Hillsong Brisbane Production Manager shares his Axient Digital experience

A sound engineer by trade, Reid Wall is Production Manager for all nine Hillsong Church locations in the states of Queensland and Northern Territories, Australia. Working with Shure distributor JANDS, he was given the opportunity to test the new Axient Digital wireless system. The 6-channel demo system consisted of both AD1 bodypack and AD2 handheld transmitters, with AD4Q quad and AD2D dual-channel receivers.

Wall’s home campus is in Brisbane, where he is one of multiple engineers mixing FOH or monitors across five weekend services. He integrated Axient Digital with 16 channels of Shure ULX-D digital wireless and 14 channels of PSM 1000 in-ear monitors in the main sanctuary for easy comparison, and immediately noticed the difference. 

“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.”

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.

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. 

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.”

Customer Profile

Based in Brisbane, Reid Wall is Production manager for all Hillsong Church locations in Queensland and Northern Territories in Australia, responsible for audio, lighting, and video teams

Challenge

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

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 with improved sound quality and lower noise floor, with easy integration into existing Dante networks