Conferencing & Collaboration, Business of AV

Improved Zoom Room call Quality In Noisy Open-Office Space

Engineered Sound Wireless Case Study

Sep 22, 2023

Audio-Technica

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Project Snapshot

Industry: Automotive Import/Export

Location: Singapore

Client: Toyota Tsusho Singapore

Project: Upgrade the audio capabilities of open-office meeting spaces to isolate sound during Zoom Room meetings conducted over interactive whiteboards.

Project participants: Audio-Technica, Ideal Systems Pte. Ltd., Toyota Tsusho Singapore

Solution: Audio-Technica Engineered Sound® Wireless (ES) Wireless

The Client

A subsidiary of a global trading company

As the Singapore subsidiary of the Toyota Tsusho Group, the client is engaged in import, export and business development in a range of segments, including automotive, metals, chemical and polymer, and food and agribusiness. The company needed to improve the audio technology in a large (and noisy) open-office space to make small discussion areas feasible within the space.

Toyota Tsusho Group Singapore Office

The Challenge

Open floor plan with eight discussion areas makes Zoom calls challenging

The open-office space, roughly 40 m x 30 m, is divided into eight discussion areas, each with a table and chairs set before a MAXHUB V6 Classic Series interactive display/whiteboard that the client uses to conduct Zoom Room meetings with off-site colleagues. In addition, there is a central café-like island in the space where a barista makes coffee for the staff, who might lounge and chat at surrounding tables. Because there are no walls or partitions in the space, conversation and other noise travels freely.

During Zoom Room meetings, that noise would often get picked up by the interactive display’s built-in microphone, leading to confusion for off-site colleagues on the call who would hear various lines of conversation – those of meeting participants and those from other discussion areas.

So, the client went back to Ideal Systems, the audiovisual company that had introduced them to the MAXHUB displays, to see if they had any ideas for curtailing the pickup of extraneous ambient noise.

The Solution

Audio-Technica Engineered Sound® (ES) Wireless

The client had been relying on the microphone built into each interactive display to capture the voices of meeting participants and relay that sound to off-site colleagues. While this might have sufficed in walled-off meeting rooms, in the client’s open setting the microphones were prone to picking up all manner of noise, making meetings difficult for remote participants to follow.

Ideal Systems determined that a wireless system with highly directional microphones would solve the client’s problem. These microphones would pick up only the voices of meeting participants, preventing other room noise from feeding into Zoom Rooms. Of course, the wireless system would also need to work well with the client’s MAXHUB displays. Ideal Systems proposed the Audio-Technica Engineered Sound® (ES) Wireless System with hypercardioid gooseneck microphones attached to desk stand transmitters.

Engineered Sound® Wireless System Integrated Into MAXHUB Display

Since expanding its video broadcast business to include an audiovisual department seven years ago, Ideal Systems has increasingly come to rely on Audio-Technica microphones in its projects. So, they were confident that the new ES Wireless System would provide the client with the high-performance, easy-to-use audio solution they were seeking.

Toyota Tsusho Discussion Area

Toyota Tsusho Group Singapore Office

The Installation

The Engineered Sound Wireless System installation included the following components:

System Receiver
- ESW-R4180DAN 8-Channel Receiver
Qty: 1

Table Microphones
- ESW-T4107 Desk Stand Transmitters incorporating ES925 with MicroLine® elements
Quantity: 8

Transmitter Charging Stations
ESW-CHG5 Four-Bay Charging Station for desk stand transmitters
Qty: 2

Other Components
MAXHUB Displays
Dante™ AVIO USB Adapter

Engineered Sound® Wireless System

The Technologies

A DECT wireless system

ES Wireless is a compact system with components that are easy to set up, use and store after a meeting. Initially contracted to install systems for three of the client’s eight discussion areas, Ideal Systems found that the installation went quite smoothly, requiring just over half an hour to install the equipment in each area and an additional 20 minutes to configure each system.

