How to record an Allen & Heath Avantis

Last checked 2026-11-07

Short answer. The Avantis can't record every channel over USB: it has no USB audio interface. You can't plug an iPhone, iPad or Mac into it with a USB cable and record every channel. To record every channel, fit an option card, sold separately, in one of its two I/O Ports, such as Dante or Waves, and record on a computer. Dante is a way to send many audio channels over a computer network cable. Audinate makes it. With no computer, it records only a stereo file. This guide covers the Avantis and the Avantis Solo.

Quick start

1. Fit an option card in an I/O Port on the back of the mixer, and connect it to your computer or recorder. (Ways to record)
2. Set up the card with its maker's software on the computer. Leave the Avantis clock on Internal (96kHz). (Recording settings)
3. Turn on Record Send: go to I/O, then Virtual SoundCheck. Pick the I/O Port, patch the channels 1:1, and select Record Send. 1:1 means input 1 goes to port channel 1, and so on. (Routing)
4. Want the channel's EQ and compression in the tracks? Patch Direct Outs instead, and pick their tap point. (Tap points)
5. Record a 30 s test and play it back before the show.

New to this? The words used here, such as tap point and virtual soundcheck, are in the glossary. Other mixers are in the mixer recording guides. Facts come from Allen & Heath's help pages and product page unless a line says otherwise. The sources are at the end.

Ways to record an Avantis

To a computer: through an option card, not USB

An option card is an extra card that slides into a slot on the back of the mixer. You buy it separately. Some cards send many channels at once to a computer or recorder. Others link the Avantis to other Allen & Heath gear. The Avantis has two slots for them, called I/O Ports.

• The ports: the Avantis has two I/O Ports. Each carries up to 128 channels out and 128 back, at 96 kHz.
• Card sizes: A card can carry fewer. For example, Allen & Heath sells Dante cards in 64x64 and 128x128 sizes.
• The cards: Allen & Heath's product page names Dante, Waves, gigaACE, MADI "and more".
• What the computer needs: software from the card's maker. The Dante and Waves cards are set up in Audinate's or Waves' software, Allen & Heath says. We'd start with the card maker's recording guide (our advice).
• Bit depth and sample rate the computer sees: not stated by Allen & Heath. The Avantis itself runs at 96 kHz. Check the card's documents.
• Then record in a multitrack recording app (a DAW) that can see the card's channels. A DAW is a recording app, such as Reaper or Logic.
• A recording app made for this: Allen & Heath's product page names Harrison LiveTrax, which it calls "multitrack recording and virtual sound check software".

With no computer: stereo only

The Avantis records a stereo file by itself. It has no multitrack recorder.

1. Go to Utility, then USB Audio, then Manager.
2. Under Record, touch Assign and pick what to record.
3. Touch Record. Touch Stop when you're done.
4. To take the file away, open the Recordings tab, select it and touch Copy to USB, with a USB drive plugged in.

• File: Allen & Heath: "Stereo .WAV files (24bit 96kHz)". There is no setting for another format.
• Where it goes: the mixer's internal storage, not the USB drive. The screen shows how much space is left.
• What you can record: the source you pick with Assign. The file is always stereo (2 tracks).
• Other sources: you can also record a Tie Line, the headphone (PAFL) signal or an effect's output (firmware V1.10 and later).
• Playback: the same page plays mono or stereo WAV (16 or 24-bit, 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz), MP3 and FLAC files from USB or the internal storage.

To an iPhone, iPad or Mac with an app

Not over USB. The Avantis sends no audio over USB, so no iPhone, iPad or Mac can record it with a USB cable. Through an option card, Allen & Heath doesn't name the iPhone or iPad, and we haven't tested it yet. See Mac, iPad and iPhone below.

Avantis recording settings

The Avantis always runs at 96 kHz. The card's own settings are not on the mixer.

• The mixer's clock: go to Setup, then Audio, then Audio Sync, and look at Audio Clock Source. Internal (96kHz) is the default. Leave it there when the Avantis is the main mixer (our advice).
• The other clock choices: an I/O Port, to follow a networking card, or Ext BNC, to follow a 96 kHz word clock on the back of the mixer. Word clock is a timing signal on a cable that keeps digital gear in step.
• A 48 kHz card: Allen & Heath: "Only sync from 96kHz sources or, if an M-DL-ADAPT 'letter-box' adapter is fitted, from a 48kHz audio networking card fitted in the adapter."
• The card's clock and sample rate: set in the Audinate (Dante) or Waves software, not on the Avantis.
• See which card is fitted: Setup, then Audio, then I/O Port.
• Bit depth over a card: not stated by Allen & Heath.
• The stereo recorder: fixed at 24-bit, 96 kHz WAV. Nothing to set.

