.Works immediately, no permission.
Full processing chainRoute each bus to its own output device (interface / DAC / built-in). No extra DSP hardware needed.

Top toolbar

ButtonWhat it does
NEWClear the mixer and start over with one empty bus.
SAVESave the current setup, overwriting the last file. Ctrl/⌘+S
SAVE AS…Save to a new preset file. Shift+Ctrl/⌘+S
LOADLoad a preset file from disk.
⟳Refresh the device list (also rescans app sources and CLAP plugins).
+ INPUTAdd an input channel.
+ OUTPUTAdd an output bus (up to 16).
PFL ✕Appears while any PFL is active — clears all PFL buttons at once.

Input channel strip

Output bus strip (up to 16)

EQ, RTA & Auto-EQ

Every input channel, every output bus and the cue strip has its own EQ. Pick a mode from the dropdown:

Graphic EQ editor

Drag a band to set its gain (±12 dB); double-click a band to zero it; RESET zeroes all. Two power tools live here (31-band):

The software DriveRack — active crossover, Auto-EQ, delay align, anti-feedback

One package. On the output side MixDesk X replaces a hardware system processor: an active crossover (Aktivweiche), a live RTA with pink-noise 31-band Auto-EQ (see EQ), automatic delay alignment (Auto-Delay), an anti-feedback destroyer (see Feedback) and a rumble / low-cut filter — everything a DriveRack does, in software, on the laptop you already own.

Active crossover (X-OVER)

An active Linkwitz-Riley crossover per bus — the Aktivweiche. Modes: OFF, LP · SUB (low-pass → subs), HP · TOP (high-pass → tops), BP · MID (band-pass → mids). Set the frequency (BP has a low and high edge) and slope (12/24/48 dB/oct). Split the ways across separate buses — e.g. one bus low-passed to the subs, another high-passed to the tops, each on its own output.

Per-bus delay & automatic ALIGN

DELAY sets a delay line of 0–1000 ms on the bus (double-click = 0). Use it to time-align a distant speaker, or to line up subs with tops.

ALIGN does it for you: it plays a chirp alternately through a reference bus and the target bus, measures the arrival of each through a mic channel, and reports each bus's time plus the difference (Δ). Apply delay adds exactly the delay needed to the earlier bus — only when you click it (no hidden automation).

Run active systems from any hardware — the killer feature. With one multi-out interface — or even several different devices — you can drive a fully active (bi-/tri-amped) rig straight from the laptop: subs, tops and monitors each on their own output, crossed over, EQ'd and limited. Different devices have different latencies? The automatic delay alignment measures and compensates them, so you can mix and match the gear you already have — no matched, low-latency rack required. Multi-out interface in, and off you go.

Safety limiter

Each bus has a brickwall LIMITER (on by default) with a live gain-reduction meter — your protection against clipping and surprises.

Feedback destroyer (FBK)

In an input channel's 31-band EQ editor, the FBK button arms the feedback destroyer. It listens for sustained ringing and drops a narrow notch on each feedback frequency automatically.

It reacts to a sustained narrow tone (feedback), not to musical notes — so it won't chase your music.

Cue / PFL / headphone output

The CUE 🎧 strip on the right is a dedicated monitor/headphone output — not a bus. It plays any channel whose PFL button is engaged, pre-fader (so you can audition a source even while it's muted in the mix).

It has its own output device, OS-volume, correction EQ, safety limiter, mute and meter. Delay and FX are deliberately left out so the monitor path stays uncoloured. If the cue device is also used by a bus, MixDesk X warns you'll hear it twice.

CLAP effects (FX)

Every input channel and output bus has an FX insert chain — multiple slots processed in series, after the EQ.

Presets

A preset stores your whole setup: every channel (source, gain/pan, EQ, FX, low-cut, routing, mute/solo), every bus (device, EQ, crossover, delay, limiter, FX) and the cue strip. Manage them with NEW / SAVE / SAVE AS… / LOAD. On startup the last preset reloads automatically.

Robust on load: devices are re-matched by name if their ID changed (USB re-plug), per-app sources re-match by app name across sessions, and missing devices load anyway and reconnect. PFL is never stored — it's momentary.

Tray icon & Mini Mixer

Status bar

Updates

An update pill (⬆ v…) appears in the footer when a newer version is available (checked shortly after launch, then hourly). Click it to install in place. If an automatic update fails, it turns into ⚠ v… and clicking opens the download page.

FAQ & troubleshooting

I hear everything twice.

You're using cable-free capture, which taps the sound while the app still plays on your default output. Use a driver/cable route (Mac driver or Windows VB-Cable), or send the app's own output somewhere else.

My mic keeps feeding back.

Turn on LC (low-cut) on the mic channel to kill rumble, and arm the FBK feedback destroyer in its 31-band EQ editor. Ring the system out in FIXED mode at soundcheck.

Auto-EQ or ALIGN does nothing useful.

Make sure the measurement-mic channel is not routed to the bus you're measuring, and load a calibration file with 🎤 CAL if you have one for your mic.

A device vanished mid-show.

It stays listed as ⚠ device missing and reconnects automatically when it comes back — no need to rebuild the setup.

Crackles / XRUN counting up.

Raise the Buffer size a step (e.g. 512 → 1024). A few XRUNs right after start are normal priming.

Where do the free effects come from?

➕ Install free effects (Airwindows) pulls a free, open CLAP pack (~400 effects). You can also drop in any other CLAP plugins you own.

Still stuck? Write to hello@adelvo.io.
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