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[Art Nadelman]

Allen & Heaths dLive is interesting in that the mix engine is in the stage rack and will continue to mix even if the surface at FOH is removed. In desperation you can still mix with your laptop.

Unless it's the stage rack that goes down.  Yikes!

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

Unless it's the stage rack that goes down.  Yikes!

That's true, but the presumably the mix rack is near stage, so a cable cut or power loss between FOH and stage wouldn't take the show down.  The S-class racks have redundant power supplies, so are at least reasonably well protected from faults.

[Stephen Kirby]

In this day when everything is connected with Ethernet it would seem to be easier to swap things out than in the analog days.  I don't think anyone at the lounge level carries two X-32s with them but they might have an analog Mackie they could get though the show with.  Similarly I think you can run the D-Live stage box from a GLD.  Maybe not as powerful or as accessible to all the features but you can limp though.
The D-Live architecture does make a lot of sense.  Running everything out to FOH and back is kind of a legacy approach, no longer necessary with current technology.  With the reduced physical size having a standby available becomes more practical and processing costs a lot less than large cabinetry and encoders.  As mentioned, the control surface can be backed up with any number of computer interfaces, albeit with reduced control functionality, but the show will go on.  With network switches, any of this can be switched over quickly and only multi-pins from stage snakes have to be moved at the stage box.

[Peter Morris]

Unless it's the stage rack that goes down.  Yikes!

Yes but there is more less one less point of show stopping failure. Other designs will stop if you lose the surface or the rack, the dLive for want of a better description will operate in limp mode if the surface or its connection fails.

As Riley said above, its most often the cables and connectors that fail and this design eliminates some of these as a show stoppers.

It doesn't have the dual redundant mix engines like the SD7, only dual hot swappable PSUs, but its not the same price.

[Brian Jojade]

I don't think anyone at the lounge level carries two X-32s with them but they might have an analog Mackie they could get though the show with.

I do.  Using X32's as stage boxes means that if something goes down, I can re-patch and continue on my way, even if it comes down to iPad mixing as a last resort.

[Geert Friedhof]

Lounge leveler here.

I can go redundant with a racked X32 core, with separate wifi and DL16, stacked on the DL32. Always have a laptop synced at FOH. I covered everything as far as I can tell.

One thing I once had in the old analog days, and something I have never seen redundant: outboard failures. I once was mixing a band, performing for about 3000 ppls. Desk was a H2000, with nice outboard. Suddenly I had only whisper level music. After about 2-3 min we deduced that the Klark dn360 main eq had decided to commit harakiri. We pulled the inserts, and along we went. Needless to say those were the longest 3 min of my life.

[Jim McKeveny]

Schadenfreude.

Reluctantly went w/family to a Cirque show in Atlantic City a few years back. House console was on floor, center, ahead of bisecting aisle. Our seats were further back. I spied a Yamaha 4K at mix, w/an Instant Replay laying on unused channels to right.

 Mid-performance all audio goes dead. Onstage performers stop mid-step. Lots of side-eye/WTF? glances onstage, but no panic.

Soundguy starts slamming on Instant Replay with fist and whole audience is treated to appropriate-yet-family-unfriendly FOH cursing. Lots of weird digi noise/digi hunting....then music resumes. Onstage characters scrambled to match what now came through monitors and auditorium. Show finished w/o more incident.

After show I introduced myself to soundguy as a veteran NYC-based soundguy, and  I felt his pain. He told me "IT HAPPENS TWICE A WEEK!"

My young children asked "What did you think of the show?". I replied "For me? THAT was entertainment!"

[Stephen Swaffer]

No wonder the onstage perfomers took it in stride!

[Tim McCulloch]

No wonder the onstage perfomers took it in stride!

I think that by the time an act is on a major festival stage they've experienced enough glitches, gremlins and failures that they know to not freak out, let their crew deal with it.  They know that shit happens and getting the show back up and running is already in process.  If the band treats the situation with grace (appropriate to genre) the audience is more likely to, also.

It's been maybe 20 years ago, but I was attending a small festival where stage power was lost so the band grabbed acoustic instruments and went out into the audience area and played there until the power was restored.  I bet they sold a ton of merch that night.

Obviously some acts can't do that - the nature of their genre or reliance on electro-centric technology to produce sounds that are non-acoustic in origin - but in smaller situations it can be 'lemonade'.

[Tim McCulloch]

My sentiments exactly. Admittedly I'm looking up from the depths of the lounge here, but considering the logistics of a show this size, it's impressive these major failures don't happen more often.

But let's put the rumors to rest, Dave already detailed exactly what happened via one ingenuous tweet...

An unrepentant cable chewer, now in doggy time-out. 

[ProSoundWeb Community]