Console: Allen & Heath
DLive S7000

Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
Clapham Grand London
A day dedicated to showcasing the flexible and intuitive Allen & Heath dLive system.
F1 Sound Company Ltd hosted dDay, an
event dedicated to the Allen & Heath dLive
system at London’s Clapham Grand. They
invited the audio industry for a day of training, networking and
idea-sharing specifically for end-users.
The event presented an overview of one of the most flexible and intuitive digital mixing systems available today, the dLive. Matt Bate, Director led the day’s discussions, alongside Rich Soper from Audio-Technica (Allen & Heath’s UK distributor) who gave a detailed system overview. The day also entailed networking opportunities - plus a free bar and Indian buffet - during which the crowd could get acquainted.
Matt explains: “It seems as though the industry is increasingly busy, and I feel it’s vital to allow people access to equipment in an environment that’s both friendly and familiar to them which is why we opened the doors to a music venue in central London, rather than invite people to attend formal training at our headquarters. This is key to familiarising people with the kit and opening the door to look at the right console for their needs. The live market is a very busy place, but the dLive systems are so accessible around the world, that there is no reason it couldn’t be at the top of your rider.”
The timing had to be right. Holding the session in mid-May means the event fell just between Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt and PLASA Focus in Leeds, yet before ABTT in London, as well as it being just before festival season starts to ramp up. As a company, F1 Sound has seen an increasingly close relationship develop with both Allen & Heath and the the team at Audio-Technica. Plus, as one of the UK’s premier re-sellers and rental houses for dLive, we felt we should be setting the bar with our own seminars.
Matt added: “For me personally, it had to be informal and attractive to all manner of people, from sound consultants to freelancers, to existing users, and potential users. That’s why I wanted to create focus groups on the day, so that we could target information where required. Realistically, we only flash through the desk’s basic functions in the introduction, so it’s more about getting people in front of the system afterwards. With such a variety of attendees, we can’t train a live sound engineer in the same way we would someone from a theatre, and a lecturer needs another set of information altogether, but what we want to get across is that the dLive fits into all environments.”
There’s no substitute for the kind of detailed feedback and ideas you only get from listening to the people who depend on your gear. Kudos to F1 Sound Company for creating such a well-run event in a fabulous venue.
Allen & Heath Technical Manager
Allen & Heath Technical Manager, Andy Bell, added: “It was a real pleasure spending time with so many engineers, some with extensive experience of using dLive, others just about to take the plunge. As someone who’s involved in product development, there’s no substitute for the kind of detailed feedback and ideas you only get from listening to the people who depend on your gear. Kudos to F1 Sound Company for creating such a well-run event in a fabulous venue.”
Looking back on the day Matt said of the day that he and his team at F1 Sound Company had delivered: “The event was a total success; we had a great time and got some lovely feedback. On a wider scale, and importantly for the industry, there will be more engineers now specifying dLive consoles on their shows. As we all know, the networking and social time is such a big part of our business, that we will be doing more events of this ilk, so watch our social media channels for further announcements!”
Console: Allen & Heath
Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
Console: Allen & Heath
I love how easy the DLive is to use and how easy it is to setup for touring engineers.
FOH Engineer, Daniel Morriss
Interface
Where many digital consoles try to recreate the experience of using an analogue mixer, dLive is a true digital native, drawing on our familiarity with the ubiquitous smartphones and tablets that we all use without thinking.
The single or twin 12" capacitive touchscreens on the dLive consoles feel instantly familiar, responding to every pinch, swipe, drag and drop exactly how you’d expect them to.
Bespoke ‘widget’ areas can also be set up on the screens to keep track of scenes, meters, FX and other custom controls. The screen is framed by a set of one knob / one function rotary controls, allowing the creativity and immediacy of tactile control over key processing functions, working in harmony with the visual feedback displayed on the screen.
Workflow
The dLive layout is fully customisable, allowing the user to create a mixing interface that matches their own mental map of the show. Every input or mix can be assigned to any and every bank and / or layer, virtual scribble strips allow inputs and mixes to be clearly named and colour coded for at-a-glance navigation, and the engineer has no less than 26 assignable SoftKeys at their disposal, plus 3 pages of 6 assignable rotaries per screen.
Build
All dLive consoles have been designed to deliver the optimal balance between strength and weight, employing higher grade metal on the sides and folded steel at key points for added rigidity. Not only does every console, MixRack and expander have dual power supply slots for redundancy, but we’ve also employed the same rugged, hot-swappable PSU design across the range for maximum peace of mind and minimum inventory. Dual redundancy is also built into every audio connection throughout the system.
Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
Console: Allen & Heath
Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
Console: Allen & Heath
Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
Console: Allen & Heath
Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
Console: Allen & Heath
Technical Datasheet: Download PDF
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