Three years since it was first announced, Behringer has made the 2-XM available for pre-order. 2-XM is the company's clone of the historic Oberheim Two Voice analogue synth, which combined two single-voice Oberheim SEMs in a single instrument, joined by a Dave Rossum-designed keyboard and two-channel sequencer.
Though it lacks a keyboard and has been reimagined in a Eurorack-friendly format with some modern enhancements, Behringer's duophonic 2-XM nonetheless recreates the design of the Two Voice faithfully. Each of its two modules is equipped with two VCOs based on original Oberheim designs, with saw and pulse waveforms, PWM and oscillator sync on offer.
These run through a VCF section based on the SEM's legendary 12dB/oct multimode filter, which morphs between low-pass, high-pass and notch modes with a single knob. An additional band-pass mode is accessible through a switch below. Each module has a noise generator, along with two ADS envelope generators and a single sine-wave LFO on modulation duties.
On the right-hand side we have a master section with level and pan controls for each module, which should let you create some interesting stereo patches, along with portamento controls and a switch to choose between 2-XM's unison, duophonic and split modes, the latter of which splits each of its modules across a keyboard. Here you'll also find a level control for 2-XM's dual external audio inputs.
These can be found on the 2-XM's 32-point patchbay, which provides plenty of scope for integrating 2-XM into a broader hardware set-up or Eurorack rig. Further I/O is provided by a a 3.5mm stereo output and MIDI input on the front panel, joined by a 1/4" stereo output, MIDI thru and USB port on the back.
Behringer 2-XM is available to pre-order now on Thomann and is priced at $252/£230/€279. Find out more on Behringer's website.
