Allen & Heath AH-CQ20B Digital Mixer with WiFi, Bluetooth

The Allen & Heath CQ-20B occupies a precise spot in the compact digital mixer market: enough I/O and processing depth for serious live sound and studio tracking work, packaged in a stagebox format that keeps the FOH position clean and doesn't require a dedicated engineer to operate. With 16 mic/line inputs — 8 of them combi — plus stereo line and Bluetooth inputs, it covers the input demands of club shows, house-of-worship setups, corporate AV installs, and project studio recording sessions where channel count rarely exceeds 16 sources at once. The CQ platform's processing architecture is designed to deliver Allen & Heath preamp quality — known in professional circles for their low self-noise and honest transient response — in a form factor that travels.

The connectivity story is where the CQ-20B earns its keep over the long session. The 24x24 USB interface running simultaneously with live output means your DAW captures every input without interrupting the house mix — a workflow that eliminates the "record or mix" compromise found on smaller desks. The SD card's independent 24-track recording is the safety net that serious engineers will appreciate most: shows don't stop because a laptop sleeps. Dual-band Wi-Fi with auto channel selection handles the remote mixing workflow cleanly, and the rack-mountable chassis (optional kit required) means it transitions from touring to install without modification. For engineers stepping into digital mixing from analog, the learning investment is real, but the CQ platform's app-driven interface is among the more logically laid out in its class.