Conference Room Miking

Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes

Share your sound—and your ideas—with confidence. Conference microphones capture audio from one or more sound sources in a room and transmit it so every voice is heard loud and clear. Whether your business meetings take the form of virtual presentations, expansive in-person lectures, or anywhere in between, ensure your communication is clear and efficient with conference room miking solutions from Sound Productions!

MAKING A PLAN FOR YOUR CONFERENCE MIKING NEEDS

Finding the right microphone for your needs can make or break the success of your business communications. Before setting out shopping, it’s a good idea to take stock of where your mic system will be set up, who will be using it, and how it will be set up and used.

Assess Your Space

The size of your audio environment is the first thing to consider when planning out how to incorporate conference microphones. Common environments range from small and simplistic--such as huddle rooms, meeting areas, or small conference or boardrooms—up to larger, more formal areas including lecture halls, classrooms, courtrooms, and more. Many smaller spaces may only require a single microphone to capture the voice of every person present, but the larger the space, the more microphone units will be required to ensure even coverage. Other aspects that will determine the type and number of microphones necessary are the size of any tables or desks, the seating arrangement, and of course which sound sources you desire to capture (and if there are other sound sources present that you’ll want to minimize).

Evaluate Your Sound Source

Regardless of the space you have available, or the shape of the room itself, you’ll likely want as versatile a design as possible to get your money’s worth out of the investment in such a system. Still, it’s best to first evaluate how your space will commonly be used:

• One person addressing a group (such as in a class or lecture)
• A team where each person is collaborating (such as a business meeting or open forum)
• A combination of these (such as panel discussions, city councils, etc.)

Once you know the basic applications your sound setup needs to accommodate, you’ll be able to calculate how much microphone coverage you’ll need to ensure each speaker’s voice is heard loud and clear.

Consider Your Connectivity

Conference microphones offer different connectivity options, such as USB, Bluetooth, WiFi (wireless), or analog cables. Depending on your bandwidth, wireless is an increasingly popular option for professional applications. To learn more, check out our articles discussing Wireless Microphone Setups and How to Set Up a Wireless System.

Throughout all these decisions, user-friendliness is another factor to consider. For whatever meetings or lectures your space is being used for, is there someone who will be responsible for ensuring that the audio setup is working properly? Are your meeting participants knowledgeable about the gear they’re using, or would it be helpful to have them trained? Setting expectations at the outset for who is in charge of the conference miking system will help streamline things in the future and hopefully prevent headaches down the line.

CONFERENCE MICROPHONE TYPES

Once you understand the application and environment, it’s time to select the right microphone (or set of microphones) that will best meet your needs. In addition to varying specifications that affect sound quality and pickup of background noise, conference microphone types generally offer a variety of features, which you can mix and match to get the right fit for your application.

Polar Pattern – Choose between omnidirectional and directional patterns. An omnidirectional pattern will pick up sound from all directions for more even coverage of your space, while the directional pattern will allow you to “aim” the mic to pick up specific sound sources.

Size – Different microphone models offer different dimensions.

Portability – Some microphones are better for permanent placement, while others are ideal for applications where you’ll need to rearrange the configuration, move the mic to a different system, or create a mobile conferencing setup.

Miscellaneous Features – Optional functions such as mute buttons, volume control, and built-in speakers can also be helpful depending on the situation.

Many of these features vary according to the different models that are popular in conference room miking, including boundary, ceiling, gooseneck, and headworn microphones.

Boundary Microphones

Great for capturing multiple sound sources at once, boundary microphones work well for any multi-use environment where versatility is key, such as board rooms, conference rooms, and office spaces. They are comprised of one or more capsules built into a microphone that mounts on a flat surface such as a table, desk, wall, or ceiling, and offer a selection of polar patterns, from cardioid to supercardioid to omnidirectional. The low-profile design of most boundary mics makes them easy to place in a range of environments without taking up too much space.

