Allen & Heath Avantis Ultra Console

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The Allen & Heath Avantis Ultra is a compact digital mixer capable of standalone operation, supporting 96 input channels, 56 mix busses, and 400 soft patchable system inputs and outputs, all independently assigned. It includes 12 stereo rack FX engines with dedicated stereo returns, 8 RackUltra FX engines with dedicated stereo sends and returns, and 16 DCAs.

The onboard mix engine runs at 96kHz sampling rate and employs FPGA technology for digital signal processing, with a system latency from analogue input to output of no more than 0.7ms.

Surface & Controls

The surface features 24 motorised touch-sensitive faders in two banks, each with 6 layers accessed by dedicated keys. Fader illumination is integrated into the armrest and is adjustable via the software UI. All fader strips are configurable as input channels, mixes, FX sends, FX returns, DCA masters, or MIDI strips. Each strip includes dedicated PAFL, Mix, and Mute buttons with indicators and a rotary controller. Six buttons with indicators provide global mode for the rotary controls: Gain, Pan, Sends, and up to 3 custom functions. Send levels to mixes are also adjustable via the faders.

Dedicated keys are provided for quick Copy/Paste/Reset of mixes and processing parameters, pre/post and mix assignments, scene safes, freeze-in-layers, and GEQ fader flip. Additional physical controls are user-assignable, including two sets of 3 rotary encoders and 24 user-defined keys.

Touchscreens

Two 15.6" Full-HD (1080p) capacitive touchscreens provide access to the channel bank view, channel name blocks, channel processing, meters, FX, I/O, scene management, setup, utilities, and diagnostics. Channel name blocks display each visible channel's name, colour, type, number, status, pan, gain, trim, metering, processor gain reduction, and other parameters. Touching a channel name block selects a channel, with the capability to select one channel per touchscreen.

22-segment meters in the channel name block indicate channel and mix levels, with an additional onscreen 22-segment meter for monitoring the PAFL signal. A default Mains to PAFL sub-mix is included. Comprehensive and customisable input, output, and FX channel and RTA metering is available on-screen in a dedicated meters interface.

I/O

Local analogue inputs are provided on 12 balanced XLR sockets, connecting to fully recallable digitally controlled preamplifiers capable of up to +60dB of gain, industry-standard 48V phantom power, and a switchable -20dB Pad allowing a maximum input level of +30dBu. Local analogue outputs are provided on 12 balanced XLR sockets with a nominal line output of +4dBu and a maximum output of +22dBu.

One stereo AES3 input with SRC (32–192kHz) is provided on one XLR socket. Two stereo AES3 outputs with SRC (96kHz, 48kHz, 44.1kHz) are provided on two XLR sockets. Sample Rate Conversion on the digital inputs and outputs can be bypassed via the software UI.

A local "SLink" Ethernet audio expansion port with locking EtherCON connector supports multiple protocols (gigaACE, DX, GX, dSnake, ME), providing access to up to 128x128 digital channels over a single cable digital snake, with remote preamp control of Allen & Heath Remote Audio Units and connection to Allen & Heath ME Personal Mixing Systems.

Two 128-channel I/O ports accommodate optional digital interface modules, including MADI, Dante, Waves SoundGrid, gigaACE, and AES/EBU. A BNC connector is provided for Wordclock input or output, switchable in software.

Processing

All input channels include: Trim, Polarity, High Pass Filter, Low Pass Filter, two Insert points, Gate, Parametric EQ, Compressor, and Delay.

All output mix channels include: External input, Polarity, Trim, Insert, Parametric EQ, Graphic EQ with RTA and fader-flip mode, Compressor, and Delay.

Channel processing also includes high-quality emulations of classic preamps, compressors, and GEQs — insertable on the fly on any channel without using the internal FX or any external plug-ins, and without added latency or impact on processing elsewhere in the system. All signal delays are adjustable in milliseconds, metres, feet, and samples.

Effects

12 user-assignable effect racks come with a library of factory preset FX emulations, each individually configurable as send/return from a channel or FX/Mix, or inserted into input or output channels. Processed signals can be returned to other mixes via dedicated FX input channels with PEQ, assigned as sources to input channels, daisy-chained to another FX rack by internal patching, or routed to an output socket or interface channel.

8 user-assignable RackUltra effect racks are also included with a library of factory preset FX emulations, configurable in the same way, with additional pre- and post-engine dynamics processing options.

Groups & Automation

The Avantis Ultra provides 16 DCA groups with DCA Spill functionality, 8 Mute groups, and Automatic Mic Mixing (AMM) of up to 64 microphone sources into 1, 2, or 4 zones, operable in classic gain sharing mode or as a NOM (Number of Open Microphones) algorithm.

A global direct out option is available for each input channel, with tap-off adjustable to: post Preamp, post LPF, post Gate, post Insert A return, post PEQ, post Compressor, post Insert B return, and post Delay, with further options to follow Fader, DCA, and Mute.

A Talkback facility enables sending to any output mix with on-screen status indication, with options for latching and HPF. A signal generator can send variable level signals (Sine, White Noise, Pink Noise, Band-Pass) to any input and output mix with visual on-screen assignment status.

Connectivity & Networking

Two gigabit Ethernet (1,000 Mbit/s) ports enable Cat5 connection to a computer for MIDI over TCP/IP control, wireless router connectivity for live mixing control, and tablet app control via a wireless network router.

Scene Management & Libraries

Input and output channel processing and parameters can be saved as user library items for recall on other channels, archived with the show file, and transferred to USB as portable data for use in other systems.

Up to 500 scenes can be saved, each with a name and descriptive text entry. Comprehensive Scene Safes and per-scene filters allow precise control over what is protected or updated on recall. A Cue List facilitates a running order of scenes, with per-scene crossfade of up to 20 seconds and embedded scene recall with up to a 4-minute delay option.

Password protection supports multiple users with different access levels and permissions, with the option to recall a specific scene on each user login. The system also periodically records all current settings and restores them automatically after a power cycle.

Power

The built-in power supply accepts AC mains voltages of 100–240V, 50/60Hz, 150W max via an earthed 3-pin IEC connector, with a two-pole push-button power switch on the rear chassis. Recommended operating temperature is 5–40°C.

Specifications: 

• 56 buses
• 96 kHz XCVI FPGA core with very low latency (0.7 ms)
• Freely configurable mix bus architecture
• Very sturdy, solid metal housing
• User interface combines physical controls with touchscreen controls for the fastest and most intuitive workflow
• 12 stereo FX returns
• 8 RackUltra FX slots
• 16 DCAs
• Two 15.6" Full HD displays with capacitive touchscreens with gesture control
• AMM (Automatic Mic Mixer) for up to 64 channels across 1, 2 or 4 zones
• Fully assignable layout
• 144 fader strips (24 faders, 6 layers) with optional master section
• SLink port for connection to remote I/O extensions and the ME Personal Mixing System
• Inputs: 12 analogue XLR, 1 stereo AES
• Output: 12 analouge XLR, 2 stereo AES
• 2 I/O slots for 128 x 128 at 96 kHz each – for optional cards including Dante, MADI and gigaACE
• User-configurable rotary controls
• 24 assignable softkeys
• Comprehensive metering with multi-point peak detection
• USB stereo recording and playback
• BNC Word Clock
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 269 x 917 x 627 mm
• Weight: 26 kg
• Includes dPack