Just days ahead of its official launch at BPM in Birmingham, England, details of the Xone:DB4 mixer briefly hit the internet on the Allen & Heath website before being removed – but were there long enough for Digital DJ Tips to grab a sneak preview. The 4-channel mixer is clearly the most advanced that Allen & Heath has ever produced, and differentiates itself through its innovative onboard handling of powerful effects across all 4 channels.

Designed to apply FX and create loops on-board independently via a DSP engine, all channels automatically adjust their FX and loops to the BPM of the music. There are global FX controllers as well as myriad controls on each channel, and Allen & Heath’s filters, apparently switchable with standard EQs.

In Allen & Heath’s own words, “A built-in, high quality (24-bit / 96kHz), multi-channel, fully patchable USB2 soundcard allows replay and recording from audio software for 4 stereo sends and 4 stereo returns.”

The idea of having quality digital FX onboard is hardly new (Pioneer, erm, pioneered it), but having this level of flexibility and sheer processing power onboard alongside a high-quality sound card most certainly is. Inputs can be routed via a “flexible input matrix”, with any audio source selectable on any or all of the channels.

I am very much looking forward to getting a proper look at this and what it’s capable of at BPM this weekend, with a view to working out how it integrates with laptop software. No word on pricing yet.

With thanks to DJ Cesar.