An Allen & Heath dLive S5000 mixing system lies at the heart of upgrades recently made at Destination Church in Saraland, Alabama, a suburb of Mobile. Following in the footsteps of an Allen & Heath GLD-80 console also selected for the church in 2016, the new dLive brings an expanded palette of production capabilities to a praise band led by worship pastor Kyle Wilson.
Like many houses of worship, Destination Church started small with 120 members and grew into its current size of 1500+. When the church added a new 1,250 seat sanctuary to accommodate its burgeoning numbers, Michael Evans at Alpha Sound & Lighting in nearby Satsuma, Alabama got the call to design and implement the new room’s AV and lighting systems. Reprising a role he has occupied throughout the church’s evolution, Evans took stock of the needs at hand and got to work.
“In addition to obtaining high quality, concert-level sound in the house, Kyle wanted to bring in a number of wireless in-ear monitors for his band,” Evans relates with smooth Southern cadence. “Plus, he wanted to be able to let them create their own personal monitor mixes. He had ambitious goals, and is tech-savvy, but was unsure of the next step. After I suggested using Allen & Heath’s dLive S5000 out front and ME personal mixing systems and explained how they would work, I saw the light go on in his eyes. He was like a mule looking at a new gate—perplexed for a moment, but then bam! He knew he had found the way.”
Evans’ blueprint has the capacity to manage 56 lines from distributed floor pockets onstage. Allen & Heath’s dLive DM64 MixRack supplies 64 mic/line inputs and 32 line outputs, gathering a wide variety of microphone and instrument signals prior to traveling to the dLive S5000 control surface via a Cat 5 cable. Patching along the network is effortless, offering system operators the ability to change things up at will to accommodate both live program material and streaming.
“The musicians also love the ME system,” Evans relates. “Now, each can tailor their monitor mix to whatever works for them. As for the house, the sound couldn’t be sweeter. Everyone is happy, and at the end of the day that’s what counts most.”
