The Allen & Heath dLive S5000 paired with the DM48 MixRack is a powerhouse professional mixing system, frequently used for high-end touring and large-scale house of worship installs. It sits in the middle of the dLive S Class surface range, offering a balance of extensive physical control and a manageable footprint.

S5000 Control Surface 

The S5000 is the “dual-screen” workhorse of the dLive family.

• Faders: 28 faders over 6 layers (total of 168 assignable fader strips).
• Dual Touchscreens: Two 12-inch capacitive touchscreens with the “Harmony” UI, which integrates screen gestures with physical knobs.
• I/O: 8 XLR mic/line inputs and 8 XLR line outputs locally on the back, plus AES digital I/O.
• Build: Pro-grade “S Class” construction with dual-redundant, hot-swappable power supplies.

DM48 MixRack

While the surface is the “controller,” the DM48 is the “brain” where all the actual audio processing happens.

• Inputs/Outputs: 48 Mic/Line inputs and 24 XLR line outputs.
• XCVI Core: Uses Allen & Heath’s 96kHz FPGA core, providing 128 input channels and 64 mix busses with ultra-low latency (0.7ms).
• DEEP Processing: Allows you to insert boutique compressors, EQs, and tube emulations directly into channels without using external plug-ins or burning FX slots.
• Redundancy: Like the S5000, the DM48 features dual-redundant power supplies and a redundant GigaACE link to the surface.

Connectivity & Expansion

• GigaACE: The system connects via a standard Cat5e cable (up to 100m) using the GigaACE protocol to carry audio and control data.
• I/O Ports: The DM48 has three 128-channel I/O ports for expansion cards (Dante, Waves V3, MADI, fiberACE, etc.).
• DX Expansion: You can add further DX32, DX168, or DX012 expanders to the rack to increase the physical I/O count beyond the base 48×24.