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Will The Meeting Come To Order?

 

                       

The Enersound CS-300 Push-to-Talk conference microphone system is the ideal choice for panel discussions and meetings.

James Nolan, Interpreting Consultant and Trainer, 2 April 2014, 5 PM.

Have your meetings ever been disrupted by distracting noise, awkward silences and embarrassing interruptions caused by technical breakdowns or poor sound equipment?  A successful meeting free of miscommunication depends on participants hearing each other clearly. In a sizable group the participants’ voices need to be amplified and audibility depends on using the right microphones.  Push-to-talk (PTT) table microphones distribute audible speech at adequate volume to all participants around a meeting table wherever they are seated, allowing them to modulate their voices naturally to express nuances and emphasis rather than having to constantly raise their voices merely in order to be heard. In addition, a PTT system enables the needed microphones to be easily activated at the touch of a button while the unneeded microphones remain muted to minimize background noise and acoustic feedback.  A ringlight indicates to participants which microphone is active.

And what about those two people at your meetings who always chime in eagerly at the same time on the same issues, or those other two who always disagree and even interrupt each other?  In either case, the result can be the shrill cacophony of two microphones going live at the same time. We all know that in everyday conversation as well as at meetings the rule of civility is for people to speak one at a time.  However, in the midst of an animated discussion presenters will sometimes start talking at the same time and generate confusion, making it necessary for the meeting moderator to call them to order. Such interruptions can chill the participants’ enthusiasm and spontaneity.  Using the PTT system, with the participants controlling their own microphones, they will naturally be inclined to speak in turn, which is conducive to a more orderly discussion and a smoother flow of ideas. Through the control unit, the system can be set to limit the maximum number of microphones that can be active at the same time from 1 to 4.

The Enersound CS-300 conference microphone system is equipped with a high-quality ECM capsule, intelligent automatic mixing technology and integrated acoustic and mechanical design, delivering consistently natural, feedback-free audio performance in any environment. It is a cost-effective solution to your sound system and voice amplification needs.  It includes everything needed for a panel discussion or meeting.  Each microphone unit has a built-in speaker so that for small meetings you can do without additional loudspeakers or a public address system. For larger meetings, this PTT system has a line output to connect it to a PA system. The CS-300 can be used for company boardroom meetings, panel discussions, government offices, local councils, breakout or committee rooms, press centers, courtrooms, hotel conference rooms, training and educational venues, etc.  The system typically consists of a control unit for every 50 microphones; an optional chairman microphone unit; as many delegate microphones as participants; and appropriate cables depending on the room layout (U-shape, classroom setting, several small tables, etc.).  Up to 150 microphones can be connected together in “daisy-chain” fashion with the 2-meter cables attached to each mic base by using up to 3 control units. The daisy-chain configuration makes set-up simple, easy and fast. The control unit channels the signals from all the microphones, eliminating the need of a multi-channel mixer and an operator to control the various microphones. Consequently, there is only one cable in the system that interconnects all the microphones. This makes set-up easier and cleaner, eliminating unnecessary cables that may cause noise, failures and visual clutter.

A priority button on the chairman unit and different settings on the control unit ensure trouble-free sessions by enabling the chairperson to control the flow of the meeting and promote interactive discussions among attendees.  The microphone system can be integrated with a simultaneous interpretation system for meetings conducted in more than one language.

The innovative Enersound CS-300 system

Mr. Reuben Elias, Computer Services Specialist with the Norris Cancer Comprehensive Center at the University of Southern California, rates as “excellent” the sound quality that the CS-300 Conference Microphone system delivers at the Center’s executive board meetings, accommodating up to 30 participants with 14 microphones.  Mr. Elias finds the control unit user-friendly and was pleased with the plug-and-play simplicity of the system’s setup from the moment it was taken out of the box, as well as the exceptionally reliable and helpful follow-up customer service he has received from Enersound. Enersound, for its part, is proud to be of service to the Norris Center, which over the years of its history has made many important scientific advances.

The CS-300 system is also in use at the Atlanta office of the Environmental Protection Agency, where Information Technology Specialist Dylan Mitchell concisely sums up his office’s experience using the system with an enthusiastic “We love it!  We’ve used it at a conference as well and loved it.” Mr. Mitchell reports that attendees are pleased with the sound quality and the control unit is easy for the chairperson to handle.  Compared with the wireless microphone system his office had used before, Dylan finds that the CS-300 push-to-talk system performs better: “I can let 50 people talk!” he exclaims.   And it is also more cost-effective.

     The DU-300 Delegate Microphone Unit