GEAR REVIEW
AVIOM A640 PERSONAL MIXER | Kent Morris
Aviom , the Pennsylvania based originator of on-stage personal mixing , has introduced its new A640 model , a move which raises the bar for what a monitoring system can do .
Twenty years ago , Aviom , an evolution of the Ensoniq and Creative Labs teams , changed the world of live monitoring with the debut of the original A16 system . Instead of depending on a dedicated monitor engineer to approximate each musician ’ s desires , the A16 handed the power of control to the band , allowing each person to dial in exactly what they wanted to hear . Freed from the constraints of traditional methods , bands embraced Aviom and soon their small blue boxes were on stages and platforms around the world .
In time , however , competing brands built on the success of the A16 and added new features , such as extended channel counts , ambience and internal effects . Others simply copied the A16 format and offered it at a lower cost by manufacturing in China as opposed to Aviom ’ s American based factory . Aviom then responded with the twin A320 and A360 mixers , but a crowded field muted their impact .
The new A640 , however , changes the game in Aviom ’ s favor once again . With a suite of features and a simplified interface the A640 meets the needs of today ’ s musicians for comprehensive control within a slick user environment . Centered on the mixer surface is a full color display bracketed by twin encoder knobs and a toggling switch scrolling the view among Channel , Mix and Names . With this layout , it is an easy process to select 36 channels from up to 64 on the network ,