Shure Axient® Digital PSM Proves the “Missing Link” in Wireless Monitoring for 5 Seconds of Summer's World Tour
Key Takeaways
5 Seconds of Summer's world tour relied on Shure Axient® Digital PSM to deliver 16 stereo wireless monitor mixes across arenas, festivals, and other challenging RF environments.
New SC Narrowband transmission mode significantly improved RF stability, helping the team overcome interference challenges around the drum kit and in complex arena environments.
Wireless Workbench® provided critical visibility into RF performance, allowing the team to monitor signal quality, compare results, and proactively address issues during the tour.
According to Monitor Engineer Mike Platt, Axient Digital PSM delivers audio quality that is “a huge leap closer to sounding like a wired connection,” enabling more detailed and dynamic monitor mixes.
Remote management tools such as ShowLink® streamlined coordination, synchronization, and system management, helping support a large-scale touring workflow.
5 Seconds of Summer's Monitor Engineer, Mike Platt, has spent the band's latest world tour putting Shure Axient® Digital PSM Advanced In-Ear Monitor System through its paces across some of the most demanding RF environments on the touring circuit. From packed arenas across the UK, Europe, and the US to festival main stages, including Lollapalooza in Chicago, the system has been tested in a wide range of real-world conditions.
As one of Axient Digital PSM's earliest adopters, Platt has worked closely with Shure throughout the run, and a recent firmware update introducing a new single-carrier narrowband operating mode for wireless in-ear monitoring has, in his words, changed the way digital transmission performs.
The system now handles 16 stereo mixes for a band and crew who move constantly between A and B stages, bunkers, and back- and under-stage positions, many with challenging sightlines and RF conditions. Alongside Axient Digital PSM, 12 channels of Shure Axient® Digital AD2 microphones cover the band's multiple vocal positions, with Wireless Workbench providing full RF visibility from front of house.
An early-adopter journey to a rock-solid setup
“As we've been relatively early adopters of the Shure Axient Digital PSM product, we've been through a journey with Shure on this tour, ultimately ending up with a really high-performing setup that everyone is really happy with,” says Platt.
That journey led the team to adopt the new single-carrier narrowband firmware ahead of its official release, driven by an urgent need to solve moving-metal digital interference around the drum kit of Ashton Irwin, 5SOS's drummer.
“Ashton has a large and diverse drum kit that he plays at a very high velocity throughout the show,” Platt explains. “We had our transmission mode in Multi-channel Wideband, and we found that in the environment we presented with on this show, it wasn't performing to the standard that we needed.”
How SC Narrowband Mode Improved RF Performance
“Once we moved over to single carrier narrowband, it completely changed the game for us,” says Platt.
Unlike the OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) transmission used in wideband mode, single-carrier narrowband draws on the single-carrier technology already used in Shure Axient Digital microphones.
“The single carrier frequency firmly plants its transmission and is much more robust against the hostile RF environment that you'll find around a drum kit and in a busy arena show.”
Platt also observed that venue construction, spectrum coordination, and audience presence all influenced performance under the previous mode. These variables were difficult to predict but had a clear impact on signal quality.
Using the Timeline function within Wireless Workbench, the team was able to log and compare RF receive levels, quality and dropouts before and after the switch.
“The difference was night and day on the new operating mode,” Platt confirms. “The performance really improved for the environment we were in.”
Managing Wireless Monitoring in Complex Arena Environments
Antenna placement and RF coordination
Running 16 mixes required two combiners feeding two short helical antennas. For the drummer, the team ran a BNC cable directly from the transmitter up to Ashton's riser, feeding a paddle antenna.
“We found that it removed some of the quality dropouts we were having in some arenas,” says Platt, who notes the trade-off is a busier coordination process. “OFDM mode was a little more forgiving on width, but what we have gained by using the new mode is fantastic.”
Full visibility with Wireless Workbench
For monitoring and control, Wireless Workbench has been essential to Platt's workflow.
“Especially during this show, where I had no clear line of sight for any of the band members, I need as much monitoring and timeline data as I can get to fix issues promptly and even before they become an issue,” he says.
Wired-like clarity for more detailed mixes
For Platt, the standout benefit of Axient Digital PSM is audio quality.
“The transmission is now a huge leap closer to sounding like a wired connection. This gives you more scope to make more detailed, wider and dynamic mixes for the artist,” he says. “The days of having to compromise your mix for it to 'work' with the compounding and inferior FM transmission modes are over. It's been the missing link in wireless monitoring we've been waiting for.”
The band and crew have noticed the difference, too.
“Overall, it's been the best they've heard,” Platt says. “And the noticeable reduction in noise floor is great. It sounds like it should.”
Streamlined workflow with ShowLink
Platt also relies on Shure ShowLink® for remote coordination.
“I do use ShowLink, and it's great. Time saved on coordination and syncing is so good. Thirty packs of syncing a day would take an age. Also, for firmware updates, it was great to just leave it all on the network.”
Beyond the hardware itself, Platt highlights the role of Shure's software ecosystem in supporting efficient touring workflows.
“I've always preferred Shure wireless for the quality of transmission, audio quality and for the software,” Platt says. “It makes it easy to get the results I need.”
That extends to the support behind the product: Platt singles out Jack Drury at Shure UK for delivering fast solutions during the tour, and Sascha Helmstaedt at Shure Germany for his help at the band's Munich show.
5 Seconds of Summer Tour System Configuration
Kitlist:
4 x ADTQ Axient Digital PSM Wireless Quad Transmitters (16 channels)
30 x ADXR Axient Digital PSM Wireless Bodypack Receivers
2 x AD8C Axient Digital PSM 8-Port Antenna Combiners
2 x AD610 Diversity ShowLink Access Points (either side of stage)
3 x AD4Q Four-Channel Digital Wireless Receivers, with 12 x Axient Digital AD2 and AD2X handheld transmitters/microphones for the band's vocal positions
3 x AD4Q Four-Channel Digital Wireless Receivers for guitars
6 x SBRC Shure Battery Rack Chargers
2 x Helical Antennas
1 x AD600 Axient Digital Spectrum Manager
1 x AXT630 Axient Antenna Distribution System
1 x Omni Antenna
Managed throughout via Wireless Workbench.
FAQ: Axient® Digital PSM on the 5 Seconds of Summer World Tour
Why did 5 Seconds of Summer switch to SC Narrowband transmission mode?
The team adopted the new transmission mode to address RF performance challenges around the drum kit and improve reliability in demanding arena and festival environments.
What improvements did SC Narrowband provide?
According to Monitor Engineer Mike Platt, the switch resulted in significantly improved RF performance, with fewer quality issues and dropouts in the environments they were working in.
How was Wireless Workbench® used during the tour?
Wireless Workbench helped the team monitor RF performance, track signal quality trends, and compare system performance before and after changes to the wireless setup.
What was the biggest benefit of Axient Digital PSM for the monitor mix?
For Platt, the standout advantage was audio quality. He noted that the system provided a listening experience much closer to a wired connection, allowing for more detailed and dynamic monitor mixes.
How did ShowLink® support the touring workflow?
ShowLink helped simplify coordination, synchronization, and firmware management, saving time when working with a large number of wireless packs throughout the tour.
How many IEM monitor mixes was the system supporting on tour?
The Axient Digital PSM deployment supported 16 stereo monitor mixes for the band and crew across a variety of performance environments, including arenas and major festival stages.
Case Study images courtesy of Steve Sroka
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