New Avantis for New Zealand’s Lux Productions

Starting from humble beginnings in an Auckland garage, New Zealand’s Lux Productions have grown from strength to strength since 2013 and are currently moving into their 6th warehouse to accommodate their full spectrum of event production services.

In tandem with expansion to new premises, the company also decided to expand their console offerings with one eye on their existing stock of Allen & Heath audio expanders and SQ mixers.

“We were in the market for a medium to large format audio console and have loved the SQ range from Allen and Heath, so when we heard about the release of the Avantis it was a no-brainer,” explains James Jefford, owner of Lux Productions. “As we already own a range of SQ consoles and stage boxes, the fact that this console would utilise that infrastructure of stage boxes and digital splits made it an obvious choice. We added a DX Link I/O card to the Avantis to allow for multi-zone IO to our different DX168 stage boxes allowing for simple and easy cable management.”

Avantis is the third mixer built on Allen & Heath’s 96kHz XCVI FPGA platform, with 64 input channels, comprehensive processing options and a fully configurable 42-bus mix architecture, all controlled via a pair of screens delivering 206 square inches of high-resolution screen space. “The interface is easy to navigate, and the dual HD touch screens were a huge selling factor for us when comparing to other brands in this price bracket” notes Jefford. “Along with the large events, the Avantis is fantastic for the corporate scene as well which is our bread and butter, being powerful yet compact enough.”

As Lux Productions continue to grow, Jefford is already looking to the future when it comes to the audio solutions on offer. “Our next upgrade would be the GigaACE I/O card to allow for connection to other Avantis’ and stage boxes directly out of the console” he adds. “Coupled with incredible support from the team at Jansen Pro Audio, we see this console and the rest of the Allen and Heath range becoming firm staples in the Lux Productions family of audio consoles”.