Sound designed
for your space.

Professional audio integration for speech, music, and meetings

XL AV designs and installs complete audio signal paths, from microphones and playback sources through mixing, digital signal processing, amplification, and loudspeakers. We plan for the audience area, presentation positions, room acoustics, and the people who will operate the system.

A boardroom needs intelligible conversation for people in the room and participants joining remotely. A worship space may need speech, live music, stage monitoring, and a separate streaming mix. A gymnasium needs announcements across seating and playing areas while accommodating reflective surfaces and changing crowd noise. These requirements determine the equipment and configuration.

Clear audio starts with coverage and room acoustics

Clear speech depends on useful sound reaching listeners above background noise without excessive reverberation. We select loudspeaker locations, coverage angles, and output capacity to suit the seating layout. A distributed ceiling system, controlled-coverage column, or directional performance loudspeaker serves different room requirements. Increasing volume alone can add reflected sound and reduce listening comfort.

We review room dimensions, ceiling height, glass and other reflective surfaces, ventilation noise, and microphone positions. Where reverberation limits intelligibility, acoustic treatment or changes to loudspeaker placement may be needed. We identify those requirements during design so the project scope addresses the room as well as the equipment.

DSP programming and audio routing

A digital signal processor, or DSP, provides the routing and processing needed by an installed audio system. XL AV configures input and output levels, equalization, high-pass filters, loudspeaker crossovers, delay, and limiting as the design requires. Routing can deliver different sources and levels to a main room, overflow area, lobby, recording feed, or meeting platform.

For speech systems with several microphones, automatic mixing can reduce the contribution of unused microphones and background noise. Compressors can manage level variation, while properly configured limiters help control maximum output within the loudspeaker and amplifier requirements. Processing capacity, input and output counts, conferencing functions, and expansion needs are checked before a processor is selected.

We configure user controls for source selection, volume, mute, and room presets. Staff can recall the approved operating modes while access to commissioning settings is managed separately. Divisible rooms can use linked or independent audio routing when partition status and room control are included in the scope.

Room tuning with DSP equalization and delay

Commissioning includes listening and measurements at representative audience positions. We check loudspeaker polarity, levels, frequency response, and timing before adjusting DSP filters. Parametric equalization allows specific frequency ranges to be reduced or adjusted, with the filter width and amount selected from the measured response and listening checks.

Where a system uses front loudspeakers, delayed fills, or subwoofers, we adjust timing and crossover settings so those components work together in their intended coverage areas. Measurements across several positions help avoid tuning the entire system for a single seat. Settings are checked with speech and program material relevant to the room.

Equalization can improve tonal balance and reduce selected response peaks. It cannot remove long reverberation, eliminate high background noise, or correct every cancellation caused by reflections. Those conditions may require acoustic treatment, revised loudspeaker aiming, or changes to the layout. The tuning approach is based on the installed system and the room conditions.

Feedback mitigation and microphone selection

Feedback occurs when sound from a loudspeaker returns to an open microphone and is repeatedly amplified. We address the acoustic path through microphone type, pickup pattern, placement, loudspeaker aiming, and operating levels. Keeping a microphone close to the talker and limiting unnecessary open microphones can improve the usable level before feedback begins.

Handheld, headset, lapel, lectern, and ceiling microphones have different placement and operating requirements. A presenter who walks through the room needs a different design from a seated panel or fixed lectern. We check expected presenter positions and any stage monitors as part of commissioning, then set operating presets and explain microphone technique during training.

Targeted equalization and feedback suppression can help manage problem frequencies where appropriate. These tools have limits and cannot guarantee feedback-free operation at every microphone position or volume setting. The design must provide sufficient acoustic separation and suitable coverage for the intended use.

Conferencing, acoustic echo cancellation, and streaming

For hybrid meetings, acoustic echo cancellation, or AEC, reduces the remote participant audio that local microphones pick up from room loudspeakers. We configure the processor reference signal, microphone channels, routing, and levels so the remote participants receive the intended conversation. Local feedback mitigation and conferencing echo cancellation require different settings.

We plan the connection to the meeting computer or room conferencing system, including USB audio where required. Testing includes incoming audio, outgoing microphone audio, simultaneous conversation, mute behaviour, and content playback. Noise reduction is selected and adjusted where supported, with room noise and microphone placement still considered during design.

Recording and streaming may need a separate mix from the house loudspeakers. We configure feeds so remote listeners receive the necessary microphones and playback sources without relying on the sound already produced by instruments or performers in the room. Where video processing introduces latency, audio timing is checked for lip synchronization.

Wireless microphones and networked audio

Wireless microphone design includes the number of simultaneous channels, available spectrum, antenna locations, coverage area, and battery workflow. We coordinate frequencies for the selected equipment and location, check reception in expected operating areas, and account for other wireless systems where information is available.

Dante and other network audio platforms can connect microphones, consoles, DSP, amplifiers, and recording equipment over a planned network. We coordinate switch configuration, clocking, channel subscriptions, latency, addressing, and any required redundancy with IT. Compatibility and network requirements are checked for the specific devices rather than assuming that every Ethernet connection carries the same audio format.

Commissioning, documentation, and operator training

We test the installed signal paths, gain structure, routing, presets, control functions, and microphone operating positions against the agreed design. Coverage and intelligibility measurements can be included where the project specifies them. Performance targets and acceptance checks should be defined before installation.

Handoff can include equipment lists, input and output labels, signal-flow drawings, configuration backups, and operating instructions according to the project scope. Training covers starting the system, selecting sources, using microphones, recalling presets, and recognizing common problems. Support requirements and future changes are discussed with the system design.

Information for an audio consultation

Send the room dimensions or drawings, seating capacity and layout, intended activities, and a list of existing equipment. Include the number of presenters or performers, any wireless microphones, recording or conferencing requirements, and whether staff or an audio operator will run events.

Tell us about current problems such as uneven coverage, feedback, echo on calls, unclear announcements, or difficult controls. Project timing, budget range, IT requirements, and access restrictions help us define a suitable design and installation scope.