BEACN Mix Create Streaming Audio Controller
design
I know we’re supposed to be talking about BEACN, but there’s a real Elgato vibe about the design of the BEACN Mix Create. The combination of dials, buttons and screen feels like an evolution of the Stream Deck Plus and will fit right in on any content creator’s desk. It’s not a bad idea taking Elgato’s lead, it has the streaming accessory game locked down and the emergence of some genuine competition is good to see.
Like the BEACN Mic, you’re offered the choice of black or white for the main body of the BEACN Mix Create, with the same five inch screen as you’ll find on the cheaper BEACN Mix. Across both devices you’ll find four control knobs with matching buttons, but what sets the Mix Create apart is from what’s bolted to the side.
Extending the button row of buttons is an extra pair that unlock paging and a button for switching between submixes, these are the aces up the BEACN Mix Create’s sleeve and what sets it apart from the standard Mix. These directional buttons allow creators to set up an unlimited number of audio channels and control them all with just four physical knobs. It all comes together in an impressively compact footprint that achieves a lot for a pretty small chunk of desktop real estate.
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The BEACN Mix Create does look smart and build quality is generally good, however at £199 it’s a shame to see an all-plastic body. Admittedly it’s fine, this doesn’t need to be a rugged device, but it does make the Mix Create feel a little toylike. The thinnest of metal faceplates would have gone a long way to upping that premium vibe here.
Each of the knobs are again plastic and again I’d have liked a more premium finishing touch here. With no rubberised matte coating or detailing, the mute buttons are fine but do have a bit of mushy wobble to them. The paging buttons could also do with being just a tad bigger and spaced further apart. None of these things are problems necessarily, but none are things I’d boast about either.
It may only be 800×400 on the spec sheet, but the BEACN Mix Create‘s screen is impressively sharp and clear for the job it does. It’s disappointing to see no touch functionality though, almost a given you’d expect these days, and I did instinctively go to swipe through pages of channels on the screen and was surprised to find I couldn’t.
performance
While the physical aspects of the BEACN Mix Create are merely good without being great, thankfully performance goes much further. I’ve tried other hardware audio controllers in the past and the BEACN Mix Create is the first one to actually impress me. Unlike competitors like the Razer Audio Mixer and Hercules Stream 200, both which I found almost more of a hindrance than a help, the Mix Create did fundamentally improve my setup and made my streaming life easier.
It may be just one USB cable but this isn’t a plug and play solution so make sure you budget a good chunk of time to setting up the BEACN Mix Create because there’s a fair bit of fiddling and setup to be done. You’ll need to download the BEACN App to get started and be warned, it’s almost certainly going to cause havoc with your PC initially. The app adds a bunch of new audio devices to Windows and will want to override your existing outputs. The more complicated your existing setup, the more painful this switch is likely to be – all in all it took me a couple of hours to go from plugging in to being ready to go live again and I wasn’t running anything funky.
Once you’ve got to grips with how the BEACN Mix Create wants you to work however the app experience is relatively smooth and impressively powerful. It did a good job of automatically identifying my different basic audio sources and assigning them to the correct audio channel and corresponding physical knob, though I found it did need some guidance at identifying games in particular. Anything not automatically tagged is presented in the audio equivalent of a waiting room to easily drag and drop where it needs to go.
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Regardless of how the BEACN App first assigns a signal, you’re in full control of which source is assigned where, if you want your game audio in the music channel, go for it. If you want to quickly send your OBS alert sounds out of your mic channel, a single click and drag makes it possible. Audio can be a real wrestle at times for streamers and the BEACN Mix Create makes it super customisable and easy to manage on the fly.
The main hiccup I encountered was how the BEACN Mix Create handles non-persistent audio sources, things like quick stream alerts and sound effects. An audio source will only display in the BEACN app while it’s actively making noise, so any short bursts of sound become a mini game to see how quickly you can grab and move them before they disappear from the list again. My understanding is this is a Windows oddity rather than the fault of BEACN, but something like a recent sounds list to let me tag things after the fact ready for their next appearance would be a welcome addition.
With the audio whack-a-mole mini game complete and everything assigned the ongoing experience is excellent. The knobs are responsive with no lag between a physical turn, the screen, and more importantly the actual volume levels. Sensitivity is good too, fine adjustments are possible without overshooting and it’s easier enough to crank things up too.
Two submixes, one for you and one for your viewers is the other Mix Create perk over the standard Mix and it’s a nice quality of life boost. Being able to control levels or mute certain sources just for my viewers brings a great level of control to the production and my experience in the room. It also offers a simple solution to streamers who want to listen to copyright music while live, for example. While more a feature of the app rather than the BEACN Mix Create itself, I found audio routing super powerful. I have TTS cheer alerts on my stream but am often live with a co-host, with the BEACN App I was able to route my OBS audio to my Discord output so they would be able to hear these terrible jokes too and not talk over the top of them.
summed up
BEACN is onto something here and has managed to successfully achieve what other brands have failed to do. The Mix Create takes a common irritation for streamers and offers a solution that delivers on both a hardware and software side. The level of control on offer and the ease of having physical control are a great addition to any creator looking to take their production seriously.
It’s not without flaws, there are little annoyances and places for improvement dotted about but the overall experience is strong. It’s not the first thing I’d invest in if you’re looking for the best streaming gear, but if you’ve already got a quality microphone and a Stream Deck then the BEACN Mix Create is well worth looking at.
