Whether it’s a festive celebration with lots of music and singing, an intense training session or corporate strategy announcement by a CEO, the ability of everyone in attendance to hear clear and undistorted sound is so important.
Different locations call for different types of sound systems. Our job is to assure that the correct compliment of amplifiers, loudspeakers, microphones and recording devices are in place for the optimal results.
Here is a partial list of the considerations for choosing a specific type of sound system. The questions posed here refer to a rental system for short-term use, rather than a permanent installation in a room or building (although there are a lot of similarities):
- Is the event indoors or outdoors?
- How many will be in attendance?
- If it’s indoors, the acoustical properties of the space will need to be addressed:
- What type of surfaces are the walls, floor and ceiling made of (concrete, carpet, ballroom air walls, wooden floors, etc.)?
- How high is the ceiling?
- Is there a presentation stage?
- Are there any other structures (columns, pillars, etc.) that might be in the way?
- Will the event take place in one room or will there be other spaces in or near the main space which will need to hear the same presentation at the same time?
- Is this a space where a sound system can be flown from rigging points or sound towers or will it be ground-supported?
- What type of event will this be; mostly speeches and/or lectures? Mostly music (live or pre-recorded) and entertainment? A mix of both?
- If the event will be speeches and/or lectures, will the presenters remain at the lectern or do they prefer to walk the stage requiring wireless microphones?
- How many presenters will there be and how long is each presentation?
- Are there more audio sources other than speaking voices (i.e., audio in a Power Point presentation, audio in a video clip, sound effects or pre-recorded music cues)?
- Will there be Questions and Answers from the audience during the event that will require additional microphones?
- Will the proceedings need to be recorded and what is the final intended use of those recordings?
There are industry standards to answer all of these questions and more.
We address all of these questions for every event with the goal of providing an ideal listening experience for every attendee. One of the benefits of engaging a knowledgeable industry professional is to make these decisions and specify the correct equipment for your meeting or event.