We look at some of this equipment they’re considering and think, “Bargain Bin.” You know, like those $5.00 DVDs movies found in the round bins at the Big Box store with titles that no one has ever heard of? There are no Oscar winners in that bin. I guess there’s a reason those bins are round. At $5.00, they’re a throw away if they’re no good.

Where do these budget numbers come from? If our clients and end users do some cursory surfing on the ‘Net, it’s amazing the things you’ll find for so little money. I did a generic search for “conference room microphone” and up pops a $27.99 speakerphone as well as a $89.99 conferencing microphone that’s advertised for “8-10 people” on a popular buying website.

This is what our clients see in front of them every day when they surf the ‘Net for information. I’ve even received product links with the question, “Do you have this equivalent?” Before I respond with what I’m thinking, I remind myself that the client often doesn’t know that there is a difference. It says, “professional” in the product description, right? (If it says, “professional” that’s usually my first clue that it’s not).

As an example, back in November of 2022, Recon Research published a comparison matrix of features and functions of 120 USB podcast mics.

The least expensive I saw on the list had a MSRP of $22.99 and the manufacturer listed it as a “Professional USB Studio Condenser Microphone for Chatting.” $22.99. That’s less money than a large pizza with a side order of breadsticks. For a few dollars more, you could get the next model up that also featured LED lights. You can guess the website.

There are a lot of USB mics listed in Recon’s matrix for around $99.00 MSRP and there’s some pretty cool mics that start at a bit over a C-Note up to around $199.00. I would not hesitate to suggest some of those to a client for a podcast and admittedly, I’m an audio snob.

I have colleagues that purchased some inexpensive podcast mic/boom arm/pop filter bundles from that popular buying website. Results have varied. Some threw out the mic because it was so awful. Another threw out the boom because it wouldn’t support a real microphone.

May I suggest a different way to reduce your carbon footprint?

Buy quality. It could be quality products or quality services. Either way, buy something only once.

Have you considered the costs associated with a lack of quality? Time to research, order, receive and set up. Time to use and evaluate and discover the deficiencies. Time to decommission and dispose. Time to re-research, re-order, re-receive, re-set up, and reevaluate. Where did all that time come from and who pays for it? It comes from productivity and profit. Mistakes and failures are costly. If you follow the acquisition flow above, it took about three times as long to get something that actually worked when price is the only consideration.

My neighbors had a yard sale recently, and amongst the treasures was an older Master Appliance heat gun. It was missing the base and the nozzle was a little beat up. I snatched it up right away. Why? Because I knew I could order replacement parts like bases, elements, switches, and more. It is not a throwaway product. It’s a quality product that you can keep running for decades, because if something does need attention, parts can be obtained, the unit fixed and put back into daily service easily.

How many $22 microphones and cheap boom arms do you think have been thrown away? How is that sustainable? Buying cheap junk is a waste. It is a waste of raw materials, energy, and labor to manufacture, fuels and materials to ship, heat, and A/C as it takes up room in a warehouse, labor to unload, inventory, pack, and ship. Time to unbox, set up, and discover that it’s less desirable than a rusted Yugo. Plus, now you have to go through the research and buying process all over again. What are we thinking when we shop in the bargain bin? “If it’s no good, I’ll just throw it away.” This is not a sustainable mentality. The throwaway society with single-use disposable items came into vogue in the 1950s. Here we are seven decades hence and we’re doing it again – but this time it’s not plastic utensils and paper plates. The materials are now much more costly and sometimes even toxic.

You and I have purchased a lot of microphones over the years, and some of us have collected some classics. Real microphones cost real money and I still have a couple I want on my bucket list. No one will be dropping a mic in my house without incurring severe monetary penalties. But microphones are only a part of our industry. Quality audio-visual equipment costs real money, and a system needs to be professionally designed, engineered, installed, tuned, commissioned, and placed in a space that also considers environmental and ergonomic factors so that it will provide the end users with many good years of faithful reliability while delivering quality results.

As audiovisual practitioners, we look for products that we know are offered by reputable manufacturers, fit the client’s need, work within a reasonable budget, and will serve the client and end user well for many years to come.

If you are at all uncertain about equipment decisions and/or needing design, CAD, programming, or installation assistance, we have an entire team that can help you make the appropriate quality choices given the need and budget. None of those options will include a $22.00 microphone.

Want to know more? Check out Tom’s “Project Questions & Needs Analysis” post.

