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Allen & Heath Avantis-Ultra : 96-Channel Digital Mixing Console
The Allen & Heath Avantis-U is a powerful 96-channel professional digital mixing console designed for live sound, touring, theatres, houses of worship, broadcast and demanding fixed installations.
Building on the successful Avantis platform, Avantis-U expands the system to 96 input processing channels and 56 configurable mix buses, while integrating Allen & Heath's advanced dPack processing and RackUltraFX as standard.
At its heart is the acclaimed 96 kHz XCVI FPGA mixing engine, delivering extremely low latency, extensive processing and the responsive workflow that has made the Avantis family a popular choice among professional sound engineers.
With 24 motorised faders, dual 15.6-inch Full HD touchscreens, 96 input channels, extensive I/O expansion and integrated DEEP processing, Avantis-U provides an exceptional balance between the compact SQ Series and Allen & Heath's flagship dLive systems.
96 Inputs and 56 Configurable Mix Buses
One of the biggest advances of the Allen & Heath Avantis-U is its increased mixing capacity.
The console provides:
- 96 input processing channels
- 56 configurable mix buses
- 12 stereo FX returns
- 8 stereo RackUltraFX sends and returns
- 16 DCAs
- Extensive input and output processing
This additional capacity makes Avantis-U particularly attractive for complex live productions where a conventional 64-channel console may quickly reach its limits.
Large stage inputs, multiple wireless systems, orchestras, broadcast feeds, playback systems, guest consoles and extensive monitor mixes can all be managed within a single Avantis-U environment.
For rental companies and production professionals, the 96-channel architecture also provides additional headroom for future productions without immediately moving to a full dLive system.
96 kHz XCVI FPGA Mixing Engine
Avantis-U is powered by the Allen & Heath XCVI FPGA engine, operating at a native 96 kHz sample rate. This architecture delivers the speed and processing flexibility required for professional live sound while maintaining an exceptionally low system latency.
The XCVI platform is derived from the technology developed for Allen & Heath's flagship dLive consoles and allows extensive processing to be performed directly within the mixer. Unlike systems that rely heavily on external computers or plugin servers, Avantis-U provides a substantial amount of its processing natively inside the console.
This creates a complete mixing environment designed for reliability and predictable performance during live productions.
Dual 15.6-Inch Full HD Touchscreens
A major part of the Avantis-U mixing experience is its dual-screen interface.
The console features two 15.6-inch Full HD capacitive touchscreens, giving engineers a large visual workspace for controlling channels, routing, processing, effects, scenes and system configuration.
Allen & Heath's Continuity UI combines touchscreen operation with physical controls positioned around the displays.
Engineers can therefore interact with the console through familiar gestures while retaining immediate access to tactile rotary controls and faders.
This combination is particularly valuable in live environments, where speed and muscle memory remain essential.
24 Motorised Faders and a Fully Customisable Workflow
The Allen & Heath Avantis-U digital console features 24 motorised faders arranged across two banks.
Rather than forcing users into a fixed console layout, Avantis-U allows channels, mixes, DCAs and other functions to be assigned according to the engineer's preferred workflow.
With six layers available, the surface provides access to up to 144 fader strips.
Each production can therefore be organised around the engineer rather than requiring the engineer to adapt to the console.
For festival or multi-band environments, this flexibility can significantly accelerate navigation between large numbers of channels.
dPack Included as Standard
One of the major differences between Avantis-U and the standard Avantis is the inclusion of dPack. dPack expands the console's processing capabilities and brings a selection of technologies derived from the Allen & Heath dLive platform directly into Avantis-U.
This includes access to DEEP Processing, allowing sophisticated processing models to be inserted directly into channels and buses. Available processing includes models inspired by classic analogue preamps, compressors and dynamics processors. Because DEEP processing runs within the console's FPGA architecture, these processors can be used without adding the latency and operational complexity normally associated with external plugin systems.
For engineers accustomed to building mixes around specific compressor or preamp characteristics, this adds considerably more tonal flexibility directly inside the console.
Everything I/O – Build a Complete Allen & Heath System
One of the major strengths of the Allen & Heath Avantis-U is its compatibility with the extensive Everything I/O ecosystem.
Rather than limiting the console to its local analogue connections, Avantis-U can be expanded with remote stageboxes and I/O interfaces positioned exactly where the audio connections are needed.
This makes it possible to build anything from a compact touring package to a large distributed audio system for a theatre, venue or permanent installation.
The Allen & Heath DX168 is one of the most popular stagebox options for Avantis-U.
A typical configuration could combine an Avantis-U with one or two DX168 stageboxes, providing remote microphone inputs and outputs directly on stage.
For productions requiring a larger number of stage inputs, the GX4816 provides a powerful single-cable solution.
This makes an Avantis-U + GX4816 combination particularly attractive for festivals, large touring systems, theatres and permanent venues where a high number of microphone inputs must be available from a central stage rack.
Dyn8 Dynamic EQ and Multiband Processing
Avantis-U also provides access to Dyn8, Allen & Heath's advanced dynamic processing engine.
Dyn8 combine s:
- Dynamic EQ
- Multiband compression
- Flexible frequency-dependent dynamics processing
Up to 24 Dyn8 engines are available with the included dPack architecture. This can be extremely useful for controlling difficult vocals, resonances, instrument dynamics, speech systems and complex bus processing.
The integration of Dyn8 makes Avantis-U particularly capable for demanding professional productions where conventional gate, EQ and compressor processing is not sufficient.
RackUltraFX – Next-Generation Integrated Effects
The Avantis-U introduces RackUltraFX processing as standard, further expanding the console's internal effects capabilities.
RackUltraFX brings a new generation of high-quality effects processing to the Avantis platform, complementing the existing channel and bus processing.
The system provides eight stereo RackUltraFX engines, giving engineers powerful creative tools directly inside the console.
This reduces the need for external effects processors, laptops or additional plugin servers for many productions.
Reverbs, delays, modulation and creative processing can all become part of the console show file, making setups easier to recall and more consistent from one event to another.
For touring applications in particular, having effects integrated into the console simplifies both the physical setup and show management.
Avantis-U vs Avantis Solo-U
The Allen & Heath Avantis-U and Solo-U share the same powerful 96-channel mixing architecture, but they provide very different physical control surfaces.
Both consoles offer :
- 96 input processing channels
- 56 configurable mix buses
- 96 kHz XCVI FPGA processing
- dPack included
- DEEP Processing
- Dyn8
- RackUltraFX
- Everything I/O compatibility
- Professional audio networking options
Allen & Heath positions Avantis-U as the dual-screen, 24-fader model, while Solo-U offers the same 96-channel / 56-bus architecture in a much more compact single-screen, 12-fader format.
Allen & Heath Avantis-U at XLR
XLR can assist professional users with the selection, configuration and integration of a complete Allen & Heath Avantis-U digital mixing system.
A console is only one component of a professional digital audio workflow. Depending on the application, an Avantis-U system can combine remote stageboxes, Dante networking, wireless systems, personal monitoring, multitrack recording and PA system integration.
Whether you are building a touring package, upgrading a venue, designing a theatre system or looking for a powerful Front of House console, Avantis-U provides a scalable platform capable of adapting to demanding professional productions.
Contact XLR for more information about the Allen & Heath Avantis-U, compatible stageboxes, Dante configurations, availability and complete professional digital mixing solutions.