The first installation, completed earlier this year, was in a product development review room that is approximately 100 x 40 feet wide, according to Darren R. Sussman, chief engineer and owner of New Jersey-based Reid Sound, Inc: "They specifically wanted to have remote control of the sound system for the person at the front of the room." Sussman researched what was available and found that the Allen & Heath iDR system, with its PL Series of remote controllers and wall plates, fit the budget. He was also able to evaluate the iDR Software Manager after downloading it from Allen & Heath's iDR web site.
"I love the software," he enthuses. "I haven't found anything that compares to it. I did a lot of shopping around because everybody makes their software available for download, but I didn't find anything that was as intuitive or had as much functionality."
The conference room is zoned into three areas, says Sussman, and includes microphones in the ceiling not only for the presenter at the front but also talkback from participants throughout the room. The iDR system provides switching and level control of the microphones in the ceiling speakers in each zone with remote control capabilities for the presenter and set up technician.
"That way, the presenter doesn't have to keep walking to the wall to hit the button to switch the mics," he explains. "We're using the PL-5 IR handheld remote in combination with a PL-4 wall controller at the front of the room...We put a PL-3 wall plate at the back of the room for whoever comes in to set up and configure the system. Since the PL-3 has four soft keys, it allows them a few more control options than the person at the front, who only needs basic volume control and to be able to switch between the front and back microphones."
With the initial installation successfully completed, it was a simple matter to convince the company to replace the unnecessarily complicated audio system in the facility's largest meeting area, which incorporates the cafeteria and two additional rooms. The previous system included three separate mixers and a combining system and lacked any EQ or feedback filters.
Sussman explains: "Now, there's only one unit, and you can route it how you want. Each room now has its own PL-4 controller. I programmed the control buttons for them, so they have some limited control. It's the easiest thing in the world to go back and reprogram it. One button toggles between combining room B and C, combining all three, and separating all three rooms. We set the other button to switch between music and microphones. Additionally, they have separate volume control in each room. Overall, it's a much more cohesive system. Everything is unified, and there's a good signal and system flow. They've been overwhelmingly happy with the systems." Just because the building is full of rocket scientists doesn't mean that the audio system has to be complex. "That's one place where I can go in and say, what we do isn't rocket science! If I sit down with them for an hour and run through everything, they get it."
(Sarah Rushton Read)
