WHY UPGRADE FROM CL/QL TO RIVAGE PM SERIES AND DM7 SERIES
Key upgrade considerations for sound engineers and audio managers in live sound, HoW, Corporate, Events, Education and Theater
Summary For over a decade, Yamaha’s CL/QL consoles have been the workhorse of the audio industry and set the standard for stability and sound. Today’s productions demand more – channels, DSP, immersive tools, and streaming – without losing familiar workflow. Yamaha’s DM7 and Rivage PM deliver next-gen power, rider-friendly specs, and legendary Yamaha sound, plus easy CL/QL show file migration. From touring to worship, education, corporate and theater, these consoles redefine speed, flexibility, and sonic excellence for the future.
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On upgrading from CL/QL or a mid-sized console to a more powerful mixing desk
For more than a decade, Yamaha’s CL and QL consoles have been the dependable backbone of live sound – trusted for their stability, natural musicality, and effortless Dante integration. But today’s productions demand far more: more channels, more outputs, more broadcast and streaming capability, and more creative flexibility. Engineers need all of that without losing the workflow and sonic signature they already know.
That’s exactly why Yamaha created the DM7 Series and Rivage PM. Both platforms deliver next-generation DSP, advanced processing, immersive audio tools, and rider-friendly specs, while preserving Yamaha’s unmistakable natural sound. And with Console File Converter, CL/QL show files move forward easily, making the upgrade feel like evolution – not reinvention.
Live Sound: Speed, Power, and Sonic Excellence
Rivage PM was engineered for the pressure of touring, offering 288 inputs, 96 kHz audio, and Rupert Neve SILK coloration. Engineers describe the move as instantly transformational. Brad Divens (Enrique Iglesias, Linkin Park) recalls realizing right away that “this is it… this is beautiful.” Kane Brown’s FOH engineer David Loy had been searching for something “powerful but stable,” and found the PM3 delivered that balance with its compact size, deep DSP, and consistent connection to the performance. Stephen “Pato” Pattison (FOH for Hozier) praises its completeness, freeing him up from cumberson outboard gear – the console has “everything I need,” and because of that, “there’s nothing to go wrong.”
For tighter footprints, DM7 brings impressive muscle: dual touchscreens, split-mode operation, and a 64-channel Dugan automixer that lets one console handle FOH, monitors, and streaming at once. Touring engineer Gene Kim notes that the DM7 “really helps because the footprint is small, but it’s packed with output capabilities and local I/O.” That combination proved essential during Tyler, The Creator’s pop-up barge show, where Landon Storey and Paul Wichmann relied on DM7’s near-identical workflow to Rivage PM to deliver seamless, high-quality audio in a notoriously unforgiving environment.
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House of Worship: Broadcast-Quality, Volunteer-Friendly
Modern churches operate like hybrid performance-and-broadcast studios, and Rivage PM and DM7 are designed to support that complexity while remaining volunteer-friendly. At First Baptist Church Woodstock, Jamie Karnes describes the new head amps and plug-ins as “huge game changers,” and says the SILK feature in particular lifts every source. Saddleback Church’s team echoes that sentiment, explaining that they needed a system capable of handling worship, broadcast, and translation feeds “without compromise” – and Rivage PM delivered exactly that.
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Education & Corporate AV: Reliability Meets Flexibility
Universities and corporate venues must support everything from lectures to concerts with minimal staff and no room for error. DM7’s routing power and flexible interface make it ideal for these constantly shifting environments. The University of Birmingham’s Richard Mitton says the DM7 “ticked all the boxes,” giving the venue confidence that “there’s nothing likely to come… that the DM7 can’t do.” William Paterson University found the same, noting that DM7C expanded their routing and processing while helping a small team maintain high production standards.
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Theater: Precision for Complex Productions
Theater demands fast navigation, accuracy, and absolute reliability. Rivage PM’s Theatre Mode, overlay filters, and immersive tools give engineers control at a level that keeps pace with rapid scene changes and dense sound design. Stephen “Pato” Pattison (FOH for Hozier) puts it simply: the console has “everything I need,” and with that completeness, “there’s nothing to go wrong.” For engineers who cannot afford hesitation, Rivage PM is the trusted choice.
Theater: Precision for Complex Productions
Theater demands fast, precise, and reliable control – especially during rapid scene changes. Rivage PM’s Theatre Mode, overlay filters, and immersive tools give engineers the accuracy these productions require. As the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child team explains, the performer library is so essential that “without that function, I don’t think this production would have been possible,” enabling instant character-based adjustments. And thanks to Yamaha’s consistent interface, “if you’re familiar with even a QL1, it isn’t hard to get up and going on the biggest RIVAGE PM surface,” which speeds training and setup. For productions where precision and speed define success, Rivage PM has become the trusted choice.
Why Upgrade Now?
CL/QL consoles remain supported – but they are discontinued, and live sound is moving quickly toward platforms with deeper DSP, immersive tools, modern workflows, and rider-friendly specs. DM7 and Rivage PM deliver all of this while honoring the Yamaha sound engineers love. And because of familiar workflow, intuitive operation, reliability and protection of your investment, upgrading isn’t a disruption – it’s a future-proofing decision that captures your audience, preserves workflow and elevates your potential and capability.
DM7 and Rivage PM aren’t just successors – they are the new benchmark. Created for productions that refuse to compromise, these mixing desks redefine a new standard for legendary sound quality, intuitive workflow, and absolute reliability, all backed by Yamaha’s legacy of support. Rivage PM Series and DM7 Series digital consoles don’t just exceed today’s demands – they inspire what tomorrow will sound like.