Allen & Heath Extends PA Series

PA20 (Click for a close-up)

PA28 (Click for a close-up)

Allen & Heath extended its PA series of stereo live sound consoles at the Frankfurt Musikmesse with the introduction of the PA20 and PA28 mixers, unpowered siblings of the recently-launched PA-CP models.

The PA series is targeted at live sound customers including PA and AV rental companies operating smaller systems, bands, music venues, churches and schools. PA20 has 16 mono plus 2 dual stereo channels, giving a channel count of 20 inputs while the PA28 has 24 mono and the same stereo configuration. Main features are a new padless preamp, internal FX unit, SPDIF output and parametric output EQ.

The mono channels feature an XLR input with individual +48V phantom power and a TRS jack input which feed a new two-stage padless preamp which directs line sources to the second stage for improved matching and performance. The EQ is a specially designed 4 band type with shelving LF and HF, a fixed LM band at 250Hz and a swept HM. 4 auxiliary sends are included, with 2 pre-fade sends for foldback, one post-fade for internal or external FX and another post-fade for additional FX or special feeds. Mute and PFL switches with LEDs, peak metering and a full 100mm fader are also provided.

PA12-CP and PA20-CP provide a main output with 100mm fader, mute switch and LED on TRS jacks, plus a mono sum output with level control which can be switched to subwoofer mode. Pre / post fader analogue and digital recording outputs are provided on RCA phono and SPDIF connectors.

The 4 band semi-parametric EQ which proved to be such an important feature on the amplifier outputs on the powered mixers is also available on the main outputs of PA20 and PA28. Also included in the mixers' comprehensive featureset are integral editable FX, 12 segment LED meters, XLR lamp socket and background music facility.