Are ceiling microphones better than table microphones for large boardrooms?
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For boardrooms with 12 or more seats, ceiling microphone arrays typically beat table microphones on aesthetics, coverage and cable management. Table mics still win in a few specific room conditions, but the default choice for modern executive boardrooms is a ceiling array driven by beam-steering DSP.
| Factor | Ceiling array | Table microphones |
|---|---|---|
| Typical hardware | Shure MXA920, Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2, Biamp Parle TCM-X | Shure MXN5W, Sennheiser TCT2 boundary, Audio-Technica ES boundary |
| Coverage model | 1 unit per 6 to 8 person zone | 1 mic per 2 to 3 people |
| Approx installed cost per zone | £4,000 to £6,000 | £1,500 to £2,500, multiplied by zones |
| Aesthetics | Invisible, ceiling-mounted | Visible on the table, cable holes in the surface |
| Cable management | One feed per array | Floor boxes, table grommets, hidden conduit |
| Pickup pattern | Beam-steering, adapts to occupied seats | Fixed pickup near each unit |
| Sensitivity to ceiling height | Up to about 4m works well | Insensitive to ceiling height |
| Sensitivity to HVAC noise | Higher (closer to ceiling diffusers) | Lower (closer to talkers) |
| Reconfigurable furniture | Works regardless of table layout | Needs re-running cables if table changes |
For a typical 20-seat boardroom, two or three ceiling array tiles will cover the room cleanly, with no clutter on a polished veneer table. Major hardware options include the Shure MXA920 (square array, automatic coverage map), Sennheiser TCC2 (round array, dynamic beam steering) and the Biamp Parle TCM-X series (rectangular array, tight integration with Biamp Tesira DSP).
Both approaches need a DSP for acoustic echo cancellation, gain shaping and noise suppression. Q-SYS, Biamp Tesira and ClearOne Converge are the common choices; without DSP, even a premium ceiling array will sound poor on a Teams or Zoom call.
When table microphones win:
- Thick acoustic ceiling tiles that absorb energy before it reaches a ceiling mic
- Very high ceilings (above 4m), where ceiling pickup degrades and table mics keep the talker close
- Heavy HVAC noise close to the ceiling plane, where a ceiling mic sits inside the noise field
- Security-sensitive rooms where ceiling penetrations or wireless RF are restricted
For most boardrooms in modern offices (2.7 to 3.5m ceilings, standard suspended ceiling, modest HVAC noise), the ceiling array gives a cleaner room, lower lifecycle cost and better remote-participant audio.
Quick reference: ceiling arrays (Shure MXA920, Sennheiser TCC2, Biamp Parle) win for 12+ seat boardrooms on aesthetics + coverage; table mics win for >4m ceilings, very absorbent ceilings, heavy HVAC noise or no-penetration policies; both need DSP (Q-SYS, Biamp, ClearOne).
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