I picked up a Phonics mixer last year to sub-mix drums and percussion live. I've used my mixer dozens of times in crappy conditions, outdoor festivals, etc (which is why I wanted a low cost mixer) and it's worked fine. Not much noise, and it gets the signal from point A to point B wth no problems.
I've never used a Behringer mixer, so I can't compare - but the Phonics compares well to the Spirit Note Pad I sometimes use (the Phonics has more inputs - which is another reason I got it.)
While this is not a mixer I would choose to use in my home studio, it has worked fine as a live sub-mixer.