Last week Mike Niemi, Tim Wentz, and I went to see a demo of the Allen & Heath iLive T series audio console. This is the new sound board we are considering. This will be a mini-review, since it was a "mini" demo. Sometime in May we will have the console in here for a full week. After that I will write up a comprehensive review.
Last fall Mike and I went to the Yamaha M7 class. At the time the M7 was the only console in this price range. We really enjoyed it and liked the M7. So I put it into my budget for 2009. Then the iLive was released a few months ago. On paper, there are several advantages over the M7:
1. More inputs than M7
2. More outputs than M7
3. Any fader can be anything. The flexibility of this is nice.
4. Can have up to 16 VCAs. As you know, the limit of 8 is constricting in even a normal Sunday service. Throw in Easter, Good Friday, Christmas productions, this feature becomes very nice. Probably won't use all 16, but definitely 10-12.
5. Using the same processor as the larger iLive, which has received very good reviews.
6. The separate stage box and the advantages/flexibility that it offers.
7. More simultaneous EQs.
8. Same manufacturer as current consoles. Not a huge item, but still helps the case of the iLive.
9. Cheaper.
The items that I was hesitant about the iLive:
1. New. Even though it's based off the big brother, it's still new. The M7 is tested and proven.
2. Only 1 card vs the M7s 3. Right now and for the near future, those will only be for Avioms.
3. Mike and I felt the M7 was volunteer friendly and intuitive. We were curious how the iLive would compare.
After the demo last week, we were very impressed with the iLive. As easy and intuitive as the M7 is, we thought the iLive was more so. I think the biggest part of that is the difference in the channel strips and the use of the touchscreen. It seemed easier and more intuitive on the iLive.
As for as the only 1 card issue, that will be for the Avioms. I know that doesn't give us room for another one (i.e. for recording). But the stage box of the iLive has lots of XLR outs that could then feed a recording interface.
The issue of the newness of the iLive is still there, but not as strong. It looks like A&H has done a good job of bringing across the stability of the big brother, while hitting this price point.
There were a few other really nice things that we liked about the iLive over the M7. For instance, there is both the regular headphone connector and the mini. You can freeze channels, so even though you might be going to a different layer, that fader would stay the same.
As I stated earlier, we should be having a demo here sometime in May. As soon as I know which week, I will let everyone know. The plan is to have worship team members here every night to help us get the settings right and learn the console.
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