Having full control of the surround outputs allows theater sound designers the flexibility to create greater realism in their production.
Another advantage of the iLive is its portability. The MixRack containing the primary inputs, outputs and DSP is located backstage. From there, Cat5 cables carry both audio and control data to the control surface.
Jay Paul provides the details: “We’re using tie lines from the FOH position at the desk, and there’s an alternate front of house position in the control booth. The console can move to either location. Using value engineering, we set up patch bays and routing so the console can work in either location.”
Howard Community College was Jay Paul’s first encounter with the iLive system. “Sonically, I’m very impressed,” he says. “And having a separate stage rack using Cat5 for audio and control made the infrastructure part of this install very simple. The control surface size is very conducive to environments with space restrictions. Allen & Heath brings a lot to the table in terms of price, performance and versatility. It’s a nice desk.”
Production coordinator Mark Smedley agrees. “We looked at several digital boards and chose the iLive because it had all the flexibility we needed and seemed to be the most user friendly. And it really is. Going digital for the first time, it was very intimidating at first.
“But most people pick up the layout and operation in about a half-hour. But the biggest thing is the time savings we’ve achieved. We can now do three events in a day plus a show at night, no problem. It’s been amazing.”
Allen & Heath iLive Website
An in-depth yet easy-to-understand discussion of wireless systems, how they operate, issues that can plague performance, and solutions that do the trick in the vast majority of situations.
