Tag: AHM

Legend Sound Systems is a Philadelphia-based AVL integrations company, offering installation services to a variety of customers – including bars and restaurants, fitness centers, houses of worship, and more. The company was recently approached for a unique project upgrading the Chapel of the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, NY. “They needed a way to host two different types of services,” recalled Bill Lyle, President of Legend Sound. “The seminary had daily traditional services each morning; requiring a very basic audio setup with a few wireless mics. Then on the weekends, they hosted more modern services with a full band. We needed to figure out a way to give the right control access to the right people.”

With the complexities of the project now clear, Lyle began to ponder an optimal solution. “I didn’t want a seminary student with no training to be pushing faders on a mixing console,” he explained. “I also didn’t want the control to be dumbed down for trained audio engineers when they came in to mix on Sundays.”

At the time, Allen & Heath’s AHM platform was rising into prominence, and Lyle saw that as a perfect fit. AHM matrix mixers offer advanced audio processing and multi-zone routing with a variety of simplified control options. “Using an AHM-64 processor with a Dante module to feed directly to the amps, we had our traditional services covered,” said Lyle. For the modern weekend services, Lyle’s team added a fully-featured 48-channel SQ-5 mixing console – which connected to the same Dante network using its own Dante module. An Allen & Heath AR2412 stagebox feeds inputs to both the AHM and SQ.

For the students to control the various microphones during daily services, Lyle created a custom mobile application using Allen & Heath’s Custom Control editor. “The app interface only shows seven faders,” explained Lyle. “We also set it up so that each fader is limited to prevent the mics from being set too loud and creating feedback problems. It really worked out well.”

The Legend Sound team configured the AHM so that each Zone output fed a different speaker, which allowed for precise tuning in a difficult acoustic environment. “The walls are stone and the ceilings are 40 feet high,” explained Lyle. “There was a lot of careful tailoring required to get the sound right, and we were able to do that with AHM.”

Even though this was his first time installing an AHM processor, Lyle found it a breeze to configure and operate. “New products are always daunting, but it was fairly easy to use. If I ever did hit a brick wall, I could shoot an e-mail to the support team or use one of the many great instructional videos online to get through it.”

The staff at the Seminary were delighted with the resulting installation and its control interface. “We’ve been thrilled by the setup at (General Theological Seminary),” said Michael DeLashmutt, Senior Vice President of the Seminary. “We don’t have a professional AV team or even a single person who we can rely on for AV support from one semester to the next. The setup that (Legend Sound) provided for us, with the simplified tablet interface, gives us the sound quality that we needed, but without the complexity that would make running it unfeasible for our students, staff, or volunteers.”

The Legend Sound team has earned more jobs through word of mouth as a result of this installation, and they will likely continue to opt for AHM when similar installs come up. “I prefer Allen & Heath products to any other products on the market,” noted Lyle. “Not only are they good quality products, the service is unparalleled. If I ever have a problem, I can pick up the phone and I know it’s going to get fixed.”

The Brook in New Hampshire is America’s largest charity casino, featuring the biggest sports book in New England, more than 500 casino gaming machines, a poker room, and an array of table games. The sprawling 75-acre property also boasts an outdoor deck, state-of-the-art showroom, banquet space, and a full-service restaurant.

Since acquiring the property in 2019, Nevada-based Eureka Casino Resort – the only 100% employee-owned hospitality company in the U.S. – has invested millions of dollars in renovations and enhancements to make The Brook a complete entertainment destination for anyone seeking live entertainment, fine dining, or Las Vegas-style casino gaming.

When it came to upgrading their A/V systems, the casino’s staff opted for Allen & Heath’s audio matrix processor, AHM, to provide scalable, quality sound distribution while keeping end-user controls friendly and simple.

“The AHM system was recommended to me by our A/V Integrator,” said the Director of Engineering for The Brook. “When I did my own independent research, I was extremely impressed. AHM also had a lot of fantastic reviews online. We needed a rock-solid audio distribution platform with a ton of flexibility, and AHM fit that bill in every way.”

The Brook, which is a quick 45-minute drive north of Boston near the New Hampshire border, was faced with some unique challenges for audio. With the facility’s previous DSP solution, intelligibility and overall sound levels were a noticeable issue. The Brook sought a solution that would provide clarity, intelligibility, consistency, and the scalability to meet their quickly growing processing needs.

