Anyone work in pro audio?

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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
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I need to plan out, purchase and setup equipment for a conference. I don't know much about pro audio equipment, so I need advice on what to purchase, what brands to avoid, etc. Keeping it all within reasonable budget is also great.

The setup:

- a regular-sized conference room in a hotel/office (say up to 50 people)
- one speaker will be doing the talking at a time

I need:
- a wireless mic
- a receiver for that wireless mic
- a piece of equipment that will receive the output signal from receiver (mixer? amplifier?)
- one speaker that will output what has been said in the mic
- the mixer/amplifier must have a couple of output ports other than for speakers, because the signal from the mixer will go into the booth with interpreters, where they will listen in headphones and translate what has been said.

The interpreter's console takes in LXR jack, so I suspect I will need LXR outputs on the mixer/amplifier.

ATOT, what do I need to buy?

Also, what's the deal with VHF/UHF stuff?

Thanks!
 
herm0016

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
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budget? I have designed systems for a few small halls and gathering places, did some mixing and recording.
 
KLin

KLin

Lifer
Feb 29, 2000
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Mackie SRM-450, MAckie mixing board, Shure wireless microphone...
 
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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
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Originally posted by: herm0016
budget? I have designed systems for a few small halls and gathering places, did some mixing and recording.
Click to expand...

I am only researching the prices now.
Mic - $100-$150.
Receiver: $150 or so
Amplifier, mixer, speaker - no idea yet...
 
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TonyG

Platinum Member
Feb 12, 2000
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If this is a one time or very occasional use setup, I would also suggest renting the equipment. If the hotel doesn't have any available for rent, you can also look for any pro audio rental houses, yes they may rent to large concerts, but most also have smaller setups for doing conferences, and general meetings. Some may require a tech to come with the equipment, which won't be very cheap, while others should rent directly to you without requiring a tech.
 
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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
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Originally posted by: TonyG
If this is a one time or very occasional use setup, I would also suggest renting the equipment. If the hotel doesn't have any available for rent, you can also look for any pro audio rental houses, yes they may rent to large concerts, but most also have smaller setups for doing conferences, and general meetings. Some may require a tech to come with the equipment, which won't be very cheap, while others should rent directly to you without requiring a tech.
Click to expand...

We used to rent, but at this point it is more practical to buy and have our own equipment.
 
herm0016

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
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renting gear may be a much better way to go if you want to spend so little. a decent wireless microphone system will run around 3 to 4 hundred. for a receiver i would have recommended a small mixer/amp combo. I assume that the xlr output you need is line level?

examples:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/239956.html

http://www.fullcompass.com/product/336105.html

don't knock the B word, they make some decent stuff that is pretty cheap for applications like this.
 
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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
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Originally posted by: herm0016
renting gear may be a much better way to go if you want to spend so little. a decent wireless microphone system will run around 3 to 4 hundred. for a receiver i would have recommended a small mixer/amp combo. I assume that the xlr output you need is line level?

examples:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/239956.html

http://www.fullcompass.com/product/336105.html

don't knock the B word, they make some decent stuff that is pretty cheap for applications like this.
Click to expand...

The first link is exactly what I am looking for. As for Behringer, I already have a headphone amp from them, and one from PreSonus. The 'B' stuff is absolute crap: lots of bells and whistles, but the sound quality is horrendous.

I am willing to spend more, the $150 for the mic is what I saw on BH Photo, and considered it to be a decent amount.
 
herm0016

herm0016

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Feb 26, 2005
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http://www.fullcompass.com/product/343085.html

we used a similar rane mixer for our overhead hall way monitors and our assisted listening system, seemed to work well. very simple.

are you going to put this in a rack and carry it around with you? are you going over seas with it? we had a fender passport system we would set up in the lobby, choir room, etc. for small events that worked pretty well, this type of all in one solution may be what you want if you are going to travel with it.

as far as your headphone amps, presonus is in a different league than Behringer. you are not going to have a full band or a lot of dynamic range with one person speaking. the behringer mixers i have found to work well for small installs like meetings rooms and such where there is not a lot of demand for power, or dynamic range.
 
