Institute of Acoustics Chooses Shure Microflex® Advance™ MXA910 Mics for Voice Lift at HQ

Professional UK body, the Institute of Acoustics (IOA), has installed Shure Microflex® Advance™ MXA910 microphone to complement an innovative Voice Lift system at the organisation’s Milton Keynes headquarters. 

This has helped to restore the natural speech level for far-end participants within a space used as both a meeting room and a classroom for attendees participating in courses involving working within acoustics.

Students undertaking courses now benefit from crystal clear speech across the space, while students collaborating online via distance learning are delivered the same audio as their classroom counterparts, with the system raising the quality of the lecture captured content.

The client brief consisted of a system that was hands free and could be permanently installed in a room with the ability to be divided as necessary and with multiple furniture layouts. Audio clarity was a critical factor both in the room and online, with appreciation that IOA works with the world’s top acousticians in every field on a daily basis.

Several systems were considered, and while they worked reasonably within a single space, their limitations were soon discovered, due to the necessity of having to bounce sound off an adjacent wall. The Shure system was the only flexible alternative to meet all requirements during that time.

Voice Lift was a key requirement, with the decision aided by a demo VC call along with a visit to Shure’s Audio Institute (SAI) and the opportunity to see and hear the system ‘in action’. The ability to be able to speak to Shure’s product managers during the demo and benefit from a full ‘hands-on’ understanding of the system was a crucial part of the project.

“Our room is a very similar size and shape to SAI,” explained Allan Chesney, Chief Executive, IOA. “The demo was instrumental in giving us a feel for how Voice Lift worked for those within the space and those listening online, along with an understanding of the quality of sound delivered.

“SAI benefits from six Shure MXA910 celling microphones, and as we were only installing three at IOA we were unsure that we’d experience the same audio quality with our system.

“However, the team at Shure reassured us that three would be more than adequate, and they were absolutely correct.”

AV specialists Excite AV were tasked with completing the project, helped by the team at Shure who assisted with the software set-up for the Voice Lift system. Working with audio solutions provider Audiologic, Shure continued to engage and support Excite AV with the implementation of the technology – and the overall system was integrated and operational within a five-day period…

Chesney concluded:” The system works extremely well and the sound quality is great. We had a few teething issues and software glitches which have since been rectified, challenges one would normally expect. In fact, one of the biggest challenges for attendees is to remember that if they are having a private conversation during a meeting, those at the other end of the room can hear what they are saying!

“I’d certainly recommend the system to other establishments and organisations looking for a similar Voice Lift system.”

An exclusive interview with Chief Executive Allan Chesney and senior Shure executives on the deployment of the Voice System at IOA can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80b8cX07eDA