I recently attended a lecture at a local institution and found myself struggling to hear the speaker. As an audio enthusiast, my attention quickly shifted from the lecture itself to analyzing the room’s audio system. I started asking myself: What’s the pattern of these speakers? Am I sitting in an area affected by comb filtering?
Unfortunately, my focus on the content was completely lost due to the difficulty in hearing clearly. After the event, I asked a few attendees about their experience—some agreed the audio was poor, while others said it “sounded great.” This inconsistency led me to a clear conclusion: the audio system was not designed to provide equal coverage throughout the space.
That moment made me reflect on how often I’ve visited other institutions and noticed similar audio issues. It reminded me of a text I once received from our university president:
“I am at an event hosted by Congressman Rogers. The sound is TERRIBLE!! Sound makes or breaks an event. Thank you and your team for always making things so great. I appreciate you!!”
That event, too, was held at another higher ed institution. So I began asking myself: Why do so many schools have bad audio systems?
Through my experience in higher ed AV, I’ve encountered many professionals who originally came from the IT world and were later tasked with managing AV. While they may have strong technical skills, many haven’t had the opportunity to truly learn how to design and test an audio system for proper coverage and clarity. Compounding the issue, many smaller institutions rely on outside integrators to handle audio design—yet some of these vendors lack real-world experience in higher ed environments.
Because of this, I’ve always made it a priority to invest more of my budget in high-quality, properly deployed sound systems. When questioned about the expense, I often use this example:
If you’re on a video call and the screen freezes, do you stop the meeting? No—you likely continue because you can still hear the conversation. But what happens when the audio cuts out? Instantly, everyone says, ‘Hold on, we can’t hear you!’
What good is a PowerPoint on a screen if you can’t hear what the instructor is saying?
Many critical aspects of audio design are often overlooked. Some designers assume a one-size-fits-all approach for speaker placement and power amplifier selection. They fail to account for acoustic reflections caused by large glass windows or neglect to measure ambient noise levels from HVAC systems. Others don’t consider speaker sensitivity or properly match amplifiers to speakers.
How many professionals in our field truly understand the differences in microphone pickup patterns? How many are designing large lecture halls with distributed audio but failing to implement multi-zone configurations with proper delay settings?
I hope this column encourages others to rethink their approach to audio system design and address some of the lingering questions many in higher ed AV have. After all, great sound isn’t just a luxury—it’s essential to effective communication and learning.