right now have impressive power and fidelity – it ’ s no longer an either / or . I think wireless in-ears are a must , and we ’ ve deployed some that work with personal mixers to make life easier for everyone .
Matt Lawrence : For us , it would be Milanpowered immersive audio . More of an engaging and enveloping sonic experience in live spaces that keeps pace with the enhanced music listening habits we all are picking up as Apple and other key players in the consumer space push the envelope . None of this can really come together in a live acoustic space without powerful integrated systems and backend tech .
Michael Lawrence : Two things here . 1 .) A dedicated processor , not doing your processing on a console matrix . Especially with volunteers at the console , this is important to have a dedicated and capable tool like the Allen & Heath AHM-64 . Get the proper gear to get your mix where it needs to go . 2 .) Deploy a sound level monitoring tool . Are we presenting a hearing health risk with our sound levels ? You ’ ve gotta know the answer to this question . We can be proactive about health and safety and there are tools out there now to address this concern .
Macpherson : For houses of worship , L-ISA ( L-Acoustics “ Immersive Hyperreal Sound ”) has seen tremendous adoption in the last couple of years . I think the key here can be the intimacy created between the congregation and the pastor . There is a deep connection when the pastor is outfitted with a tracker and the audio placement follows his or her location in realtime .
McVeigh : All things related to live streaming . Many churches had expressed interest in it prior to COVID in order to do the usual things that churches look to ; increasing the congregation size , having satellite locations , etc . COVID made it a necessity and they are getting comfortable and seeing that live streaming is powerful if it is done with the right gear and training .
Ordoñez : It seems like the big trend is around immersive audio . KLANG has introduced some key new products into the space to apply immersive audio techniques into in-ear monitoring and DiGiCo and SSL both have integrated immersive mixing control directly into mixing consoles .
[ WM ] What specific product ( s ) are a musthear for churches looking to purchase a new system and / or upgrade their existing system ?
Matt Lawrence : Must-have for 2021 was our VENUE 7 software . This has been a game changer with I / O sharing across VENUE | S6L systems , support for the new MLN-192 Milan Option Card , enhanced routing and delay functionality , etc .
Michael Lawrence : Rational Acoustics Smaart SPL has all of the key SPL monitoring tools in a special interface that is accessible and easy to use . Back to my point on sound level monitoring , this is super important . It ’ s a great choice for a house of worship environment . Let ’ s start paying more attention to this .
Macpherson : For large format HOW , our new K3 compact but full range offering has been a hit . Also of significance , smaller to medium size churches who want to upgrade their production quality and overall experience are now choosing our A Series . The A Series delivers the premium L-Acoustics sonic signature and quality but at a new level of system affordability . This also translates to a lower cost of entry for immersive L-ISA systems based around these impressive enclosures .
McVeigh : Blackmagic cameras , the LivingAsOne platform , and the Allen & Heath mixing console range .
Ordoñez : I ’ d highlight the SSL Live V5.0 which adds scalable Plus Processing Packs DSP to existing consoles as well as forthcoming L450 and L650 consoles . The DiGiCo Quantum225 and the Dante-enabled DQ-Rack have also been huge with churches .
Sullivan : Easy . Allen & Heath dLive CTi1500 . Insanely powerful and unbelievably compact and lightweight . Not every church has the space for a large console and CTi1500 opens up a lot of options . The latest V1.9 dLive update is also a nice bonus with powerful RTA and sonogram tools , new DEEP Source Expander and compressor models , a 12-band PEQ option for mixes , and more .
[ WM ] What are some cool resources for upcoming / aspiring live sound professionals to check out ?
Michael Lawrence : I know a great podcast ( chuckles ). We started the Signal to Noise podcast with the intent of making a great resource for engineers of all levels . That ’ s our mission , to make what I wish I had when I was 15 or 16 and getting into this space . Also check out the SynAudCon folks and their training resources . Really high-quality work .
Macpherson : The L-Acoustics Education program . We were an early leader in the training space and we are proud to continue to bring premium resources to engineers and techs of all levels . Check it out at https :// www . l- acoustics . com / education / courses /.
Ordoñez : There are a number of great live sound podcasts out there , I ’ d also recommend checking into all that AES has to offer .
Sullivan : There isn ’ t really one resource that comes to mind , but rather there are so many different things . Check out Worship Musician magazine , TapeOp blogs , AES updates , Allen & Heath Mini Masterclasses , Church Sound University , key social channels and influencers , etc ., and craft your own ‘ feed ’ or mix of stuff that is relevant to you .
[ WM ] What is the biggest difference you think an audio engineer who time traveled from 1995 to 2021 would notice as they walked up to the console ?