Peavey Aureus 28

Keep it Simple

I first ran across the Peavey Aureus at ENTECH Road Show just after NAS had taken on the brand. It caught my eye as a product that was simple, reliable and practical. My immediate thought was – “what a great console for schools.” This is a really good learning console for people coming into the industry, like a kid that never mixed before, and they can play around and see stuff without getting overwhelmed by it. Everything is well laid out and simple, even one layer deep, and it is very intuitive in how it works.

Starting back in the analog world, we had to hear what we were doing, rather than watching a screen. This desk keeps it simple enough to see that but with enough depth to dig deeper when needed. Adding a gate, compressor or effect to any channel is easy but you can then expand each filter easily to refine its settings and see them on either the inbuilt screen or docked iPad. Assigning anything to a channel is very intuitive and it’s just as easy to tweak it.

Buss assignment is also simple, and their adjustments can be assigned to the physical rotary encoders to the left of the unit or faders below.

The most impressive thing about this desk is the physical feel. When you press a button, you get a solid ‘click’ and know that you have pressed that button. It’s not a vague soft press like some units. That feedback gives confidence that you are in control of the beast. Retro but reassuring.

Wireless

The Bluetooth shares the channel with an input, and you tell it whether it’s that input or coming off Bluetooth. It was simple and easy to setup. For a live gig, I connected to the iPad on Wi-Fi and used it mainly for metering. If I saw anything that needed adjusting, I could see it from there without affecting what I was doing on the rest of the board. The Wi-Fi connection stayed strong, without any dropouts or glitches. This thing is rock solid.

While it would be technically possible to leave the iPad with a monitor engineer while I mixed FoH, I’m not sure I’d recommend that as a workflow.

Library

One of the coolest things about this console is the included libraries of presets. They’ve created a library that allows predetermined basic compression, gates or EQ settings for common uses, like bass guitar or snare. They are preloaded with some pretty good settings. I loaded up a vocal compressor and it gave me a couple of dB off zero for the threshold, a nice four-to-one ratio and a really good starting point that a beginner could easily run with.

Support

Peavey and NAS have both been around for a long time. Knowing that gives me a safety net – if something goes wrong with this console, I will be well supported, both from a manufacturer and distributor perspective.

Cons

Peavey has used an external power supply for this unit. Unfortunately, it uses a proprietary four-pole connector that could be hard to repair or replace in the field. Maybe an IEC or similar standard connector might be more appropriate.

Verdict

The Aureus is a fun console to mix on. It sounds good, it does what it has to do, and feels good. When you look up from the console and you look at the band, look at the punter, and you see that everyone’s having a great time, you know that’s the indicator that everything is going well. For a console at this price point, it is a mighty simple and robust but still very powerful mixer.

It‘s very much a digital console with quite a bit of flair to it, but still feels quite analog – a real plus for old schoolers like me or users new to mixing. I wish I had this kind of console in front of me when I was learning. It’s not overwhelming, but at the same time, you can expand it into full-blown mode pretty quickly, making it a perfect board for a beginner.

Writer’s Bio

Andrew is a tech first, client second, industry shenanigans last type of guy. Audio, lighting, vision – it’s all the same to him. As long as it fits the client’s requirements, it’s good. It doesn’t matter what brand label it carries.

He wears multiple business hats: Technical Director at Gigawatt Sound and Lighting (PA/ LX hire and install), Technical Support for KV2 Audio, and Technical Services for Creative Lighting Control Freak. In all these roles, he likes to be a translator between the technical and the practical.

The Specs

• Channels: 28 inputs x 14 outputs Inputs: 16 XLR-1/4” combo Phantom power: 16 channels +48V
• Additional inputs: Bluetooth, USB A & B Outputs: 10 XLR, 2 RCA, 6 digital
• AUX Sends: 8 AUX
• Busses/Groups: 8 BUS, 2 MAIN, 4 DCA
• DATA I/O: WIFI onboard, Ethernet remote
• Computer connectivity: Ethernet, WiFi, USB
• Headphones: 1 x 1/4”
• Faders: 9 x 100mm motorised EQ: 5-band fully parametric Effects: 23 effects in two engines
• Rack Mountable: yes, with optional rackmount kit
• Mute Groups: 3 programmable
• Mute Functions: 6 dedicated controls Bluetooth: stereo, long range
• Solo function: with dedicated controls Tablet holder: yes

Product Info:

peavey.com/product/aureus-28-digital-mixer

Distributor Australia: nas.solutions

Distributor New Zealand: nz.nas.solutions