Built on a legacy that spans more than 35 years, Florida International Banking Association (FIBA) is a non-profit trade association and international center for financial excellence. The Florida-based, and globally connected, organization’s membership includes the largest financial institutions from Europe, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.
When FIBA was looking to add a video conferencing room to their Miami headquarters, they turned to Casaplex to design and install the system. The room was to serve as a forum for video teleconferencing, local presentations, streamed trainings and recorded trainings. Among the chief requirements for the room was accurate intelligibility, in addition to an aesthetically pleasing, ceiling-mounted microphone.
Earthworks IM6-W in-ceiling microphone.
“Using as few mics as possible to cover a large area, as well as rejecting most steady state noise and other frequencies outside the range of human voice [were the main challenges],” says Mark Templeton, Technical Operations Manager at Casaplex.
With those challenges and client requirements in mind, Templeton selected the Earthworks IM6-W microphone for the install. The main reasons behind the IM6-W selection were superior intelligibility coupled with unmatched coverage area.
The two IM6-W microphones are directly connected to a DSP with VoIP capability, which can also be passed through a custom built local PC for transmission of audio to the far end of video conference calls. A wireless microphone and receiver combo coupled with an instructor headset mic are available for live and recorded trainings for local sound reinforcement. Also included in this system is an array of ceiling speakers powered by a 2 channel amplifier. For local voicelift, two zones of audio were utilized so that the audience farthest away from the presenter in the rear of the room can hear clearly. The video system consists of several sources (wireless & hardwired connectivity and local PC) that feed into a Crestron DigitalMedia Matrix Switcher. Everything is routed out to 4K video scalers to produce the best image for all displays. Three Planar displays, one at 98 inches flanked by two 84 inch screens, allow for interactive touchscreen presentation.
Having used Earthworks microphones for conference and boardroom applications for several years, Templeton explains his experience with the microphones. “They just simply work, and do so better than any other ceiling mics we’ve encountered,” says Templeton. “The biggest difference is the pickup pattern and coverage area. This allows for less microphones and less complication, which brings about a more audio friendly environment. Not to mention improved aesthetics.”
Templeton notes that the client was greatly impressed with the sound quality and pickup range from just two microphones in the ceiling. “The Earthworks IM6-W microphone has the most rich-sounding quality of any product we have used. We are extremely satisfied with how much sound it picks up in our 1,300 square foot conference room.”
If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!
Leave a Reply