ADAAG Manual

Public Address Systems and Microphones

ALSs can be integrated with public address systems or operated separately. Recommendations: Both systems can share sound sources (microphones, mixers, tape players, VCRs) but not all microphones of a public address system work well with ALSs. Also, it is highly recommended that the ALS signal processor and amplifier be separate from the public address system unit in order to maintain independent equalization and volume control and to prevent distortion and feedback. No matter what system is used, selection of microphones is critical. For achieving the best sound quality, microphones (including wireless and lavaliere) should:

• limit background noise (noise-suppressing directional types, such as those with cardioid or hyper-cardioid patterns are best)

• provide the highest gain signal (consider battery-powered or "phantom" powered condenser microphones)

• accommodate speech over all frequencies (use wide frequency response microphones and avoid foam wind screens since they can filter out high frequencies)

• be used with an automatic mixer (which activates microphones as they are spoken into) where multiple microphones are used

For best results, participants should be sure to use microphones and speak one at a time, talk close to microphones "across" the top (which improves transmission of consonant sounds), and use their regular volume level, allowing the system to do the work.