Shure Wireless Systems and Stem Ecosystem Support Flexible Conferencing Solutions at The Royal Academy of Arts
![Shure Wireless Systems and Stem Ecosystem Support Flexible Conferencing Solutions at The Royal Academy of Arts](https://content-files.shure.com/CaseStudies/shure-wireless-systems-and-stem-ecosystem-support-flexible-conferencing-solutions-at-the-royal-academy-of-arts/images/en/shure-wireless-systems-and-stem-ecosystem-support-flexible-conferencing-solutions-at-the-royal-academy-of-arts_header.png)
Introduction
The Royal Academy of Arts Audio Visual department, led by Benji Fox, is a small, efficient team that has the challenge of delivering the technical provision across the RA’s historic galleries and contemporary spaces. The Royal Academy is located within a 17th-century mansion in Piccadilly named Burlington House and linked to a 19th-century former university building, Burlington Gardens, in London, UK.
Customer Profile
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Benji Fox has been working in various capacities with audio and video technologies for over 24 years, specifically the production of live sound, from theatre and sound art to live sound engineering and audio and video production. Fox is passionate about the potential for technology and its capacity to bring creative visions to life, augment live experiences and invite and enhance learning.
Challenge
The 17th-century main building is Grade II* listed. This can limit the AV department’s options for permanent installations and for permanent meeting rooms. The Royal Academy needs modular and expandable solutions to support both small and large meeting room requests.
An unusual challenge was presented to the team following the COVID-19 pandemic. A hybrid working solution was needed for their General Assembly meeting. In brief, historically the Royal Academy consists of 80 active artists who are selected through a ballot conducted by the General Assembly of the Royal Academy. These individuals, known as Royal Academicians (RAs), collectively govern the Royal Academy. Post-COVID, the General Assembly meetings could no longer be held in-person, and they needed a hybrid solution that granted all attendees equitable participation, whether online or on-site.
A range of Shure products are used at the RA to meet a variety of requirements, from in-built fixed installations to flexible mobile units. They run both ULX-D and QLX-D on various in-built fixed installations as well as within mobile PA systems, all running a range belt-pack and handheld microphone transmitters.
Eight channels of ULX-D are within the Benjamin West Lecture Theatre. The number of channels is dictated by the size of the stage, as you cannot fit more than six chairs for panel discussions comfortably. These tend to be a combination of lapel and head-worn mics with belt packs, alongside a lectern, and we run a few handheld mics for audience Q&As. The AV team occasionally route in a sub-mix of additional QLX lapels for larger conferences, but this fit-out suits most of the programme of events. RA events are often live-streamed or are multi-camera recordings. Having all the Shure receivers on the Dante network means they can have multiple independent mixes for both the live audience in the room and those online. They occasionally also route a mix for ISO recordings of both audio and video.
A more modular range of both MXCW and Stem Ecosystem are used for flexible hybrid meeting rooms.
In an interview with Benji Fox, he stated:
‘Both systems are robust and are quick to roll out. We once set up a very last-minute roundtable meeting with MXCW units for a meeting of 12 in-person attendees all within 10 minutes of receiving the request, but it’s not something I can recommend, or I would want to repeat but it is possible to set up a completely bare room to full hybrid meeting room very quickly.'
'When giving tours of the building, I used to say that “everywhere is an event space”, but I might change that to “everywhere is a potential hybrid meeting space”.’
The Royal Academy use a Shure Stem Table for smaller breakout rooms. The Stem Table is their go-to for any space that requires two-way online communication. Often this might be a last-minute request for a large roundtable in large spaces to tiny corner huddle spaces.
Quotes
“The relationship between the RA AV department and Shure is fairly long-standing and has been very supportive during our growth and development of both the team and of the academy itself. We know that if we run into any issue whatsoever, there is almost immediate help available to us from a familiar and friendly voice. This is not a unique manufacturer-end point user relationship, but it is rare. Thank you, Shure.”
“Fundamentally, using Shure systems introduces a higher level of trust, knowing that any microphone system deployed will work across site, will sound good and will also last for even the longest event durations. Our Shure batteries, after 5 years of fair usage, still last a good 9-11 hours, which is outstandingly good.”
Benji Fox, Head of Audio Visual, Royal Academy of Arts
Gear List
Model Number | Quantity | Description | |
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Stem Table | 1 | With nine built-in beamforming microphones and an innovative downward-facing speaker, Stem Table takes the quality of your meetings to the next level |
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ULXD4D | 4 | Digital dual wireless receiver offers an intelligent dual-channel option for use in any professional sound reinforcement application. |
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QLX-D | 6 | Digital wireless system combines robust wireless performance with easy set-up and digital audio quality. |
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MXCW640 | 12 | Wireless Conference Unit for Microflex Complete Wireless conference system. Configurable as Chairman, Delegate, Listener, or Ambient Microphone unit. |
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MXCWAPT | 1 | Access Point for Microflex Complete Wireless conference system. Controls up to 125 MXCW640 wireless conference units. |
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MX412 | 12 | Gooseneck microphone offers interchangeable cartridges and enhanced length and flexibility for reliably clear sound reproduction. |
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IntelliMix P300 | 1 | Audio conferencing processor offers IntelliMix DSP algorithms optimized for audio/video conferencing applications. |