Shure Lays Its Cards on Table … and Ceiling with Microflex Advance

Microflex Advance portfolio includes networked ceiling and table array microphones, audio interfaces and control software for enhanced AV conferencing.

Shure is clearly focusing on conference spaces with its Microflex Advance line, which it unveiled at ISE 2016.

The series includes networked ceiling and table array microphones, audio interfaces and control software for enhanced AV conferencing, according to Shure.

“Microflex Advance is unique because it combines the deep roots of expertise Shure has demonstrated in both the acoustic and digital signal processing domains,” says Rob Klegon, associate manager, global product management at Shure.

“However, in building this system we knew we had to go beyond pure technical innovation to meet the needs of today’s corporate environments. As a result, each feature of Microflex Advance is engineered to provide best-in-class performance, from the acoustics and digital signal processing, to the usability and aesthetic design.”

The Microflex Advanced microphones come in two options: table array and ceiling array. Shure’s Stephen Kohler says clients repeatedly asked if conference room mics can be “invisible.” So Shure came up with a way to do that.

The table array mics are sleek in design and light up with LED colors to show which speaker the mic is picking up on at the time. The ceiling array microphones can be disguised as ceiling tiles or hung easily several inches below the ceiling, in a similar place a ceiling projector might be. Both mic options are controlled through Intellimix system software through a web-based GUI, are Dante-enabled and feature echo reduction.

A new mode called “toroid” enables both microphones to pick up only the sound that is around the mic horizontally and nothing above or below that zone (see Shure’s release below for more on this).

With communications systems becoming so critical in meeting spaces, audio can be an afterthought. Shure says its Microflex Advance portfolio solves a need for pristine speech intelligibility.

Watch Shure’s Stephen Kohler discuss the risks of audio becoming an afterthought in integrated communications systems:

More from Shure’s press release:

With the ability to flush-mount the Microflex Advance Ceiling Array alongside standard ceiling tiles, and the innovative new-to-the-world “toroid” polar pattern in the Microflex Advance Table Array, Microflex Advance microphones offer a dynamic package of technologies to ensure a best-in-class audio experience. Microflex Advance also presents an enhanced evolution of the Company’s industry-leading IntelliMix® Digital Signal Processing Suite, including Steerable Coverage™ technology, enabling incredibly accurate control of audio capture in any location of a meeting space. Lastly, Microflex Advance Array Microphones use the Dante™ Audio Networking protocol, with all control, audio, and power signals carried through a single standard Ethernet cable connection …

The Microflex Advance Ceiling Array is a premium networked array microphone that captures best-in-class audio from above the meeting space with Shure proprietary Steerable Coverage technology, enabling up to eight lobes that are configurable in three dimensions. Designed for A/V conferencing environments—from boardrooms to huddle rooms and multi-purpose spaces—the Microflex Advance Ceiling Array microphone can be flush-mounted in any standard ceiling tile grid. In addition, the Ceiling Array can also be installed below the ceiling with standard VESA-D and wire hanging mounts.

The Microflex Advance Table Array captures high-quality audio and provides flexibility in varying A/V conferencing environments. Within the onboard IntelliMix DSP Suite, the Company’s proprietary Steerable Coverage technology deploys up to four discrete audio channels around a table and uses an innovative new “toroid” ring-shaped pattern to reject unwanted artifacts from overhead such as HVAC or projector fans. Programmable capacitive-touch mute switches ensure simple user operation with the ability to customize LED color and shape to indicate microphone status.

Offering easy and efficient analog to digital/digital to analog conversion, the four Shure Audio Network Interfaces provide seamless audio routing in and out of the Dante networked audio domain. Available in standard XLR (mic/line) and block (mic/line) connector versions that include LED and Mute switch pins for logic-enabled analog microphones. All Audio Network Interfaces include a single Ethernet port for easy Dante Audio routing and a browser-based software for control of connectivity and monitoring.

All Microflex Advance hardware offerings feature built-in control software, providing an intuitive interface to simplify the process of adjusting microphone attributes—such as configuration of presets, templates, and polar patterns. Microflex Advance products also integrate easily with third party controllers such as Crestron and AMX.

Shure

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