Portable PA System for Meetings (at Work)

PrazVT

As a side task, my overlords at Cisco have asked me to find a portable PA system (mic / amp / speaker(s)) we can use for meetings w/ 50+ attendees. We recently had a meeting in a long conference room and people at the back had issues hearing. I think currently our dept is using a karaoke machine that isn't cutting it.

I don't know a whole lot about proper PA systems (or reputable brands), so I need a little help here.

Requirements as far as I know (will get more details this afternoon)..

- Simple to set up & portable
- Powerful enough for a large conference room (50 - 100 people)
- wireless mics (the clip on kind perhaps)
- scalable (can add extra mics)

Budget wise - less is more.

Suggestions?

Thanks,

Praz

thetawave2

The Fender Passport gives you two PA's that clip onto a control panel and can be carried as one piece. Compact, easy to use, and portable. Idk about wireless mics or scalability, but it may be worth a look.

Joe08867

What he said^^^^^^^^^ Passport is a nice little PA. They come in a few flavors as well. From the little guy above to 400 watt one.

PrazVT

Okay cool - let me check it out.

audiocr381ve

Not a fan of Bose, but I've used this PA multiple times and even at my wedding. It's phenomenal and so easy to lug around. I've also used the Passport system for years in my rehearsal studio and I'd take the Bose over it any day. This is the lowest in the line, but would be perfect for small meetings.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=658293&Q=&is=REG&A=details

As far as wireless mics go, look into Sennheiser.

PrazVT

Would this one work in a big room? Say much longer than wide. We had a conference room that was literally 2 rooms with a partition removed. So people sitting in the 2nd room were way back.

I'm thinking that speakers that come with stands would be useful. With respect to wireless mics, I see some lavalier (weird **** name) wireless mic sets that come with receivers. It looks like you can plug in the outputs of these (via unbalanced or balanced) into whatever speaker system you want to use.

Example:

Speakers:

Peavy Escort 3000

Mics:

Shure PG188/PG185

Does that look a workable combo?

VR3

The Escort is my favorite system for around 700 bucks...

Plenty of volume, can use up to four channels - back ground music, the works... nice feedback detection well

Coolest thing is everything folds up into the system (stands as well)

Not as a plug but when you guys are ready to get this I can maybe hook you up.... let me know Praz

Jim Shearer

My suggestion is to go down to a local music shop & see what they have.

As a sound tech for a small theater group: if I were in the market, I would be looking at an ElectroVoice powered speaker to combine with an Audio-Technica wireless mic. We use AT wireless mics that cost about $500 each; maybe not the best ever, but they do a good job; ours take a beating from the actors and usually fail due to damage to the UniPak connector on the lavalier getting over-stressed. Replacement lavalier mics run about $100. If you're cheap (like me), you can buy an XLR to UniPak cable, remove the UniPak from the cable, solder it onto the old lavalier & you're good to go for about $22.

Cheers, Jim

PrazVT

Thanks for the suggestions & feedback guys. I'm trying to gauge how cheap these guys want to go, so I suggested the above combination to the guy who's driving this. Once I see his reaction, it'll be easier to gauge what the budget limitation is.

Trey - thanks dude - will definitely hit you up if we decide on something. Are you a dealer or something?