Spanning two days and presenting over 60 guest speakers and 150 exhibitors in the church facility and professional AV space, CFX 2021 provided a forum for thought leaders and industry experts to help church staff reconnect, reengage and renew their focus in this changing landscape of ministry. Held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, the conference relied on an array of Allen & Heath digital consoles for key event audio mixing duties.
The main conference ballroom space was outfitted by AE Global Media, a world leader in audio, video, acoustic and lighting technology applications. Focused on the design and installation of technology systems for major facilities such as churches, entertainment, education and sporting venues, AE Global selected Allen & Heath consoles to handle keynote presentation audio and special worship music events throughout the show. A dLive S7000 and an SQ-7 covered the main stage FOH position while a duo of Avantis were put to work at the monitor and broadcast position.
“Allen & Heath has done their homework across their console range,” notes AE Global Media Account Manager Paul Velez. “I believe the dLive is THE church console. 128 channels can aptly handle a sizable choir, orchestra, rhythm section, and vocals—no problem. The features of the ME Personal Monitor System, Dyn8 dynamic EQ and multiband compression, 96kHz operation and the overall system usability cannot be found elsewhere for the price.”
Across the convention center at the CFX 2021 Live Sound Loudspeaker Demo, an Allen & Heath Avantis and GX4816 96kHz audio expander handled switching between a number of line arrays and speaker systems from top audio manufacturers. The hosts of the popular Signal To Noise podcast were on hand to emcee the event and provide a hint of comic relief and witty banter in-between system demos.
“I own an Avantis and it’s become my preferred console for situations like this where I need to work very quickly,” says Michael Lawrence, Rational Acoustics Application Support Specialist, Live Sound International technical editor, and Signal to Noise podcast host. “Although I could have prepped a showfile ahead of time, I actually just jumped in from scratch and configured the console as I needed it when I showed up to the show. The workflow is so fast that I had it laid out the way I wanted it in just a couple of minutes. There was a lot to do getting the demo loaded in and set up, but no one was ever waiting on me for signal, and that is definitely thanks to the speed of the Avantis workflow.”
Allen & Heath also supported a number of educational sessions in collaboration with Church Sound University (CSU) featuring Samantha Potter, Manager – Commercial Audio at Allen & Heath USA, which were presented via an SQ console and highlighted its multitrack recording functionality in action.
“We were glad to see the show come together and provide such a positive and supportive gathering place,” adds Jeff Hawley, Director of Marketing, Allen & Heath USA. “The CFX team did a great job offering a wide range of resources and learning opportunities for video and audio technical folks as well as church administrators and even IT. From the loudspeaker demo to breakout training sessions to exciting keynotes and worship events, CFX had a bit of something for everyone. Here’s to an even bigger and better show in 2022!”
Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Controlled Chaos (Emphasis on “Controlled”)