Allen & Heath continues to advance its flagship dLive mixing system with the release of the latest firmware update, V1.8, adding a huge raft of power-features that engineers will love, from MCAs and Talkback Groups through to a hotly-anticipated new DEEP processing plug-in – the OptTronik.

Particularly welcomed in monitor world, V1.8 adds Mix Control Association (MCA), bringing the convenience of DCA groups and spills to monitor engineers, enabling simple control over multiple AUX/MTX sends via a single fader.

This update further improves ease of control by introducing A/B/C/D inputs, enabling up to 4 input sockets to be assigned to every input channel, and provides fast and seamless selection of sockets via SoftKeys – perfect for rapidly switching to a backup microphone, or to pre-recorded files on a playback system.

The addition of 12 assignable Talkback Groups, which can be populated with any combination of the available mix busses, simplifies talkback routing with SoftKey controls enabling the engineer to quickly switch between different talkback destinations such as musicians, technicians or other production staff.

Joining dLive’s acclaimed suite of DEEP processors, V1.8 sees the introduction of the ‘OptTronik’ compressor. Inspired by a legendary tube-driven, electro-optical levelling amplifier, OptTronik’s smooth, musical ‘2A-style compression makes it the perfect match for many sources, including vocals and bass guitar.

V1.8 also brings other new features and improvements to the system, such as Undo Scene Store, Mix to PAFL and Solo in Place (SIP).

Mike Bangs, Live Sound/Touring Manager at Allen & Heath USA, himself an in-demand monitor engineer, says: “V1.8 is the next step in our string of user-driven updates, as we continue expanding and adapting the platform to the needs of modern engineers. I’m particularly excited about the addition of MCAs, which bring the power of DCA functionality to monitor mixers. Such a cool feature and engineers are going to love it.”

Ben Morgan, Allen & Heath’s dLive product manager, adds, “We’re really excited to launch dLive v1.8. This update brings powerful new features all round that are valuable to all types of engineers, whether you’re FOH or monitors, in touring sound, houses of worship, or installations.”

Download dLive V1.8 now from www.allen-heath.com/dlive-v1-8