Audio-Technica has announced the introduction of the ATND1061 Beamforming Ceiling Array microphone for conference rooms, boardrooms and meeting spaces of all sizes that can be used singly or in multiples (for larger meeting spaces) to capture the people speaking with clear audio that helps reduce distracting environmental sounds.
Room configuration, zone setup and other settings are handled through A-T’s Digital Microphone Manager software application. The ATND1061 has six individual output channels, which, collectively, can be configured with up to 32 user-defined microphone pickup zones, providing the ability to cover a variety of room sizes and meeting types. Across all the output channels, the microphone’s 90-degree orthogonal beams are capable of focusing on a particular point in space to help preventing the pickup of unwanted noise.
The ATND1061’s proprietary voice activity detection (VAD) technology is designed to enable the microphone to discern between a voice and unwanted noises such as paper shuffling. For installations without external digital signal processing (DSP), the ATND1061 has onboard DSP, including automix, acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), noise reduction, automatic gain control (AGC) and four-band EQ. Exclusion zones can be set to avoid known sources of unwanted noise (such as HVAC systems), helping to maximize the effectiveness of the built-in noise-reduction and automatic-mixing functions.
User defined “Coverage Zones” and “Priority Zones” allow custom room coverage and more optimized signal flow. Output Channel 1 can be configured with 16 user-defined Coverage Zones, within which a meeting participant may be seated or move about while speaking. The beam will track and keep the microphone focused on the speaker’s voice, minimizing any room noise. Only one of the 16 Coverage Zones can be open at a time with the microphone automatically selecting the zone with the strongest signal identified as speech. Coverage Zones can be helpful in picking up either nonpriority or unplanned participants.
Output Channels 2–6 can be configured with 16 user-defined Priority Zones which receive priority over Coverage Zones. A maximum of five Priority Zones can be open at a time, with each open zone selecting the strongest signal identified as speech. Priority Zones can be helpful in providing priority for a room’s known participant locations.
An IR remote is also included to allow users to quickly mute the microphone when a muting function is not available in the room configuration. The IR Remote can also be used to recall presets or toggle the Power Save Mode on and off.
The ATND1061 can be flush- or surface-mounted in a drop ceiling or hard ceiling, or mounted in open architecture spaces via a standard VESA mount. The unit’s low-reflective white finish matches standard ceiling tiles in most environments. The ATND1061 is UL 2043 compliant for installation in plenum spaces. All mounts, safety wiring, mounting hardware, and accessories are included.
The Dante-enabled ATND1061DAN has two network ports that can be configured to fit specific installation requirements. In “Single Cable Mode,” Dante audio and microphone control data are sent together over a single standard category cable. In “Split Mode,” Dante audio and microphone control data are sent separately over two category cables. The ATND1061 is powered by network PoE.
Plugins are available for popular control systems. Notably, through a strategic partnership with QSC, the ATND1061 is compatible with the Q-SYS audio, video and control platform.
“Q-SYS was built on an open, software-based platform giving users the unique ability to quickly and easily integrate third-party solutions with Q-SYS to help enhance audio, video & control capabilities required in high-value spaces such as meeting rooms, boardrooms and executive spaces,” says Geno Zaharie, principal alliances & ecosystem, QSC. “It’s a pleasure to collaborate with Audio-Technica to not only enhance and extend the capabilities through our ecosystem partners, but also help integrators minimize installation complexity and costs.”
