Nevada Theatre modernises sound with Allen & Heath Avantis console
Background and context
Nevada Theatre in Nevada City, California, is recognised as a National Historic Landmark and is one of the oldest continuously operating theatres on the US West Coast. The venue, which dates back more than 160 years, hosts over 240 events annually, including theatre productions, concerts, comedy and film screenings.
As its programme expanded, the theatre’s long-serving sound system began to show its age. According to board member and front-of-house engineer Jack Burke, who previously worked at Seattle Opera House, the existing setup struggled to deliver clear, even sound across the auditorium, particularly for spoken word.
Burke noted that audiences often had difficulty understanding dialogue, and the technical team found the system increasingly limiting for more demanding productions.
Key announcement
In response, the theatre has installed a 64-channel Allen & Heath Avantis digital mixing console as the core of a broader audio upgrade. The decision was driven by a need for improved coverage, more flexible routing and sufficient processing for a varied calendar of events.
The Avantis desk at Nevada Theatre is equipped with Allen & Heath’s dPack processing add-on, which provides access to enhanced dynamics and effects models beyond the standard onboard tools. This allows visiting and in-house engineers to choose from a wider palette of compressors and reverbs when shaping mixes.
Looking ahead, Burke emphasised the importance of headroom for future growth. While the venue currently uses fewer than 32 input channels for most shows, the 64-channel capacity gives the theatre additional flexibility for larger productions without needing a new console.
The installation also includes Allen & Heath DX168 stage boxes, which connect over Cat cable rather than traditional analogue multicore. This design helps the crew move the mix position between the balcony and main floor as needed, without transporting heavy analogue snakes through the building.
More technical details on the Avantis platform can be found on Allen & Heath’s official product page at https://www.allen-heath.com/hardware/avantis/.
Industry impact
The upgrade aligns Nevada Theatre with other mid-size venues in the Nevada City and nearby Grass Valley area, many of which are already using Allen & Heath digital consoles. This regional consistency means local engineers and touring crews are more likely to arrive familiar with the operating environment.
Burke pointed out that for guest engineers, walking into a venue and encountering a known console architecture can significantly reduce setup time and stress, especially on one-off shows or tight schedules.
By running both front-of-house and monitor mixes from a single Avantis surface, the theatre can handle a broad spectrum of events without additional dedicated monitor desks. The processing headroom provided by dPack supports this consolidated workflow, particularly where multiple monitor mixes and more complex processing are required.
Why this matters
For event professionals, the Nevada Theatre project illustrates how historic venues can modernise audio infrastructure without compromising architectural integrity or operational flexibility. The move to a networked digital system simplifies cabling, supports relocatable mix positions and provides the capacity to adapt to evolving production demands.
From an audience perspective, the reported improvements have been immediate, with clearer speech intelligibility and more consistent sound coverage across the room. While subjective reactions will vary, the theatre’s technical leadership highlights that intelligible dialogue and even tonal balance in every seat were key goals of the upgrade.
As regional venues continue to diversify their programming, comparable investments in scalable digital mixing platforms are likely to become more common, especially where visiting engineers, limited technical staffing and historic building constraints intersect.
