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Audio Review: Peavey Sanctuary Series S-32 Console
There are plenty of 32-input analog mixers available these days, some of them with some pretty remarkable features, but Peavey’s Sanctuary Series S-32 is a one-of-a-kind when it comes to church-friendly features. I had some previous experience with the smaller S-24, but there is a substantial suite of enhancements in the S-32 that put it head and shoulders above the S-24, so I was excited to get a look at one.
The S-32 features 32 channels, 28 of which have balanced XLR mic inputs. The other four have both RCA and one-quarter-inch balanced inputs, typically for bringing in music from compact disk or some other source. The mixer has four stereo subgroups, cleverly named Solo, Choir, Music, and Auto. These groups, in turn, feed the mixer’s stereo main bus. Each channel features controls for gain, a low-cut filter (sweepable from 10 Hz to 300 Hz,) high-shelving EQ (±15 dB @ 10 kHz), low-shelving EQ (±15 dB @ 70 Hz), peak/notch mid EQ (sweepable from 100 Hz to 5 kHz), “Mid-Morph” (more on that in a moment), four post-EQ, pre-fader monitor sends, two post-EQ, post-fader effects sends, and a post-EQ, post-fader auxiliary send (for external effects or subwoofer). Each channel also has a group assignment switch (determining to which subgroup the channel will be routed), a mute button (with an LED indicator that also indicates clipping), a signal present/PFL LED indicator, PFL button, and 100mm long-throw fader. The mixer’s eight automix channels also feature compressor threshold and priority assignment controls along with channel status and compression active indicators. The console does not include pan pots, but according to Peavey, at least 85 percent of church sound systems are configured or operated monaurally, a number that sounds about right to me. The conscious decision to omit pan pots is yet another means by which Peavey simplifies operation for non-professionals, and frankly, improper pan pot settings can be a significant problem.
Channels 25 through 32 are designated as the mixer’s automix channels, and as the director of my church’s audio department, this is a very welcome feature to me. On occasion, neither my trained volunteers nor I are available to mix, so the mixing must be handled by an untrained volunteer. The automixing functionality of these eight channels makes the mixing much simpler for these folks. It is true gain-sharing automixing, and it attenuates unused channels and prioritizes the appropriate pastor mic in the case of the pastor using both lav and pulpit mics. Normally with both capturing the pastor’s voice, distortion and smear are introduced as a result of phase incoherency, but the S-32’s automix function attenuates one or other of the two mics (contingent upon your priority assignment settings) to eliminate that problem. Automixing is high on my list of features important to a church with non-professional staff. For churches with professional staff, however, automixing can be turned off. Each of the mixer’s automix channels also features a soft-knee compressor, with control over threshold level. Non-professionals are instructed to turn down the threshold until the indicator lights occasionally, compressing only peaks. The eight channels of the automix section feed the Auto subgroup.
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John McJunkin is the CEO of Avalon Podcasting in Chandler, Arizona, which offers high quality podcast production and consultation services to a broad range of clients. He’s also the host of the Podcast Pro Tech & Tips Podcast at www.avalonpodcasting.com.
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