Hillsong Brisbane Production Manager shares his Axient Digital experience

Key Takeaways 

• Reid Wall, Production Manager for Hillsong Church locations across Queensland and the Northern Territory, evaluated Shure Axient Digital as a potential wireless microphone system upgrade for demanding worship production environments.
• Testing Axient Digital alongside existing ULX-D® wireless systems and PSM® 1000 in-ear monitors provided a real-world comparison of RF performance, audio quality, and daily operation.
• Axient Digital delivered reliable wireless audio performance, clean sound quality, and a low noise floor while integrating seamlessly into the existing production workflow.
• Network features, including support for Dante™ audio and Wireless Workbench® frequency coordination, helped simplify management of a complex multi-zone RF environment.
• Following the evaluation, Hillsong Brisbane began transitioning to Axient Digital Wireless Systems to support future wireless audio and RF requirements. 

Customer Profile

As Production Manager for nine Hillsong Church locations across Queensland and the Northern Territory, Australia, Reid Wall was given the opportunity to evaluate a six-channel Shure Axient Digital Wireless System through Shure distributor JANDS.

The demo system consisted of AD1 bodypack and AD2 handheld transmitters, along with AD4Q quad-channel and AD4D dual-channel receivers.

Wall's home campus is in Brisbane, where he is one of several engineers mixing front-of-house and monitor audio across five weekend services. To evaluate the system in a real-world production environment, he integrated Axient Digital alongside 16 channels of Shure ULX-D digital wireless and 14 channels of PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring in the main sanctuary for direct comparison.

Challenge

To evaluate Axient Digital as a potential upgrade to Shure UHF-R and ULX-D wireless microphone systems, particularly in terms of RF reliability, sound quality, and ease of operation in a busy worship production environment.

Solution

A demo rack of six channels of Axient Digital wireless with AD Series transmitters, including three handheld and three bodypacks

Advantages 

• Flawless RF performance
• Improved sound quality
• Lower noise floor
• Easy integration into existing Dante networks
• Compatibility with existing Shure rechargeable batteries

Real-World Performance

After integrating Axient Digital into the Brisbane campus environment, Wall immediately noticed improvements in both audio quality and wireless performance.

“Axient Digital dropped right into our system without any issues. The sound quality is great – definitely the best sounding digital radio mic system I’ve used,” he says. “The high mids and top end are very smooth, the noise floor is really low, it sounds really clean, and we never experienced any RF problems.”

For a production environment managing multiple wireless systems across numerous services each weekend, dependable RF performance and consistent audio quality were key factors in the evaluation.

Workflow and Network Integration

Wall also appreciates that the receivers sport four Ethernet ports. This allows him to separate Dante network traffic from Shure Wireless Workbench (WWB) on his network, with full redundancy. This is important, as Wall performs frequency coordination for 50 RF channels across the Brisbane campus, using WWB in three different zones. 

Compatibility with Existing Systems

Battery compatibility was another advantage during the evaluation process.

Hillsong Brisbane uses Shure’s lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, so Axient Digital’s compatibility with their existing inventory of SB900 battery packs for ULX-D, QLX-D, PSM 1000, and PSM 900 was another positive.  

Maintaining compatibility with existing charging and battery workflows helped simplify adoption while protecting previous investments in Shure wireless systems.

The Verdict

After his experience, Reid Wall decided to transition to Axient Digital over time, ordering a 4-channel system at the first opportunity.  

“I love the fact that the AD transmitters get us most of the RF and audio benefits of Axient Digital without requiring a full ShowLink system,” he concludes.  

“It shows that Shure is really listening to their customers.” 

FAQ: Axient Digital at Houses of Worship

Why was Hillsong Brisbane evaluating Axient Digital? The team evaluated Axient Digital as a potential upgrade to existing wireless systems, with a focus on RF reliability, sound quality, and ease of operation.

How did Axient Digital integrate into the existing audio system? According to the case study, Axient Digital was incorporated into the existing setup without issues, allowing the team to compare it directly alongside their current wireless systems.

What stood out most about the system's audio performance? During testing, the system was noted for its smooth sound, low noise floor, and clean audio quality while maintaining reliable RF performance.

How did Axient Digital support networked audio workflows? The receiver's multiple Ethernet ports allowed network traffic to be separated while maintaining redundancy, helping support large-scale frequency coordination and system management.

What led Hillsong Brisbane to adopt Axient Digital? The combination of RF performance, audio quality, compatibility with existing rechargeable batteries, and operational flexibility convinced the team to begin transitioning to the platform.