Only 2 channels over USB? The Avantis has no USB audio

If you plugged the Avantis into a computer and found no multitrack, that is how it is built.

• What the USB sockets do: there is one USB 2.0 socket on the back and one USB 3.0 socket on the front. Both take a USB drive, for show files, firmware updates, and stereo playback and recording.
• Recording over USB is stereo only.
• The fix: fit an option card. See Ways to record.
• Users have asked for it: users on Allen & Heath's forum asked for USB multitrack in 2021 (USB Multitrack, users' reports). The release notes up to V2.02 (October 2026) don't add it (our reading).

Avantis USB routing

Send the channels to your option card's I/O Port, on the I/O screen. USB carries no channels on the Avantis, so this is where the routing happens. There are three ways. Each one is patched on the I/O screen, a grid with sources on one side and destinations on the other.

1. Record Send (the quickest way, raw tracks):

1. Go to I/O, then Virtual SoundCheck.
2. Pick the I/O Port your card is in.
3. Patch the channels 1:1. Allen & Heath: "It is typical to leave this patch to 1:1 so that Inputs are straight from/to the same numbered I/O Port channel."
4. Set the Range if the port does other jobs too, such as plugin processing.
5. Select Record Send.

• What it sends: Trim is a second level control inside the channel. Record Send takes each input channel's audio before it.
• It takes over the port: Allen & Heath: "This will temporarily override the normal output patch to the selected I/O Port, if different." If that port also feeds another mixer, check it first (our advice).
• Scenes don't change it: recalling or storing a Scene leaves Record Send and Virtual SoundCheck as they are.
• Recording more than 96 channels with Record Send? Use firmware V1.24 or later. Older firmware had a bug with outputs 97 and up.

2. Direct Outs (tracks with your processing):

1. Go to I/O, then Outputs.
2. Patch each input's Direct Out to an I/O Port channel.
3. Set how much processing they carry. See Tap points.

3. Tie Lines (a socket straight to the card):

1. Go to I/O, then Tie Lines.
2. Patch a socket, such as a mic input, straight to an I/O Port channel.

Mixes in the recording: on I/O, then Outputs, patch the main mix, an aux, a group or a matrix to spare I/O Port channels. A matrix is a spare mix you can build just for the recording.

• Default patch: not stated by Allen & Heath. Check I/O before the show.
• Avoid accidents: hold Options and touch the I/O screen, then turn on "Only patch when the Patch button is pressed".

Avantis playback for virtual soundcheck

A virtual soundcheck plays a recorded show back through the mixer's channels, so you can set the mix with no band on stage. On the Avantis, the tracks come back through the same option card.

1. In your recording app, send each track back out on the card channel it came in on (our advice).
2. On the Avantis, go to I/O, then Virtual SoundCheck. Use the same I/O Port and 1:1 patch as for recording.
3. Select Virtual SoundCheck mode. The input channels then play the I/O Port in place of the live inputs.
4. Play the recording and mix.
5. When you're done, select Inactive. The channels take the stage inputs again.

• A live mic alongside the tracks: go to Processing, then Preamp, on that channel and turn off its Virtual SoundCheck button.
• A reminder: while it is on, an orange box shows on screen. Touch it to go back to the Virtual SoundCheck page.
• Scenes still work: you can recall and store Scenes in Virtual SoundCheck mode, and the patch stays when you leave it.
• Stereo playback from a USB drive: Utility, then USB Audio, then Manager, then Play. Touch Assign to pick the channels it plays into. This is stereo only, not a multitrack soundcheck.

Avantis tap points

Pick Record Send for raw tracks you'll mix later. Pick Direct Outs when you want your EQ and compression in the tracks (our advice).

The tap point is the place in each channel where the recording is taken. Which one to pick, and why, is in Pre or post fader. On the Avantis there are three.

Record Send: the audio before the channel's Trim. Allen & Heath: "The source point is always pre-trim (it doesn't follow the Input Direct Out source setting)."

• Pros: raw tracks you can mix later. One switch also gives you virtual soundcheck playback.
• Cons: none of your processing is in the tracks. It overrides the port's normal output patch while it is on.

Direct Outs: one setting for every channel, the Global Direct Output Source. Go to Routing, with an input channel selected, and use the drop-down. The choices, in signal order (our reading: Allen & Heath lists them but doesn't say each one adds the step before it):

• Post Preamp: right after the preamp. The rawest Direct Out choice.

