Conference and Corporate AV Sound: A Practical Guide

In corporate AV, the goal is not loudness; it is clarity. Speech intelligibility is quantified by metrics such as the Speech Transmission Index (STI) and the Common Intelligibility Scale (CIS). A score of 0.7 or above is considered good; below 0.5, listeners will struggle to understand without visual cues. SSOUNDS engineers design systems that target STI values above 0.75 across the entire listening area, even in challenging acoustics.

The enemies of intelligibility are reverberation, background noise, and poor loudspeaker directivity. Reverberation smears consonants; noise masks sibilants. A distributed system—using many small, well-placed loudspeakers rather than a few large ones—keeps the direct-to-reverberant ratio high. SSOUNDS point-source loudspeakers, with their controlled dispersion patterns, are engineered to deliver consistent coverage without excessive spill onto reflective surfaces. For rooms with high ceilings or glass walls, we recommend aiming loudspeakers to cover seats, not walls.

A distributed loudspeaker system uses multiple enclosures placed close to the listeners, each covering a small zone. This approach minimizes the distance sound travels, reducing the impact of room acoustics and allowing lower overall SPL—which means less fatigue for attendees. SSOUNDS offers a range of compact, high-output point-source loudspeakers ideal for ceiling-mount, wall-mount, or pendant applications.

Key design principles: first, determine the listening plane (typically 1.2 m above the floor for seated audiences). Second, calculate coverage overlap—aim for 100% coverage with minimal gaps, but avoid excessive overlap that creates comb filtering. SSOUNDS engineers use predictive software to model coverage, ensuring that each loudspeaker’s -6 dB beamwidth overlaps neatly with its neighbours. For rectangular rooms, a grid of 4–6 loudspeakers often suffices; for L-shaped or irregular spaces, more zones may be needed.

Wiring topology matters too. A 70V/100V distributed line system is common for corporate AV because it allows long cable runs with minimal loss and easy impedance matching. SSOUNDS amplifiers include built-in DSP with presets for our loudspeakers, simplifying tuning. Always use a separate subwoofer for low-frequency extension if needed—but in conference rooms, a well-designed full-range system often suffices without a sub.

Hybrid events are now the norm, and they introduce a unique challenge: the sound system must serve both in-room and remote audiences simultaneously. The in-room system must be loud enough for local attendees but not so loud that it bleeds into microphones and ruins the remote feed. The remote feed must be clean, with no room echo or feedback.

The solution is a separate mix for remote participants. Use a dedicated mix bus that sends only the direct microphone signals (with gating and EQ) to the codec or streaming platform. The in-room loudspeakers should be placed behind or to the sides of the microphones to minimize pickup. SSOUNDS systems often include a 'nearfield' mode for front-of-house loudspeakers, reducing level at the stage area. Additionally, use acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) on the codec side—but remember that AEC works best when the loudspeaker-to-microphone path is consistent and low-latency.

For the remote audience, ensure the audio stream is full-range and well-balanced. Many corporate systems neglect the low end, making remote voices sound thin. SSOUNDS recommends a flat frequency response from 80 Hz to 12 kHz for speech, with gentle high-pass filtering below 80 Hz to remove rumble. If the room has a subwoofer, do not send the subwoofer signal to the remote mix—it will muddy the audio.

No amount of digital processing can fix a room that is too reverberant or too noisy. Before specifying loudspeakers, assess the room acoustics. For speech, the ideal reverberation time (RT60) is 0.6–0.8 seconds. If the room exceeds 1.0 seconds, consider adding absorption (acoustic panels, carpet, drapes) or diffusion. SSOUNDS engineers often work with acousticians to recommend treatment that complements the loudspeaker placement.

Background noise is equally critical. Measure the noise floor with an SPL meter (A-weighted). If it exceeds NC-30 (about 30 dBA), you may need to isolate HVAC or projector noise. For hybrid events, the noise floor directly affects the remote feed—noise gates can help but will chop off quiet speech. Better to fix the source.

Once the system is installed, tuning is essential. Use a measurement microphone and software (e.g., SMAART or SysTune) to verify coverage and frequency response. For speech, aim for a flat response from 125 Hz to 8 kHz, with a gentle presence boost around 3–5 kHz to improve clarity. SSOUNDS amplifiers include parametric EQ and delay, allowing fine-tuning per zone.

Verify intelligibility with an STI measurement. If the STI is below 0.7, check for excessive reverb or uneven coverage. Sometimes a simple EQ cut at 400 Hz (where speech power is high but clarity is low) can improve STI by several points. Also, test with a live microphone—the system must be stable before the client uses it.

Corporate AV needs change. A boardroom today may become a training room tomorrow. Design the system with flexibility: use DSP that allows reconfiguration, specify loudspeakers with multiple mounting options, and run extra cable pathways. SSOUNDS loudspeakers are designed for easy integration with common control systems (Crestron, Extron, Q-SYS), and our amplifiers support Dante digital audio networking for easy expansion.

For large installations, consider a zoned system where each zone can be independently controlled. This allows the same room to be used for a small meeting (using only the front zone) or a full-house presentation (all zones). With SSOUNDS, you can scale from a single room to a multi-building campus using the same ecosystem.