The Brook features 16 separate zones (with several more being added in the near future), each being fed with different blends of three microphones, six cable TV receivers, two music players, and four computers. Because of the variety of events and styles of entertainment across the location, the casino needed the option to have certain inputs push out across all zones, while also allowing each zone to operate completely independently on source and level.

With an AHM-64, The Brook has plenty of room for current growth projections and any plans they may develop in the future. An AR2412 networked stagebox provides an expandable 24 mic/line inputs and 12 outputs for the system, in addition to the 12 local inputs and 12 outputs on the AHM itself. A Dante module was also added to the system for future-proofing and further expansion.

Five Allen & Heath IP-1 wall-plate controllers are sprinkled throughout the venue, giving simple one-knob control to management and staff for source selection, levels, and more. The facility’s management team plans on adding additional Allen & Heath IP controllers in the future to give the staff even more control over the distributed audio.

With the new system in place, the Brook team took a short lesson from the designers on how to use the system and was quickly off and running. They were thrilled with the experience of configuring the system, noting that AHM was incredibly intuitive and simple, not only to physically install and wire up, but to then configure the software to their specifications.

Since the system’s initial installation, The Brook has added two additional zones with at least 3 more to come in the future.

Thanks to AHM’s audio playback feature, The Brook now runs audio ads throughout the day. “The system lets us load in an audio file that will describe to our guests our upcoming promotions, concerts, and events,” explained a brook employee. “It triggers throughout the day every 90 minutes. The system is so configurable that it lets us select which zones the ads run in, have a different volume per zone based on that zones acoustic environment, trigger them at the set times, and then go right back to our normal programming. It is absolutely incredible what we can do with the AHM.”

Patrons noticed an immediate difference in intelligibility and consistency with the new system – level changes weren’t so extreme, TV audio was better controlled, and announcements were loud and clear throughout the facility. The casino has received plenty of positive feedback from both employees and guests, resulting from the now consistent daily audio experience.

The Leola Village Inn is a boutique hotel in a historic village near Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, that offers luxury accommodations, spa services, Italian dining, and a
sustainable lifestyle. The hotel is close to many attractions in Lancaster County, such as
theaters, shopping, antiques, and Amish culture.

The Inn recently decided to upgrade the audio system in their wedding venue, seeking
improved sound quality and simplified control for the staff. “The client expressed the
need for high levels of control at their fingertips, with the simplicity and consistency that
comes from a fully integrated, intentionally designed platform,” explained Herb Seureth,
Systems Integrator at STRAY Productions. “Naturally, we looked at Allen & Heath’s AHM
as an ideal solution. We are always aiming for the right overlap between capabilities and
cost with the solutions we provide, and the AHM platform fit those needs perfectly.”

The new AHM system feeds the primary wedding reception room, as well as the cocktail
hour space. Exterior porticos and kitchen zones were also brought under the
management of the AHM system, which allowed for granular routing of various sources
to specific locations around the facility.

STRAY also installed several Dante endpoints in the spaces to allow for mic and line
level connections wherever the DJ or musicians set up for a particular event. These
inputs, coupled with wireless microphone options and a house music server, give the
AHM plenty of sources to work with. The processor’s built-in GPIO functionality also
allows for on/off control of system amplification, by storing presets that will activate or
deactivate the relayed outlets installed in the rack.

An Allen & Heath IP8 8-fader controller is also stationed in the equipment rack, providing
simple adjustment of both inputs and outputs as they feed each zone. Wiring was
provided for deployment of future IP8s in additional locations, should the client’s needs
change over time.

“It was important to the client that they be friendly to the neighbors around the property
in how the SPL gets managed; particularly the low frequencies,” explained System
Designer Kurt Lesh. “To accomplish this, main PAs and subwoofers were fed to different
zones for both of the available reinforcement systems. This allows venue management
to stay in the driver’s seat when it comes to overall levels, rather than the DJ or the guest
band.”

Further control was added via a tailored app made with Allen & Heath’s Custom Control
platform, offering fader and mute control for various sources and zones.