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About the Author

Tom Kehr

CTS-D, CTS-I, Network+, LEED Green Associate, ISF-C, ATD Master Trainer

In-House System Designer and Trainer

Supported Applications: System Design

“I’ve never seen two of the same room” is a phrase I’ve often used when it comes to audio-visual designs and requirements. That was true until just the other day, when I had five small Huddle rooms in one project, each seating three people and averaging 70 sq. feet. A display and a videoconferencing bar and you’re done.

But, until that project with the Huddle rooms, that phrase has been true for the almost four decades that I’ve been in this industry. While there are some commonalities to almost all spaces, such as sharing computer images, software-based conferencing, microphones, and loudspeakers, each room is a little different in size, furniture layout, and participant positions.

An audio-visual design begins with information. Architectural drawings, dimensions, pictures, and expected room layouts are always needed to assess the room you’re working with. Photos and finish schedules in the architectural drawings will list the materials used in the room (ceiling, walls, floors, furnishings) and that will help reveal if there may be acoustical or installation challenges. However, you can only “guess” some possible aspects of the room. Realistically, nothing beats a proper site visit for assessing the environment. The firm responsible for integration will need to visit the site to document and/or confirm certain assumptions that may have been made about the suitability of the space. Site visits require measurement (not just the physical measurements of L x W x H, but also background noise level and ambient light measurements) and getting your head above the drop tile ceiling to determine clearances and obstacles. If the site visit exposes some issues that hinder the effectiveness of an audiovisual system, recommending changes such as motorized shades or blinds, acoustical treatments, changes to the lighting, raising the drop tile ceiling at the front of the room, etc., may be required.

More critical information is gathered when you meet with the end users and other stakeholders to discover their processes and activities. This is part of Needs Analysis and the goal is to discover what the end users are trying to do. Questions are open-ended and focus on process. They do not focus on equipment. A non-technical Functional Description is written to describe how the system works and how it addresses the end users’ needs. While a Functional Description and a Scope of Work are often confused, they are two completely different documents. A Functional Scope describes the system’s capabilities and what the system will do. A Scope of Work describes what the integrator is responsible to do and a Scope is part of a contract and includes specific deliverables.

Equipment is determined only after you have arrived at a good understanding of their processes and needs.

Some of the questions would normally include:

• What is the purpose of the space?
• What are the typical furniture layouts and participant locations?
• How many participants are there?
• Where will the presenter(s) be located?
• Will there be multiple presenters?
• What are the materials being shown?
  • (PowerPoint, videos, graphics, art, medical images, hardcopy materials, satellite or TV, etc.)
• What types of sources do those materials use?
  • (Laptops, resident room PC, CD/DVD, USB drives, SD cards, network sources, etc.)
• Besides the presenter(s), will any of the participants need to share materials?
• What types of sources will the participants be using?
• How many sources need to be seen simultaneously?
• Besides the above, are there any other audio sources?  (Bluetooth, etc.)
• Depending on room size, will in-room voice reinforcement (“voice-lift”) of the presenter(s) be needed?
• If wireless microphones are requested, a location may be required in order to select an appropriate frequency range.
• Who is actually using the system?
  • (The participants or is there technical assistance?)
• Will there be web-based conferencing with remote participants?
• Will the remote participants need to interact with the in-person participants?
• Is streaming required?

Additional questions:

• Is there a system currently in the space?
• If so, what do you like about the current system?
• What do you dislike about the current system?
• Is there something you wish you could do, but the current system won’t allow it?
• Who are the people involved in the project?
• (Owner, committee, facility manager, IT, end users, etc.)

 Infrastructure issues can include:

• Electrical (circuits and wiring pathways), IT, acoustical, structural, lighting, mechanical (equipment cooling and maximum background noise).

 Very important:

• Has the budget been established for this project?
  • If the budget appears woefully inadequate, it’s possible that the project is not feasible.

There are as many ways to design a system as there are equipment manufacturers. Even two skilled designers sitting next to each other may come up with two different ways to approach the same room. In the end, it’s a collaborative effort between audiovisual designers, end users, Information Technology, management, architects, and other building design professionals, all working together for a successful outcome.

Want to know more?
Attend the 2023 E4Experience in a city near you, and take one or both of Tom’s courses on “Conducting a Needs Analysis” and “Conducting a Proper Site Survey” to earn up to 2 AVIXA CTS RUs.

Did you find this post helpful?
Engage with us over on LinkedIn.

About the Author

Tom Kehr

CTS-D, CTS-I, Network+, LEED Green Associate, ISF-C, ATD Master Trainer

In-House System Designer and Trainer

Supported Applications: System Design