Microphone and Speaker Placement

The placement of microphones and speakers is critical

in determining the quality of an audio call. The location
of the microphone should be directly related to the type
used and as close to equal distance from all participants
as possible. As discussed previously, different
microphones pick up audio in different patterns, so
special emphasis should be placed on how each
microphone should be positioned based on the polar
pattern. Equal to the importance of microphone
placement, speaker placement is also essential.
A microphones’ polar pattern is the pattern in which a
microphone picks up sounds. An omni-directional
microphone’s polar pattern is nearly spherical. Omnidirectional
microphones can be found on desktops or
hanging from ceilings. The placement of this
microphone should be in the middle, or directly above
the middle, of the participants so that no participants
are outside the sphere of where the microphone can
pick up sound. A directional microphone, of which the
cardioid microphone is the most common, is typically
used as a desktop microphone. It has a polar pattern
that could be described as kidney shaped, with a dead
zone behind the microphone. Therefore, cardioid
microphone should be placed at the end of a table, with
the dead zone directed away from where participants are
positioned. When positioning both directional and
omni-directional microphones in environments where
multiple microphones are being used, there should be
an overlap of the polar patterns. Figure 4-7 illustrates
the positioning of these two types of microphones in
meeting rooms.
Figure 4-7 Microphone Placement in Meeting
Rooms
Where speakers are placed within a meeting room could
also impact the quality of audio. Many audio-only and
video endpoints have the speakers built into the system.
Video endpoints may use a third-party display with
built-in speakers for the endpoint. In these cases, the
placement of the speakers is less of a concern. Audio
only speaker-phones are generally places in the center
of a table, and that is ideal. Video endpoints that use
speakers built into the endpoint itself, or the speaks
built into a display will be positioned at the front of a
room, which is the superlative location for video calling.
The speakers are behind and out of range from the
microphones, which will prevent feedback. Also, in a
video call the sound is coming from the direction that
the far end participants are seen. This will provide a
more natural flow of sound. If someone where sitting in
front of you speaking, you wouldn’t expect to hear their
words coming from behind or above you. If external
speakers where set up around the room, the audience
would be looking at the person speaking in front of
them but hear the speaker from perhaps their right or
left side, or behind them. This could be offsetting.
Likewise, you would not ever want to set up surround
sound for a meeting room because of the same
unnatural result. The one exception to this would be in a
large theater style setting. Due to the size, additional
speakers should be put on the sides, but still face out
from the speaker. This helps to keep the listening
participants orientation forward while achieving the
volume level needed for the entire group to hear the
speaker clearly. In some custom meeting room
integration, the room will be designed with ceilingmounted
speakers each participant chair in the room.
Although this is not the ideal positioning of speakers
within a room, for larger meeting room settings this
does distribute the audio more evenly throughout the
room.
Cisco has a website that provides a lot of room design
ideas. There are pictures to help you visualize what the
room will look like, and you can click through various
customization options to change the room based on
endpoint selection, participant capacity and general
purpose of the room. You can even open up a schematic
of the room to scale that will illustrate a twodimensional
drawing of the room layout with
measurements and total room layout, which can be sent
to an architect for official blueprint design. Check out
this website at htps://projectworkplace.cisco.com.
Figure 4-8 illustrates one of the schematic drawings
available on Cisco’s project workplace website.
Figure 4-8 Project Workplace Meeting Room
Design
Room Design for Noise Reduction
You learned about sound behavior in the beginning of
the chapter. Understanding that sound behavior can
help identify external noises that can ruin a call, and it
can help identify appropriate measure to take so that
ideal conditions are met for premium audio quality
within a meeting room. A great deal of emphasis has
been placed on technical components that help improve
sound quality. Such components include using
appropriate microphone, speakers, and cables. Using
balanced audio cables instead of unbalances, and proper
placement of microphones and speakers within the
room. Beyond these technical measures there are many
other steps that can be taken to improve audio quality if
you understand the behavior of sound.
It is important to take steps to eliminate as much
external noise as possible. First, the location of the
meeting room is very important. This may not always be
within your control, but when designing a new room, or
preparing for a build-out of an office space, there are
some key aspects you should look for in the meeting
room location. When possible, select a location that is as
Quiet as possible. Usually this will be an interior room,
with no windows, and away from a main walkway. The
less foot traffic that exists outside the room, the less
chance of unwanted noise from the office interfering
with a call. Locating the room on the interior of the
building will keep it away from windows where noise
from outside the building can interfere, such as from a
siren, car horn or airplane. Special consideration should
be given to the size of the room as well. The larger and
more open the room, the more likely that sounds will
tend to echo and become distracting. If this room is
being custom built, then other consideration can be
included, such as insulating the walls and providing a
solid door without sidelights, which are windows in the
sides of the door.
Most often, customizing the previous aspects of a room
are not possible; however, there are several other
modifications that can be made to a meeting room to
improve the sound quality:
If there are windows in the room, hanging curtains
will help reduce outside noise.
Replacing ceiling tile with tiles higher rated for
noise reduction with provide a noticeable change,
along with acoustical panels that can be hung on
the walls.
There are padded place mats that can be used on
conference tables that will help remove some of
the echo in a room.
The floors should always be carpeted, but if they’re
not then placing area rugs will also help with echo
and reverberation.
Believe it or not, placing a plant or two in a meeting
room not only livens the place up, but it will help
with the sound quality too. Plus, plants love it
when you talk to them, so they should be happy in
a room built for talking.
Knowledge is power is time is money. Or, if you watch
the TV sitcom “Parks and Recreation”, then “time is
money, money is power, power is pizza, and pizza is
knowledge.” Either way, you cannot dispute the
importance of knowledge. When it comes to soundproofing
a room, educating the staff in the office is an
essential step. Congregating outside the meeting room
should be discouraged. The door should be closed when
the room is in use to help quiet external sounds.
Notifying others that a meeting is in progress will help
keep people mindful of what is happening around them.
If the meeting room is in a location were external
sounds cannot be eliminated, then educating staff to
mute the microphone unless speaking will help prevent
distractions. Not all calls are from a quiet meeting room
with a door. If using a software endpoint or a phone that
supports headphones, the use of headphones and a
small microphone can help reduce the external sounds.