This was STRAY’s first time installing AHM, and it exceeded the installers’ expectations.
“I’ve been really impressed with the robust routing options,” noted Lesh. “We have full
control in programming what goes where, making the day-to-day client experience as
simple as possible.

Lesh also appreciated the speed at which the AHM platform could be configured. “It’s
amazing how quickly we were able to go from unboxing, to integrating into our network,
then making it controllable by the included IP8 and, ultimately, ready for deployment on
site.”

The Leola Village Inn may be a historic venue with character and charm, but its audio
control system is anything but old-fashioned. The power of the AHM provides this venue
with simple, effective, and consistent sound reinforcement that further enhances the
guest experience in the venue.

Cornerstone Tavern in Raleigh, North Carolina is a unique bar and music venue, made up of three separate houses connected by a large shared patio. The communal patio space can be separated or combined using a central bar area.

In the years before their recent audio upgrade, Cornerstone was utilizing separate analog processors for audio distribution at each of the three respective houses. “The system got complicated and overwhelming,” noted Scott Carneval, integrator and designer with Precision Audio in Raleigh. “There was buzz, among other issues. One ofthe old processors died and couldn’t be replaced. Allen & Heath’s AHM platform was the perfect replacement.”

All houses are now networked together, each controlling their own front patio, a side patio, and the indoor sound, in addition to the back patio. Up to five DJs can perform simultaneously on the property, with each zone choosing which DJ they’d like to listen to. A standard music streaming device is also an available option for listening, along with one of eight television feeds.

A 64×64 Allen & Heath AHM-64 processor is at the heart of the upgraded audio system, with an AR2412 I/O expander in one house, and an AR84 in another, allowing for plug-and-play distributed inputs and outputs for DJs and TV feeds.

The team at Precision Audio also built a custom application for the end users to control and manage their audio system using Allen & Heath’s free Custom Control platform. Custom Control allows for installers to design tailored applications using an intuitive drag-and-drop editing software. The custom application can then easily be loaded up on any Android, iOS, Windows, or MacOS device – as well as pre-configured Allen & Heath
CC touch panels.

Precision Audio built Cornerstone Tavern a simple layout: source selectors for each zone to choose which DJ, music server, or local TV they’d like to listen to – along with respective volume control. The staff can quickly log in, choose the house they’re wanting to make an adjustment to, pick the patio or area, and make the change.

“Building out the iPad and iPhone apps was straightforward and easy, it just works,” noted Carneval. “We were hesitant to pass digital audio from one building to another, but the system is rock solid. They’ve had no issues and no support calls since the integration.”

Staring Lake Amphiteatre is a 400-seat outdoor performance space in Eden Prairie, MN. The city-owned venue is used for theatrical productions, concerts, weddings, and special events.

When the amphitheatre’s previous audio system started to fail, they began to shop for more up-to-date solutions. “They were looking for a more modern system that would give them higher end features,” noted Nic Hentges of Audio Logic Systems, who earned the bid for the project. “It had to be flexible and powerful enough to handle theatrical performances, while being easy to control during small events.”

The team at Audio Logic Systems explored multiple product lines before deciding on Allen & Heath’s AHM platform to manage audio at the facility. “We felt like the cost and feature set made for an incredible fit,” recalled Hentges. AHM series audio matrix processors offer scalable audio processing and distribution with multiple control options.

For simpler events like Yoga classes and weddings, an AHM-32 provides system processing and easy control over a small number of microphones and playback sources – thanks to an intuitive IP-6 rotary controller with LCD displays, as well as a custom application the installers designed using Allen & Heath’s Custom Control editor. “If it’s a yoga instructor or city employee with limited audio experience, they can just grab an iPad and have control of the mics and playback while moving around in the audience area,” explained Hentges.

The custom tailored app can run on any iOS, Android, Windows, or Mac device on the AHM’s network. “Our lead engineer found the AHM platform very easy to work with,” said Hentges. “He’s excited about putting it on other projects.”

An Allen & Heath SQ-6 compact digital console was also included to allow for more hands-on mixing during larger events with a dedicated audio engineer. A DX-HUB and DX168 stageboxes were added to the system to provide distributed I/O around the stage as needed. “The clients had been avoiding digital consoles for many years,” explained Hentges. “They were really pleased once they started working with the SQ. All-in-all, I believe this system to be a great fit.”