Conference audio: a checklist for the organiser
At a conference the audience notices the sound only when it fails: a microphone squeals, a video plays silently, a question from the floor cannot be heard. The organiser does not have to be a sound engineer, but has to ask the right questions at the right time. This list is meant to be gone through before ordering equipment and again a week before the event.
The room and the seating
Start with the room. How big is it, how high is the ceiling, are the walls glass and stone or is there carpet and curtain? A hard, reverberant room needs more directional speakers and a lower level, otherwise speech intelligibility goes.
Decide where the stage or presenter spot is and where the speakers can go. Speakers must be in front of the presenters, not behind them, or you get feedback. The mixer position needs a view of the stage and the presenter. Check where the power sockets are, both by the stage and at the mixer.
Presenters and microphone type
Ask every presenter in advance how they present. A keynote speaker who walks the stage and drives slides needs a headset microphone on a bodypack transmitter, in our case a Shure DH5T or MX153T. Someone standing behind a lectern manages with a handheld on a stand. A lavalier is the quietest option and rubs on clothing, so use it only when a presenter refuses a headset.
Headsets are not passed from hand to hand: fitting one takes time and it has to be adjusted for each person. Allow a few minutes for the change between sessions.
Panels and audience questions
A panel of four needs four microphones, because one shared between two means half the conversation is off-mic. Handhelds on table stands or ordinary stands are the simplest for a panel. For audience questions you need two wireless handhelds and two people who carry them to the person asking.
The conference kit for up to 300 people has two Shure SLXD2/B58 handhelds for exactly that, on top of the presenters' headsets. If there are more panels, add the four wireless handheld kit, which also includes antenna distribution and a battery charger.
Laptop, video and the stream
Presentation audio comes from the laptop into the mixer through a DI box, our Radial USB-PRO. The kit has a Palmer PLI-04 for the backup laptop. Every video has to be played through before the session: a silent clip on stage is the most common conference failure.
If the event is recorded or streamed, the operator needs a separate output from the mixer carrying all microphones and the laptop audio. A digital mixer such as the Yamaha DM3 provides that easily, and digitally over Dante as well. Agree this with the stream operator in advance, not on the morning.
The moderator and presenters need to hear video audio and questions from the floor. A small stage monitor or a speaker aimed at the stage takes care of it.
Spares and batteries
Spares are not waste, they are the cheapest insurance a conference has. Put on the list:
- One wireless handheld more than the programme requires
- Fresh batteries for every half day, changed at the lunch break
- Spare cables: XLR, laptop adapter, extension lead
- A second laptop with the same presentation
- Tape for labelling microphones and cables
Schedule and roles on the day
The sound check has to happen the evening before, or at least two hours before the first session. Each keynote speaker gets the headset fitted fifteen minutes before their session, not on the way to the stage. Every programme change reaches the technician immediately, not afterwards.
Roles: a technician at the mixer, two people with the question microphones in the hall, one organiser who is the technician's contact and brings presenters to be miked on time. When these roles are not assigned, the technician ends up doing everything at once and something gets missed.
