[dubaifox]

I have done live mixing for a school's production for the last 10 years on a 24 channel Midas board. They put on pretty good musicals.

Next year they are moving to a brand new, state of the art 700 seat theater.

They are asking me for advice on what type of board to get, and I first proposed a Digidesign Venue System, with a second choice being a Digital Mixer from Yamaha or Midas.

Can anybody comment, or provide some insight as to what you might see for a board in a 700 seat theater.

The theater consultant seems to want to be going with an Analog board (Allen Heath 32/8) and have been circulating the paragraph below;

"Digital consoles are more expensive, more time consuming and difficult to learn/master/teach, and carry with them an inherent potential to crash. That being said, they also allow for a massive amount of inputs, an incredible level of interfacing and control, a cleaner signal, and the ability to program settings for different purposes, save them, and recall them whenever you need them.
Analogue consoles on the other hand, are dirt cheap in comparison, much simpler to learn/master/teach, and will only crash if the power goes out. Due to their inexpensive nature compared to digital consoles, you are also able to purchase top-of-the-line analogs, fully loaded with remarkable features, for the same price as a bottom-of-the-line, entry-level digital console with basic features. The cons remain basic: analogue boards are unable to save their settings to be, and they will always emit some miniscule amount of electronic noise that will be heard through the speakers (though all sound professionals will agree that this amount is typically a non-issue, and more noise tends to be emitted from the other electronic equipment used, like the amplifier for example).
Although a wonderful ideal for user interfacing and audio organizing, digital consoles are simply not cost effective. A well-manufactured professional digital mixer, loaded with the necessary features, is just far too expensive. Due to this fact alone, a digital mixer should often be considered a last resort, and only if there is enough in the budget to pay the massive premium for a top-of-line console. There are exceptions to this rule though, as these mixers are greatly suited for large churches with huge worship teams and productions on Sundays, as well as throughout the week. In those venues, the cost factor becomes insignificant due to the fact that the benefits of a digital console become overwhelming. Those venues have a need for a massive number of inputs, and the ability to interact with them on a much more complex level; this is not the case with the remaining vast majority of churches. In almost every situation, an analogue mixer remains the best choice of consoles for a churches needs. They’re straightforward, cheaper with far greater quality and features versus a digital console of the same price, and are much easier to teach others how to use - which in a church environment is an absolute necessity for the majority of those able to help with sound teams.
One day, when digital consoles are able to offer the same features, and high-quality, for close to the same prices as their analogue counterparts, they will undoubtedly find a valued place in churches; however, that time has not yet come, and for now an analogue mixer remains the most value for the your money, and for their ease of use."