• Post LPF: adds the high-pass and low-pass filters (our reading: Allen & Heath doesn't say what this point covers, and the filters share one page).

• Post Gate: adds the gate.

• Post Insert A Return: adds anything on insert A, such as an outside effect.

• Post PEQ: adds the EQ.

• Post Compressor: adds the compressor.

• Post Insert B Return: adds anything on insert B.

• Post Delay: after all the channel processing, including the channel delay (our reading).

• Following the fader: hold Options and touch the Routing screen. Allen & Heath offers Follow Fader, Follow Mute and Follow All. Follow All also follows the DCA level and mute: a DCA is a fader that turns a group of channels up or down. Leave them off for a recording you can mix later (our advice).

• Per-channel level: each Direct Out has its own level on the Routing screen.

• Pros: you choose how much processing goes in. With Follow Fader on, the tracks match your mix.

• Cons: each track has the processing you picked, and you can't undo it later.

Tie Lines: A Tie Line sends a socket straight to an output, with no channel in between. Allen & Heath says this "splits the signals straight after the preamp so they are unaffected by Digital Trim or Direct Out Source".

• Pros: as raw as it gets, and it uses no channel. Good for an audience mic (our advice).
• Cons: no processing, and you patch each one by hand.

If you share a stage box with another mixer

• Gain is the analog preamp. It is in every tap point (our reading), so set it before the show and don't change it while recording (our advice).
• Trim is +/-24 dB, in the channel, not the preamp. Record Send and Tie Lines come before it.
• Sharing a stage box with another mixer: if another mixer changes the gain, your Record Send and Tie Line tracks change level too (our reading, from how Allen & Heath describes Record Send and Trim).
• Gain Tracking: Allen & Heath: "When Gain Tracking is activated, Trim automatically changes to compensate for preamp gain changes." It corrects the channel, so it may not help Record Send or Tie Line tracks when another mixer changes the gain (our reading).
• Preamp on Surface: turn it off on the mixer that shouldn't touch the gain. Allen & Heath: "Turn it off to prevent accidental Gain changes in situations where the same preamp is shared between FoH and Monitor consoles." It is on Processing, then Preamp.

Avantis on Mac, iPad and iPhone

• Mac: no multitrack over USB. Through an option card, the card's settings are made in the card maker's software on a computer, and you record in a recording app (our reading). We haven't tested it yet.
• iPhone and iPad: no multitrack over USB, because the Avantis sends no audio over USB. Through an option card, Allen & Heath doesn't say, and it's not tested yet.
• Windows: no multitrack over USB. Through an option card, the card's settings are made in the card maker's software on a computer, and you record in a recording app (our reading). We haven't tested it yet.
• The stereo file: record it on the mixer, copy it to a USB drive, then open it on any computer.

ShowRecorder (our app) records each channel from mixers that send their channels over USB. The Avantis sends none, so it can't record its channels with a USB cable. We haven't tested ShowRecorder with an Avantis or with an option card.

Runs on a USB-C iPhone (iPhone 15 or later) on iOS 26, or a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 26. Mac: join the TestFlight beta.

Your mixer not listed, or not tested? Ask us

Sources

Allen & Heath:

• Avantis product page: the I/O Ports and option cards, "including Dante (64×64 and 128×128), Waves, gigaACE, MADI and more", and Harrison LiveTrax.
• Avantis Getting Started Guide: the two I/O Ports at 128x128 and 96 kHz, the option cards, USB stereo recording, what the USB sockets do.
• Avantis Solo Getting Started Guide: the same I/O Ports and USB sockets on the Avantis Solo.
• I/O: Outputs, Tie Lines, Virtual SoundCheck, Record Send and its pre-trim source point, the 1:1 patch, Scenes.
• Routing: the Global Direct Output Source and the Follow Fader, Follow Mute and Follow All options.
• Processing: Gain and Trim, Gain Tracking, Preamp on Surface, the filters.
• Setup: Audio Sync and the clock, the I/O Port page, card settings in Audinate or Waves software.
• Utility: the stereo recorder and player, file formats, Copy to USB.
• Avantis Firmware Release Notes: V2.02 (October 2026), the V1.10 stereo record sources, the V1.24 Record Send fix for outputs 97 and up.

Users on Allen & Heath's forum (one user's report each, not confirmed by Allen & Heath):

• USB Multitrack (2021): users asking for USB multitrack on the Avantis.