Christ Church struggled with a limited track count, underwhelming processing power and a lack of overall sound and build quality in their previous front of house console. After an extensive search, the Arizona-based multi-congregational church switched brands and stepped up their audio game to an Allen & Heath dLive Digital Mixing System and tightly integrated ME Personal Mixing System.
“We’ve been growing so quickly and our tech requirements have really increased lately. I was definitely feeling the pressure to move forward with a more powerful console,” says Christ Church-Gilbert production director Corey Wilson. “Not only a desk with more channels, but with the versatility to send out multiple feeds for broadcast and work well with both internal and external effects.”
The hunt formally kicked off in early 2020, with a thorough feature and specification comparison across major audio brands. Wilson continues, “We had already heard about Allen & Heath’s dLive series consoles through another church as they raved about how great these consoles were and how easily even volunteers could learn it. After further consulting with other users of the dLive, it was clear this would fit us best and give us the ability to grow with the system as our ministry continues to grow.”
With the assistance of area technical consultant David Ericksson of Church-Technologies, Christ Church purchased a dLive S7000 console, CDM48 MixRack, a quartet of ME personal mixers and a 10 port ME-U PoE Monitor Hub. This system design allows backline musicians to tailor their own in-ear mixes while frontline vocalist monitor needs are simultaneously handled from the FOH dLive console position.
“This has been the best live mixing console I’ve ever used,” adds Wilson. “Quick and easy to set up and the onboard FX and preamps are out of this world.”
