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May 2012

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Audio Review: Allen & Heath iLive T112 Live Mixing System

iLive's distributed audio uses a familiar control surface to manage a mix core that lives on stage

by John F. McJunkin

In order to stay competitive in an ever-evolving market, console manufacturers must offer a digital mixer, even if they have established their claim to fame in the analog domain. Allen & Heath is long known for delivering great analog live mixers, and has also presented the world with its iLive series of digital live mixers in more recent years. The company's most recent offering is the T sub-series of the iLive line, which is intended to be more attractive in terms of pricing for the sub-$30K market. I evaluated a iLive T-112 system, and I did not engage in a comparison between the distinct iLive lines, but rather assessed the system on its own merits.

The concept behind the iLive system is, in a phrase, distributed audio. The idea is that a familiar control surface is used to manage a mix core that lives on stage. Within the T sub-series, there are three control surfaces available - the T112, the T80, and the R72, and there are four mix cores (or MixRacks in Allen & Heath's parlance) - the iDR-64 (64 mic preamps and 32 outputs), the iDR-48 (48 mic preamps and 24 outputs,) the iDR-32 (32 mic preamps and 16 outputs,) and the iDR-16 (16 mic preamps and eight outputs,) all with balanced XLR I/O. The T80 has 20 faders, and the T112 has 28. There are four layers available (hence the T-80 can control 80 channels, and the T-112 can control 112.) The faders can be assigned to control mono or stereo inputs, group, auxiliary, main, matrix, DCA, and either IEM or floor wedge monitor levels. Each fader has a corresponding select, PAFL, mute, and mix button, the latter of which grants access to routing and levels to each of the various mixes created by the console. Each fader also has an associated rotary encoder, 12-segment LED meter, and one of my absolute favorite features in the console, an LCD display. There's nothing particularly special about the information displayed by the LCD; it's basically a scribble strip that offers panning, level, and status information about the channel. But the cool thing is the background coloration. The color changes to one of six available hues contingent upon the type of signal path being represented by the channel strip. This kind of thing is really good for my brain. It allows me to quickly assess what's happening from a visual standpoint. Color coding has been a standard on audio consoles for eons, but I just like the notion of channels capable of altering the color coding in real time - particularly because it's done with hardware.

Above the faders are found encoders and LED displays that correspond with typical console processing - channel input controls, gate, four-band parametric EQ, compressor, and a limiter/de-esser. These controls apply to whichever channel strip is currently selected, as one would expect in a digital control surface. To the right of these controls is a touch screen that facilitates detailed control over parameters, along with signal routing, effects, scenes, and set-up, among other things. The touch screen also displays high-resolution metering of numerous gain stages. I generally really like the touch screen, but this one has some smallish buttons that I found myself fat-fingering on occasion. It's just the price paid for keeping the control surface within a manageable footprint.

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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.