Low noise out of main monitor - Peavey Xr 8600 8 Channel Powered Mixer

Hi, the crackling noise means it needs a service, was it stored in a shed or garage ? As damp storage is the likely cause.

The first thing I would do is get some CRC contact cleaner at Home Depot and give a qick squirt into both of the p

1. Turn the main and monitor volumes all the way down (off). Plug a cd player into channel 9/10 and play a track of music of your liking. With the main/monitor volumes still off, adjust the gain on 9/10 until the clip light turns on, then back it down until the clip light just turns off. Put the channel volume at 12 o' clock.
2. With the music still playing, turn up the mains to the desired listening level first, and then adjust the graphic eq until the music sounds good in the room. Remember or mark the position of the volume control. Do not use the channel eq on 9/10 for music that has been mastered properly, leave the eq flat. Once this step is completed then you have now set the main eq.
3. Repeat the same for monitors. Turn off the main volume and then bring up the monitor main volume to the desired level first, then set eq. Now your monitor eq is set properly. Remember or mark the position of the monitor volume.
4. Set up microphone - plug a mic into channel 1 with volume all the way down. Speak or sing into the microphone and adjust the GAIN until you see the clip light, then back down a litttle on the gain. Put the monitor and main volumes back up to the mark from step 2. Now adjust the volume and monitor send on the mic channel to the desired loudness first before adjusting the mic channel eq. Use subtractive eq method to minimize distortion and feedback. ...i.e. if the mic is bassy then turn down the lows, do not ADD highs. If the mic needs bass, turn down the highs.

Need more info, how many main speakers and monitor speakers are you trying to plug into the unit?

With all your plugging in of unsuitable stuff into sockets not designed for them there is a very good chance you'll have blown parts of the mixer. It is apparent you have little idea of what an insert is or the difference between a line and a mic in (or between an in and an out for that matter) I would strongly suggest you stop playing and probably causing damage, read the manual from cover to cover, and if you don't understand it find someone who will help you. I'm sorry but you really are not helping yourself at the moment.

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I just repaired an Adam A8X which had intermittent noise coming from the woofer. Turns out it has two (cheap?) volume knobs inside for factory calibration, which are not accessible to the user. In my case the low-frequency pot had collected dust and caused intermittent noise and reduced woofer output. I opened the unit up, rotated the knobs back and forth a little bit and set them back to their original position. This resolved it. Maybe your issue is related. They may have fixed this in MK2?

Please read my tip on fixya regarding a HAZARD of PMP mixers when using Speakon to 1/4 inch speaker cables. Essentially, the barrel of the 1/4 inch on A channel is the "hot" and one had better never let it touch a grounded point.

Now to your problem...You may have to run the MAIN sliders near the unity setting (zero Db).

It is important to set the trims correctely. For each of the inout channels, push the PFL button for the channel down and set the trim control so LED display is just below the clipping point at maximum input for the channel.

Ideally you would like the channel sliders to be in the vicinity of unity gain when system is balanced. Running the sliders way down results in a poor signal to noise ratio. Next you adjust the channel monitor knobs to set the monitor mix. These should be about 12 o'clock if possible to get decent signal to noise ratio.

For the MON/Mon1 mode, do NOT use the "Surround" simulator OR the "Speaker processor" ... make sure those swithces are off. You will probably want to PAN the channels fully to the MAIN side "B" which MAY be the reason your level seems low.

Remember the individual channels are about 400 Watts and 600 peak. Frankly myself I prefer to use both MAIN channels to the main speakers and use an external amp for the monitors OR use powered monitors for monitor use.

If you only have powered speakers for both mains and monitors, you will NOT use the Speakon outputs on the back.

You will connect USING BALANCED TRS audio cables from the MAIN L and R jacks on the top of the unit to your powered main speakers and also connect the monitor speakers by TRS balanced connections to the MON1 and MON2 1/4 inch jacks on the top deck of the unit.

POWER ALL the speakers AND the mixer from the same receptacle or power source/conditioner.
This may mean running an extension cord alongside your audio snake from the stage. Failure to do do this can cause damage due to exceeding the common mode noise (ground bounce) of different power sources.

Leave the speaker slide switch in the Main L/R.

Adjust the rotary knobs for Mon1 and MON2 for each channel to proportion each to the monitor "mixes" which you will control overall with the MON1 and MON2 sliders.
You will use the MAIN slider to control the mains level.

To set the trims for each channel, push the PFL so only that LED illuminate red... then at max inout level for the channel, use the LED bar graph on the right side so it is just a little below the clip level where the top LED's of the bar graph do not illuminate.

Likely a failure of one of the amps and now more... You should have shut it down when it started making noises. This is NOT a DIY repair. Take it to a competent repair shop for service.