As an AV professional, one of the most common questions we are asked is, "Which Shure microphone is best for my conference room?" Whether you're outfitting a small huddle space or a large boardroom, selecting the right microphone is crucial for ensuring clear, reliable audio. Today, I’m going to break down the best Shure microphones for small, medium, and large conference rooms, so you can make the right choice for your next project.

Small Conference Rooms (up to 8 people)

 1. Small Conference Room Microphones (up to 8 participants)

For small conference rooms, where up to 8 participants typically gather around a table, clarity and focus are key. In these spaces, We will tyipically recommend the Shure MXA310 Microflex Advance Table Array Microphone. We also will recomend the Shure MXA902 especially where a ceiling microphone and speaker are required. We will discuss the MXA902 further in the medium room section.

2. Why chose the MXA310 Table Array MIcrophone?

Shure MXA310 Key Features:

• Steerable Coverage: The MXA310 allows for aiming and exclusion of its coverage to focus on the participants while minimizing background noise. This is especially useful in small rooms where acoustics can sometimes be tricky.
• Toroidal polar pattern in a microphone, which captures sound in a full 360-degree horizontal plane while excluding noise from above and below, such as noise from a ceiling-mounted projector. This pattern is ideal for conference rooms or environments where you need to pick up sound from all directions on a horizontal plane while minimizing interference from overhead sources.
• Compact Design: Its sleek, low-profile design fits perfectly on a small conference table without cluttering the space.
• Dante™ Networking: With Dante™ audio networking, the MXA310 integrates seamlessly into any modern AV setup, ensuring high-quality, reliable audio transmission.

 Pro Tip: All projectors require Maintenance eventually, mitigate this by buying quality, quality bulbs are key. Laser projectors will cost more up front but pay dividends in the Long run as there are no bulbs to replace.

Medium Conference Rooms (up to 24 people)

3. Medium Conference Rooms Microphones (8-24 participants)

For a standard conference room or meeting space around 20x20 or 400 sq. ft. with up to 24 participants we will typically recommend ceiling array microphones either the MXA901 or the MXA902. Both are amazing microphones which allow for directional focus and can be used in tandem for larger spaces. in a larger conference room using multiple microphones can provide exceptional results but it is not always necessary. They can also be used with the table top microphone MXA310 allowing for a combined coverage solution which can be designed to prioritize certain locations such as a lectern or speaker platform.

4. Why chose the MXA901 and MXA902 Advanced Array Ceiling Microphones ?

The MXA901 and MXA902 are advanced array ceiling microphones with Single-Zone Automatic Coverage™ technology. They both capture every participant in a 6x6 foot area right out of the box. There’s nothing to configure, no lobes to aim, nothing to adjust.

Shure MXA901 & MXA902 Key Features:

• On board Intellimix DSP eliminates echo and annoying room noise
• One network cable with POE is all that is needed to install making it one of the simplest solutions available.
• First complete ceiling array audio solution for small to medium sized conference rooms
• Can be used to capture every participant in a 20x20 conference room
• No need for speakers or amplifiers with the built-in loudspeaker
• On board intellimix dsp eliminates echo and annoying room noise
• Overhead so the sound is evenly distributed as everyone is roughly the same distance compared to a soundbar

The MXA902 Microphone + Loudspeaker is an amazing ceiling array microphone solution that is differentiated from the MXA901 by the addition of a loudspeaker providing and amazing all in one celling microphone solution.

This makes the MXA902 more than just a microphone; it’s the first integrated conferencing ceiling array for small and medium-size meeting rooms.

It covers a 20x20 room. Keep in mind if the room is reconfigurable by a partition we will add more MXA902's to each partition of the room simply add more MXA902's this will also require a DSP controller like a core 110 from QSC to allow the microphones to be combined or split based on the room configuration.

One network cable with POE is all that is needed to install making it one of the simplest solutions available.

Both the MXA901 and MXA902 offer advanced array microphone with Single-Zone Automatic Coverage™ technology. It captures every participant in a 20 by 20 foot (6 by 6 meter) area right out of the box. There’s nothing to configure, no lobes to aim, nothing to adjust.

Pro tip: In any meeting Video can buffer but audio quality provided by a microphone like the MXA901 and MXA902 provide consistent exceptionally high quality audio and can be the glue that holds meetings together.  Ceiling array microphones work much the same as a traditional soundbar however it is overhead so unlike a soundbar the attendees that are in the back of the room will sound as good as the ones closest to the screen and soundbar. .In a 40x40 or larger room we often will install 2 or more MXA902's to provide complete room coverage and directional sound processing allowing the focus to be set and elimination of unwanted sounds like an air conditioner or unwanted hallway noises.

Large Conference Rooms (over 20 people)

5. Large Conference Rooms and All-Hands meeting spaces typically require a combination of microphones including Ceiling Array and Wireless Microphones.

The main challenge to a large conference, training, or all-hands room is volume. Capturing everyone in the many locations poses a challenge for any microphone. By utilizing various ceiling array, table array and wirelss microphones through a properly tuned DSP system an even volume can be achieved. The MXA910 & MXA920 ceiling array microphones provide advanced beamforming technology that can capture any location and exclude unwanted noise.

6. Why Chose the Shure MXA910 & MXA920 Microflex Advance Ceiling Array Microphone?

Description: The MXA910 & MXA920 are ceiling-mounted array microphone designed for medium-sized conference rooms. It uses advanced beamforming technology to capture voices clearly from various locations in the room, making it ideal for rooms where participants may be spread out.

7. Shure MXA910 & MXA920 Key Features:

• The MXA910 & MXA920 utilize Shure's Steerable Coverage with Autofocus technology:
• It has 8 highly directional pickup lobes that can capture audio from overhead.
• The patent-pending Autofocus technology continually fine-tunes the position of each lobe in real-time, adjusting as participants move or change posture.
• Why It's Best: The ceiling-mounted design keeps the table clear of equipment, while the beamforming technology ensures that all voices are captured clearly without the need for multiple microphones.

Pro tip: The MXA910 & MXA920 are an amazing microphonse but even the best microphone cannot compensate for a bad room design. Room accoustics is priority number 1 and not amount of processing can fix bad room design. A great DSP controller we like the Biamp is our preffered way to manage multiple microphones in larger rooms. In this type of an install we find it beneficial to turn off all the microphone processing and rely on the DSP processor to handle the heavy work.

The Shure Microphone Array Systems have provided amazing sound quality regardless of the size or configuration of many conference rooms.