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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
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Originally posted by: herm0016

are you going to put this in a rack and carry it around with you?
Click to expand...

It's more like this: either me or a technician we hire will arrive to the office/hotel, unload equipment from the car and set up on the table or in the corner, put the speaker on the stand, set up interpreter's booth and lay out the cables. The less cables the better, hence the wireless mic :)

as far as your headphone amps, presonus is in a different league than Behringer. you are not going to have a full band or a lot of dynamic range with one person speaking. the behringer mixers i have found to work well for small installs like meetings rooms and such where there is not a lot of demand for power, or dynamic range.
Click to expand...

I see. I'll add this to my list of equipment as well, then. Thanks!
 
herm0016

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
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when you said you wanted to keep is kinda cheap, i did not know you wanted to spend a whole crap load of money! lol.
 
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biggestmuff

Diamond Member
Mar 20, 2001
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Go to a local audio reinforcement shop and speak to a salesperson. That way they can talk to you about your products and show you at the same time. You'll also be able to explain your needs to them better.

If that won't do, just call up a rep at Full Compass or Sweetwater.

I wouldn't be making piecemeal choices based on input from people on a computer hardware/software review forum as they general do not purchase mass quantities of equipment and utilize them. Rubycon would possibly be the exception, though.

Will you be operating this equipment or will you be hiring a specialist? Just something to think about.
 
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whattaguy

Senior member
Jun 3, 2004
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That's true, but I put in a purchase for about $30k worth of equipment for our church, and I put about $30k in my home studio.

What's your budget? That's the important question to ask. You don't need a whole lot of power for 50 people. The Allen&Health and/or Mackie are great products, but might be a little overkill unless you're into getting that sweet British EQ utilized in speeches. The Allen&Heath is great for repairs. Each channel is on its own circuit board, so you could pull one out for repairs if that happens.
 
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biggestmuff

Diamond Member
Mar 20, 2001
8,201
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Originally posted by: paulney
OK, I think I've figured out the required setup (mic-receiver-mixer-speakers) and narrowed down my choices for the mixer:

- Mackie Onyx 1620
or
- Allen-Heath ZED-14

I still have to decide on mic-receiver combo and active speakers.
Click to expand...

Dude, the Allen and Heath is overkill and the Mackie product is mainly used as a control surface and pre-amp/audio interface for computer based recording which is also overkill.


Since nobody is really helping you out, I'll point you into the general direction:
http://www.sweetwater.com/c442--All-In-One_PA_Systems

Check out this inexpensive setup.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PD150/
You'll have to add a wireless mic to it, which are sold separately. It has an RCA stereo output. That's not XLR, but a decent local sound professional can assist in purchasing or building the proper cable to interface with the interpreters' console.
 
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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
6,909
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Thanks, biggestmuff!

I realized Mackie or Allen-Heath would be an overkill, but those were the only moderately-priced systems with four output channels.

My situation is kind of a reverse to what's normally going on stage: you have many instruments and mics, and only two speakers to reproduce it all. In my case, I have only 1-2 mics, but I need at least four output channels, which send the sound to interpreters' booths.

I could probably split the output in most cases, so, even if I have 2 outs, I could split it into say 4 or 6 booths, but it'd be nice to have 4 independent out channels...

Thanls.
 
Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
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Originally posted by: alkemyst
Most hotels have sound eq you can rent with the room.
Click to expand...

This.

I've been to 100's of conferences...the hotel always provides the sound and AV equipment.
 
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paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
6,909
1
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Originally posted by: herm0016
knowing you need 4 outputs would have been helpful in the beginning.
Click to expand...

Sorry! I was under impression I specified I have multiple interpreter's consoles, but now that I've re-read the post, I see that I didn't.

Yes, hotels do provide equipment, but quite a few times the conference happens on customer's premises, where they have nothing except a video projector and a white board.
 
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