Alton Brown Tour Pioneers d&b’s Milan-AVB Distribution

Backnang, Germany (April 30, 2025)—Celebrated food scientist and entertainer Alton Brown is currently touring a demanding six-day-a-week culinary variety show with support from Eighth Day Sound.

The unique show, Alton Brown Live: Last Bite, featuring science and food monologues, cooking demos, audience participation and songs, relies on a sound system comprising d&b audiotechnik V-Series loudspeakers with ArrayProcessing, B22 subwoofers and D90 amplifiers with onboard Milan-AVB networking. A notable aspect of the tour is its early adoption of d&b audiotechnik’s Milan-AVB connectivity for digital audio distribution. 

Eighth Day Sound’s Ian Mollick, FOH engineer and primary system engineer for the tour, reported, “As we were the first tour using Milan-AVB with a d&b system, we cautiously opted to have an analog backup available to switch to through the R1 remote control in case we lost our digital signal. I’m happy to report that hasn’t been a concern; our primary Milan-AVB network has been rock-solid.”

Co-system designer Andrew Nolish of Eighth Day Sound added, “It’s worked seamlessly with other digital protocols on the network, and we’ve been successfully running Milan-AVB and Dante simultaneously, side-by-side on the same switches, without a problem. Plus, it simplifies patching and increases flexibility through its ability to run network audio right to your amplifier.”

“In addition to the flexibility Milan-AVB provides, great sound was table stakes for this tour,” Mollick emphasized. “Because we change venues every night, our system also had to deploy quickly, easily, and flexibly to accommodate the different flying configurations and acoustics of the rooms.” 

Nolish added, “We needed something that quickly gets us 90 percent to optimal in a wide variety of situations. That’s where d&b audiotechnik comes in.” 

The system was reportedly also chosen for its compact design and easy truck pack, coupled with its high output and consistent coverage, making it ideal for the tour’s demanding schedule and diverse venues.

Mollick highlighted the effectiveness of d&b’s ArrayProcessing software as his secret ingredient on this tour, stating, “Where much of the show is just Alton talking, ArrayProcessing has been a huge help in maintaining vocal clarity throughout the tour, even in venues with incredibly deep balcony underhangs. There have even been a few nights where I’ve foregone using underfills at all because ArrayProcessing has kept the clarity and level consistent all the way back, and I’ve actually preferred the sound of just the main P.A. in the room.”