AUDIO CONSOLES

An overview of some of the leading audio consoles in the live events market.

ALLEN & HEATH

The third mixer based on Allen & Heath’s 96kHz XCVI FPGA engine, Avantis is a 64-channel / 42 configurable bus console with dual full-HD touchscreens, an all-new UI, extensive I/O options and processing from the company’s flagship dLive mixing system.

Following the success of dLive and SQ consoles, Avantis delivers the company’s next-generation technology at a price point where most other mixers are still based on DSP platforms, and largely 48kHz.

Centred around two 1080p full-HD touchscreens and Continuity UI, the Avantis is designed to enable a fast, seamless connection between the physical controls and the displays, dynamically surfacing the information operators need at any moment and putting the required controls immediately at the end user’s fingertips.

While Allen & Heath expects most users to opt for the 48 in/16 out GX4816 as a partner I/O product, Avantis connects to the full ‘Everything I/O’ range of Allen & Heath audio expander hardware, making it easy to put together the right system for the job, whether you’re an owner/operator or a rental company with existing Allen & Heath I/O stock.

Two additional I/O Ports allow Avantis to benefit from the full range of current dLive option cards, including Dante 64x64 and 128x128, Waves, g i gaACE and MADI, expanding the scope for system integration, FOH/ monitor splits and multitrack recording. Available as an optional upgrade at any time, the dPack add-on enables additional dLive processing including the acclaimed Dyn8 Dynamics Engine, DEEP Compressors, and the Dual Stage Valve Preamp, plus more models as they’re added.

Allen & Heath has also evolved the physical design of its mixers with Avantis, which shuns the ‘rectangle with plastic sides’ norm, in favour of a rugged, full-metal chassis with a tubular exoskeleton inspired by the latest generation of lightweight superbikes.

www.allen-heath.com

AVID

Avid S1 delivers the unparalleled speed, rich visual feedback and software integration of Avid’s high-end consoles in a portable, slimline surface that’s an easy fit for any space or budget. Avid S1 gives audio specialists the hands-on speed, precision and software integration needed to deliver better-sounding mixes faster.

From recording and editing tracks, to mixing and monitoring in stereo or surround, Avid S1 provides the comprehensive control and visual feedback to accelerate any music workflow. Like Avid S6 and Avid S4, Avid S1 is powered by EUCON to offer deep integration with Pro Tools and Media Composer, plus native support for third-party audio and video applications like Logic Pro, Cubase, Premiere Pro and more.

Users can even switch between multiple applications – and workstations – at the touch of a button, providing the most fluid editing and mixing experience. Avid S1 integrates tightly with the free Avid Control app for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones, providing rich visual feedback to enhance workflows, ergonomic efficiency and Avid S6-style metering and processing views so users can navigate large sessions quickly, mix more intuitively and turn around better-sounding mixes quickly.

From touch-sensitive motorised faders and knobs to fast-access touchscreen workflows and Soft Keys for completing complex tasks with a single touch, Avid S1 provides the speed and versatility to accelerate any music, audio post, or video project. Users also can easily scale the surface as their needs grow by connecting up to four units together – and even add an Avid Dock to create a single extended and integrated surface. www.avid.com

CADAC

Cadac’s CDC five takes the unrivalled audio performance, latency management and next-generation, glass-cockpit touchscreen-based user experience of the CDC six and CDC seven-s to a new, all-time competitive price point; making CDC five a unique and highly competitive entrant in the mixing console market.

The CDC five runs 96k/24-bit audio and can provide up to 48 inputs and 24 assignable busses, plus LCR and monitors in FOH mode; or 30 assignable busses when operating in Monitor Mode. The CDC five features a single 23.5in touchscreen with 28 encoders and 16 faders, plus dual banks of user-assignable buttons. The rear panel boasts 16 analogue inputs, eight analogue outputs and eight digital inputs and outputs, as well as an integrated 64 x 64 Waves card.

It has dual MegaCOMMS ports, enabling additional MegaCOMMS I/O interfaces to be connected. The CDC five’s intuitive GUI has evolved from the CDC six and CDC seven-s, to include a swipe-down feature on its touchscreen. This brings up the menu screen functions normally found on the separate 6.5in control screen of its larger siblings.

It also uniquely features 40 user-assignable buttons allowing the allocation of specific functions to quick access buttons to further speed up the workflow. The advantage of the CDC five over other comparative console, apart from its unitive operation, is the audio quality and a total throughsystem propagation delay, including all console processing and A-D/D-A conversions, of an astonishing 37 samples at 96kHz, or just under 400us.

www.cadac-sound.com

DIGICO

Quantum 7 is designed to deliver the functionality, audio performance and sheer scale required to deliver the largest productions. With Quantum 7, you have the power to tackle any challenge and truly own the room.

Built to exceed the ambitions of tomorrow’s touring productions, Quantum 7 breaks the barrier of seventh-generation FPGA technology to deliver a dramatic leap forward in power and connectivity. All of this can be added to your existing SD7 surface, ensuring rental partners benefit from an even longer return on investment. Where once it was impossible to efficiently build an engine with more than one FPGA, now Quantum 7 brings you the extraordinary might of three large-scale FPGAs working in unison.

Inside the Quantum engine, up to 2,000 channels can be transported across 688 processing paths at 96kHz. New GTX ports run at 6.6GHz, while simple two-wire connections ensure the fastest possible data speeds to reach a new pinnacle in mixing capability. Fully scaleable and designed to communicate seamlessly with the next generation of FPGAs, the Quantum engine is a uniquely formidable platform for an ambitious industry.

www.digico.biz

Quantum 7 places the world’s most flexible and feature-rich mixing experience at your fingertips. Standard channel processing across both inputs and outputs includes Channel Delay, DiGiTuBe, Single and MultiChannel Presets, Dual insert points, Hi- and Lo-pass filters at 24dB/octave, four-band parametric EQ with eight on the outputs, band curve selection and Dynamic EQ on each band, DiGiCo’s DYN 1 (Compressor, De-esser or Multiband Compressor) and DYN 2 (Gate, Compressor or Ducker).

MIDAS

Building on the prolific history of the Heritage and Pro Series consoles, the new Heritage-D HD96-26 is designed to reinvent the workflow of a sound engineer. Designed, developed and produced by a passionate and dedicated team of leading professionals in their respective fields, Heritage-D HD96-26 has been a tireless labour of love for Midas. Featuring a powerful 21in HD multi-touchscreen and formidable ultramodern

Graphic User Interface (GUI), the control is all at your fingertips. Heritage-D HD96-26 is a vision of the future, with thought-provoking new features such as Channel AI. With 144 inputs, 96 Flexi-busses, 24 Matrix, up to 96 effects, a pool of 96 four-band Dynamic EQs and 32 four-band Multiband Compressors, the HD96-24 is a bold and visionary mixing console that raises the bar in terms of digital capabilities at the sound engineers’ fingertips, whilst keeping the sound quality that has given Midas its legendary reputation.

Midas has improved on its digital sound with its new 64-bit summing mix engine with increased dynamic range. The key to the Midas sound, they say, is in giving ultimate flexibility while still being delay compensated, which avoids the dreaded comb-filtering effect.

www.midasconsoles.com