Due to the open floor plan, ceiling or wall installation was not an option; components had to be fixed to their assigned MAXHUB display. Ideal Systems used cable ties to fasten the bracket of the lightweight 9" x 9" ESW-R4180DAN 8-channel receiver to the back of the display, thus avoiding the need to drill into the display’s frame. The rack on the display’s rolling cart provided ample space to hold a power strip, the small NETGEAR GS308E network switch, and the Audio-Technica ESW-CHG5 four-bay charging station used to recharge the system’s transmitters. A single Cat 5e cable routed the receiver’s Dante output to the network switch, and another connected the switch to the MAXHUB display with the aid of an Audinate Dante AVIO USB adaptor. Once the system was up and running, the display would automatically detect the AVIO soundcard and send the ES Wireless audio into Zoom Rooms.

Two of the discussion areas were given four desk stand transmitters, each equipped with a 6" hypercardioid gooseneck microphone. (The third discussion area was set up with eight transmitters.) The narrow pickup angle of the hypercardioid capsule greatly reduces the amount of extraneous conversation and room noise that is picked up, ensuring that only the speaker’s voice is piped into the Zoom call. The transmitter’s touch-sensitive talk switch, configured to toggle between on and off, provides additional protection against unwanted noise by allowing participants to turn on their microphone only when needed and keep it muted the rest of the time. Setting the gain low for each mic further reduces noise. The transmitters are also easy to pass around the table, allowing each discussion area to accommodate groups larger than four.

With approximately 17 hours of battery life, the transmitters can be reliably used throughout the day. At closing time, staff easily and neatly store the transmitters in the four-bay charging station on the display cart, where they will recharge fully in approximately two hours.

Each discussion area was configured during installation using the Audio-Technica Wireless Manager software on a laptop connected to the network switch. Since the DECT Wireless system features automatic frequency coordination, Ideal Systems didn’t need to scan for available frequencies nor worry about one discussion area interfering with another. The client can access Wireless Manager to make changes if desired, but they really shouldn’t need to – once configured by Ideal Systems (approximately a 20-minute process), the ES Wireless system should perform as the client wishes.

Important features that influenced Ideal Systems’ technology choice for this project include:

Ability to merge audio into a single Dante output
Hypercardioid microphones with clear, natural-sounding audio quality (no DSP or AEC required)
Touch-sensitive talk switch to toggle transmitter on/off
Small components that don’t need to be rack-mounted
Long battery life and convenient charging station
PoE: Requires only a single power strip and small network switch

The Impact

Clearer communication with off-site colleagues

Members of the various discussion groups are now able to conduct much more comfortable and productive Zoom Room meetings. Remote colleagues appreciate the improved sound quality, and no longer struggle to follow conversations.

The room’s new solution:

Provides focused audio for Zoom Room meetings
Greatly reduces ambient sound pickup
Merges all audio into a single Dante output
Is easy to use
Is powered by a small network switch
Is wireless so users can easily move and store transmitters
Has more than enough battery life
Offers quick, convenient recharging
Connects to MAXHUB display’s USB port
Sends audio automatically to Zoom Rooms
Requires no DSP or AEC
Saves space – no rack mounting required
Requires no adjustments after initial configuration

Users need very little training to operate the system. The transmitters are easy to turn on and off, and the touch-sensitive talk switch is intuitive to use.

Ideal Systems Sales Manager Adrian Tan praised the ES Wireless solution for providing “a good videoconferencing system with interactive whiteboards and good wireless audio mics, [resulting in] well-communicated meetings over Zoom Rooms.” The new, reliable audio clarity also saves the client money, Tan noted, by “not requiring overseas partners to make additional flights to Singapore or for Singapore staff to fly overseas.”

Toyota Tsusho has plans to equip the room’s remaining five discussion areas with ES Wireless in the near future.

If muddy, unfocused audio is a problem in your meeting areas, check out Audio-Technica's ES Wireless.

Audio-Technica

With a rich history of delivering exceptional audio experiences, Audio-Technica is a trusted leader in the professional AV industry. From wired microphones to advanced wireless systems, we offer a comprehensive portfolio of solutions that meet the unique needs of professionals in every audio application. Experience the Audio-Technica difference at audio-technica.com