Pros

• Low-profile design is visually unobtrusive
• Picks up the voice of any speaker in front of it
• Ideal for picking up audio from multiple sound sources around the table, so you need fewer microphone units set up to ensure coverage in your space
• Typically less expensive, making them a more budget-friendly choice

Cons

• Because their design lies flatter against the table, there is more distance between the mic and the person speaking
• Other objects on the table can hinder audio capture
• Can pick up background noise in the room and are susceptible to tabletop noises

Ceiling Microphones

Ideal for medium-sized conference rooms and similar environments, ceiling microphones can pick up 360 degrees of sound. Some ceiling mics may be surface-mounted or flush-mounted to the ceiling; these models are great for video conferencing, distance learning, huddle rooms, courtroom activities, and surgical procedures. Creating a permanent setup offers some additional options for rigging microphones to hang from the ceiling—which reduces clutter on stage and removes visual obstacles while simultaneously ensuring every voice is picked up.

Pros

• Take up the minimal amount of space
• Can be installed in various positions (embedded into the ceiling, hung like chandeliers)
• Can pick up audio from anywhere in the room, meaning fewer microphone units may be necessary
• Some models feature the ability to change their pickup to focus on one sound source while rejecting audio from other directions, automatically highlighting the speaker over ambient noise
• Some models also offer digital signal processing for further noise reduction

Cons

• Installation requires planning and even calling in expert help
• Do not deliver the same quality as individual microphones for each speaker
• May pick up background noise

Gooseneck Microphones

A gooseneck microphone consists of a miniature mic attached to the end of a repositionable cable (the “gooseneck”), which in turn is mounted in a stand that can be placed on a table, desk, or podium. They’re central to applications where it’s equally important to achieve both reliable sound and adjustable mic placement, such as lecture halls, houses of worship, paging systems, and educational buildings. Gooseneck mics come in varying heights and polar patterns, allowing you to “aim” the mic so it captures all the sounds you want while minimizing the pickup of unnecessary background noise.

Pros

• Flexible gooseneck allows adjustment to better aim toward the sound source
• Ensures each voice is heard
• Limits background noise
• Generally delivers great sound quality

Cons

• You will need a microphone for each speaker
• Gooseneck models take up table space
• The more goosenecks needed, the more cluttered the visual look of your space
• Audio pickup can suffer if the speaker moves away from the mic capsule

Headworn Microphones

Lightweight, flexible, and easy to camouflage, headworn microphones come in a wide range of styles and polar patterns and with a variety of accessories to ensure you find the model to fit your needs. They’re ideal for public speaking environments including lecture halls, classrooms, business conferences, and more. Because most headworn mics are designed with the mics placed at the end of repositionable cables, you can adjust the mic placement to exactly capture the sound you want.

Pros

• Provides consistent audio for speakers
• Ideal for mobile wearers
• Optimized for capturing vocals naturally and accurately
• Small design is visually unobtrusive

Cons

• Requires a personal headset for each speaker in the room
• Requires additional networking gear such as beltpacks and central receivers
• Tend to be a more expensive investment

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONFERENCE ROOM MIKING

Once you’ve chosen the type(s) of conference microphone and implemented your setup, make sure to test your audio system to ensure complete coverage so that every speaker’s voice is heard clearly. Be careful to avoid overlapping the coverage patterns of microphones, which can result in distortion. While a professional AV contractor or integrator uses advanced tools such as heatmaps to accomplish this, you can still test this yourself by using trial-and-error to test the quality of each position where someone might be standing or sitting. If you detect any “dead zone” where the audio isn’t adequately captured, you may need to reposition or add a microphone to achieve better coverage of that area.

Wondering how to enhance your conference room’s communication? Contact the Account Managers at Sound Productions at info@soundpro.com or call us at 800.203.5611 for expert advice on microphone types, brands, placement strategy, and more.

A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Laura Strommen has been part of the Sound Productions team since 2021.