As the economic development agency for Northern Ireland, Invest NI's role is to grow the economy by helping new and existing businesses to compete internationally and to attract new investment to Northern Ireland. Based in Bedford Street in the heart of Belfast, Invest NI's headquarters boasts striking architecture with its elegant curves and glass detail. Inside the building the strong design features continue, particularly in the main boardroom which forms part of the building's apex.
The installation took place in Invest NI's rounded main boardroom. Due to the shape and acoustics of the room, traditional gooseneck microphones were not suitable. Stephen Briggs, contract manager for Serco Integrated Services who is responsible for the management of the room called in Steve Kennedy and the Niavac team, to offer up an innovative solution. Working closely with Polar Audio, Niavac came up with the beyerdynamic Revoluto system.
Revoluto's microphone line array technology has 17 integral microphone capsules. The "corridor characteristic" of the pick-up gives the user wider voice range and allows them to speak freely and maintain eye contact with their audience without any loss in audio quality. This creates a more extended pick-up pattern than traditional gooseneck microphones. In addition Revoluto's built-in speaker system gives added local user re-enforcement, without the need to be linked into the main PA speakers.
Niavac undertook a successful demonstration of the Revoluto system and subsequently designed a system to meet the specific needs of the challenging installation. The Belfast based installer incorporated 12 Revoluto delegate units and one chairman unit, whilst upgrading the existing audio system with a Biamp Nexia DSP Mainframe and beyerdynamic Opus UHF radio microphones.
Simon Druce, sales manager at Polar Audio Commented, "The lack of a gooseneck microphone on the Revoluto helps to maintain the clean lines within the boardroom and gives the user the ability to not only hear clearly but see the other participants. The users can now discuss and review subject matter in a relaxed fashion, sitting back or leaning forward without any noticeable proximity effect."
Steve Kennedy, general manager at Niavac added: "The Revoluto was a new concept to us, but after in-depth consultation with the client and a successful demonstration we knew the product was right for this installation. We are very proud to have been given the opportunity by Invest NI to undertake this project, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and would like to thank the Polar Audio team for their support."
(Jim Evans)
