Articles
RSSThe Verdict Is In: AKG Microphones Are Operating Within Courtroom Boundaries
March 30, 2001
In a testament to the wide-ranging versatility and quality of its technology, an assortment of AKG Acoustics microphones have been installed as part of an extensive renovation of the historic Kanawha County, W.Va., Courthouse. The courtroom's acoustics presented a number of challenges to Jim Tawney, President of Celcom, Inc., a Charleston, W.Va.-based sound reinforcement contracting firm working on the project.
Consultants had emphatically stated that, without acoustical treatment, the room could not be fixed with an electronic sound system. "As principal components, we created a design that included a number of different AKG microphones to accommodate the room's existing acoustics," Tawney explains. "The low profiles of the microphones were a visual necessity and the designs aided in shielding from direct sound."
Because the need for discrete microphone placement was crucial, Tawney opted to use a variety of AKG boundary microphones throughout the courtroom. He installed four of AKG's rugged C547BL microphones at the front of the room for the justices who sit behind a conference-style desk. The witness stand is home to a pair of AKG C400BLs, extremely small boundary microphones that are only visible to the person sitting on the stand itself.
Meanwhile, two AKG C680BL boundary microphones are located on the prosecutor's, defendant's and recorder's tables, respectively. An angry prosecutor can pound on the table all he wants without substantial pickup noise thanks to the C680BL's shockmounted transducer.
Tawney used an AKG D3700 placed on a boom as a roving microphone to provide backup sound reinforcement, if necessary. Two more D3700s are installed on microphone stands, which can be approached by members of the gallery. Finally, Tawney placed two AKG CK33 gooseneck microphones on a portable lectern in the courtroom.
"I've used AKG microphones on a number of church and similar installations in the past," says Tawney, "and I've always been able to achieve excellent results." Tawney goes on to explain that the renovation of the Kanawha County Courthouse was no exception. "The installation has worked out exactly as we anticipated. Even in this highly reverberant 98,000 cubic-foot room, the acoustical arrangement provides clear articulation very good intelligibility."
AKG Acoustics microphones and headphones are manufactured in Vienna, Austria. AKG Acoustics, U.S. markets the full line of AKG Acoustics microphones and headphones for recording, concert, sound reinforcement, commercial sound and broadcast applications. AKG Acoustics, U.S. is part of the Harman International family of companies.
