The Allen & Heath Avantis 96KHz digital mixer fits the perfect middle ground between the 48 channel SQ series and the 128 channel dLive system.
Sporting two 15.6” 1080P HD touchscreens, the operation of Avantis is quite touchscreen-centric, making it very easy to use for the majority of people who are already used to touchscreens on their phones, iPads and car navigation systems. The use of touchscreens is only getting more and more popular (and expected) and I believe we’ll start seeing more products getting introduced from manufacturers that are centered around large touchscreen controls. That being said, most audio engineers still like to have physical tactile faders in front of them, including myself, which makes Avantis the perfect modern age console for sound engineers who don’t require more than 64 input channels.
The fully metal chassis makes the desk very strong, but the design is also lightweight. Weighing in at 57.4 pounds, it’s easy enough to lift by yourself; however, I’d still recommend a two person lift for safety measures.
Avantis is outfitted with 12 analog input and 12 analog output sockets. An additional stereo AES input and two stereo AES outputs are also available locally. Avantis uses SLINK technology, so it is compatible with all of Allen & Heath’s expander box options, including all 48KHz and 96KHz sample rate expander boxes, making the console extremely versatile.
Two I/0 port card slots are available on the console. The same cards that work with the dLive series are also compatible with the Avantis. Dante and Waves cards are the most popular, but additional cards including GigaAce, FibreAce, Madi, DX-Link, AES, and other cards are available for even more I/0 Flexibility.
This console really is revolutionary, and I cannot wait to mix my first show using this desk! Keep on mixing, and don’t forget to have a fun!
-Joe The Audio Pro
