An Allen & Heath  iLive system was recently used to manage FOH and monitor sound for the Jekyll & Hyde musical, staged for two nights in Budapest's 3,000-capacity open-air theatre, the Margitsziget.

The iLive system, comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control
Surface, was the centerpiece of the PA system, responsible for FOH sound and monitor mixes for the 19-strong orchestra and 26 onstage performers.

"During the technical planning of the show we specified a mixer that would be easy to use, reliable and capable of handling the open-air environment. Besides this, at least 100 meters needed to be bridged between the stage, the mixer, and the speaker boxes. This could not be solved without quality-loss using a traditional multi-core snake but it was no problem for iLive where the audio is run via EtherSound over CAT5 cable," explains sound engineer, Tamas "Toma" Baranya.

The iLive system was introduced during the rehearsal stages, held in a large auditorium in the city, where Toma configured the system and saved the settings, as the allocated load-in time to the theatre site was limited.

"iLive's control surface is extremely user friendly, quick when making adjustments, and easy to get accustomed to. The sound check was very quick, since the previously saved settings needed minimal changes," he adds.

Toma was impressed with the simple to use, precise fully-parametric EQ, which is available on each input and mix channel. He was also pleased with the fact that any channel can be assigned to DCA groups.

"iLive's design approach is a "conventional" mixing console in a modern outfit. The built-in effects (reverb and delay) are very good, and the algorithms are in line with my taste and would more than satisfy any live sound engineer. One of the key benefits of the system is that every parameter can be saved, updated and recalled, even from a USB stick. iLive was a perfect choice for a high quality production, where the focus is on outstanding sound quality, reliability and flexibility instead of automation," concludes Toma.