Council chambers are often some of the hardest rooms to get good sound in: hard walls, high ceilings and lots of glass. Because meetings are usually streamed or broadcast, poor audio doesn't just frustrate the people in the room. It keeps residents watching at home from following along.
Microphones
Each member at the dais needs a microphone that picks up their voice without picking up the room. Gooseneck mics at each seat remain the most reliable option. Ceiling microphone arrays can work for staff tables and presenters when a clean dais is important.
Processing
A digital signal processor turns on the mic of whoever is speaking, turns down the rest, removes echo for remote participants and sends clean audio to the stream or broadcast feed.
Speakers
Speakers placed along the side walls, rather than one loud pair at the front, spread sound evenly across public seating and are far less likely to feed back into dais microphones.
Hearing assistance
Public meeting rooms need an assistive listening system under the ADA. A hearing loop or a receiver-based system can take its feed directly from the same processor.
At a glance
- A microphone at every dais seat
- Automatic mixing and echo cancellation
- Speakers spread along the side walls
- ADA assistive listening