Louder is not
clearer.
The most common sentence after a speech that did not work is "nobody could understand a word" — and almost never was the system too quiet. Intelligibility comes from sound arriving from the right direction, at a similar level across the room, without being ground down by reflections. An oversized system makes that worse, not better. So we ask about the room first, and about what will be said or played — and only then about the number of guests.
Speech and music are two different jobs
A system that carries a band is often unsuitable for a speech — and the other way round. Music tolerates and needs low end; speech turns muddy because of it. At events that have both — that is, almost all of them — we do not solve this with a compromise, but with separate settings you switch between. That costs no extra equipment, only some preparation.
Why two speakers at the front are often the wrong answer
Left and right of the stage is the arrangement everybody knows. It works as long as the room is not much deeper than it is wide. Make it longer and the front is too loud before the back is loud enough — and the people in the front row leave early. In long halls and marquees we therefore add speakers further back, timed so the sound still appears to come from the front.
Feedback is not fate
That whistle happens when a microphone hears what comes out of the system. The main remedy is placement: microphones do not belong in front of the speakers, and a lapel mic close to the mouth needs less gain than a stand mic a metre away. The rest is setup work before the event — not panic during it.
Outdoors, different rules apply
In the open there is nothing to reflect the sound: whatever does not reach the guest directly is lost. At the same time it carries further than you would like — and the neighbours are listening too. For outdoor events we therefore establish early which conditions apply, and until what time. A system that has to go quiet at ten is planned differently from one that runs until two.
- ▸Compact systems for speeches, receptions and smaller celebrations
- ▸Multi-way systems and line arrays for concerts and large areas
- ▸Subwoofers on a separate control — on for music, off for speeches
- ▸Radio microphones: handheld, lapel and headset, frequencies coordinated
- ▸Digital mixing desks, with settings prepared in advance if you like
- ▸Stage monitors, in-ear where it makes sense
- ▸Playback inputs for DJ, laptop and music from a phone
Every setup is cut to the venue, the guest count and the running order — this list is a starting point, not a packing list.
What we get asked most often.
The question misleads — what matters is the area and the room, not the head count. 150 guests in a vaulted cellar need something different from 150 guests in a marquee. Give us length, width and whether it is indoors or out, and the answer becomes reliable.
Common, and usually fine. We then supply what he does not carry — often microphones for speeches, sound for side rooms, or a system big enough for the hall. We coordinate with him beforehand.
From around fifty guests in a reverberant room: yes. Below that, the main sign of a difference is that nobody has to ask someone to repeat themselves. It is the least conspicuous way to make an event better.
That depends too much on the individual case for a number here to still be true when you read it. Put your setup together in the configurator and send it over; we answer the same day or the next.
Tell us about
your event.
Send us the basics — you get an honest assessment and a quote shortly afterwards. No obligation, and nobody chases you about it afterwards.
We usually reply within 24 hours.