COLUMBIA, MD — In Howard Community College’s Smith Theater, a typical day might include theater and film to lectures and meetings, with the occasional live concert thrown in as well. The college chose an Allen & Heath iLive-112 digital mixing console as the control center for its new system. With inputs ranging from a single voice up to 56 inputs and outputs that might be mono, stereo or full surround sound, it was important that this multifunctional space have a sound system with flexibility and clarity.
Smith Theater seats 420 in three sections, with identical left and right mezzanines above the main floor. Designed by Acoustic Dimensions and implemented by AVI-SPL, the audio system uses a left-right-center approach, with delay speakers addressing the mezzanines. Each section has its own rear speakers, creating a full surround experience for every seating position.
The facility’s production coordinator, Mark Smedley, selected the iLive-112 for its flexibility, ease of use and portability.
“As a community college, we have a wide variety of events throughout the week,” Smedley said. “Before the redesign, when we would come in to do a play, the board settings would be changed, so a lot of time was spent on setup and troubleshooting. With the new iLive console, we just push a button and we’re ready to go.”
Jay Paul, VP of engineering and quality control for AVI-SPL, commissioned and tuned the sound system.
“Essentially, we set it up so the system can be used in two ways, with all the iLive outputs feeding a Peavey Nion processor,” Paul said. “If there’s a surround program, we take inputs from an Onkyo surround processor/preamplifier for 5.1 distribution. For standard programming, the console can directly address the main left-center-right system above the proscenium, plus the delay speakers, individually. The subwoofers are also discretely addressable.”
Having full control of the surround outputs allows theater sound designers the flexibility to create greater realism in their production.
“We use SFX playback software from Stage Research, which allows us to put sound effects in the most effective spot. That might be a field of crickets or an approaching helicopter using the surrounds,” Paul said. “We also use what we call practicals, where we plant a small speaker right where the sound is supposed to come from onstage, using one of the spare Aux Outs that we have with the iLive. So the system gives us both great depth and precise localization. It’s been great.”
Another advantage of the iLive is its portability. The MixRack containing the primary inputs, outputs and DSP is located backstage. From there, Cat5 cables carry both audio and control data to the control surface.
“We’re using tie lines from the FOH position at the desk, and there’s an alternate front of house position in the control booth,” Paul noted. “The console can move to either location. Using value engineering, we set up patch bays and routing so the console can work in either location.”
Howard Community College was Paul’s first encounter with the iLive system. “Sonically, I’m very impressed. And having a separate stage rack using Cat5 for audio and control made the infrastructure part of this install very simple. The control surface size is very conducive to environments with space restrictions. Allen & Heath brings a lot to the table in terms of price, performance and versatility. It’s a nice desk.”
Smedley agreed. “We looked at several digital boards and chose the iLive because it had all the flexibility we needed and seemed to be the most user friendly. And it really is. Going digital for the first time, it was very intimidating at first. But most people pick up the layout and operation in about a half-hour. But the biggest thing is the time savings we’ve achieved. We can now do three events in a day plus a show at night, no problem. It’s been amazing.”
For more information, please visit www.howardcc.edu , www.avispl.com and www.ilive-digital.com.
