Meeting Room Audio (Part 1): Why it matters more than video & how to fix it
When people think about meeting room technology, they often focus on cameras and video quality. But in practice, poor audio causes far more frustration than poor video. Most participants can tolerate a slightly blurry image; they struggle to collaborate when they can't hear clearly, experience echoes, or have to keep asking people to repeat themselves.
The goal of any meeting room audio system is simple: every participant should be heard clearly and every remote voice should sound natural in the room. Achieving that outcome comes down to solving three common problems and selecting the right microphones, speakers, and audio processing.
Three audio problems that ruin meetings
Almost every meeting room audio complaint can be traced back to one of these issues.
1. Echo
Echo occurs when remote participants hear their own voice coming back a fraction of a second later. It's distracting, makes conversation difficult, and can quickly derail a meeting. The most common cause is missing or poorly configured Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC). When room microphones pick up sound from room speakers and send it back into the meeting, a feedback loop is created.
2. Poor Voice Pickup
One person sounds clear while another is barely audible. Participants sitting at the far end of the table disappear from the conversation, forcing remote attendees to constantly ask for clarification. This usually happens when microphones don't provide adequate room coverage or are positioned too far away from participants.
3. Background Noise
Air-conditioning systems, hallway conversations, keyboard clicks, and paper shuffling can all make meetings difficult for remote participants. Human hearing naturally filters out some background noise, but microphones capture everything unless supported by effective noise suppression and suitable room acoustics.
Choosing the Right Microphone
The microphone is the most important component in the room. If people cannot be heard clearly, the quality of the camera becomes irrelevant.
Built-In Video Bar Microphones
Most modern video bars include integrated microphone arrays. In small meeting spaces, these are often all you need.
Best for: Huddle rooms and meeting rooms with up to eight participants.
Limitation: As rooms grow larger, participants further from the video bar become harder to hear.
Table Microphones
Table microphone pods extend pickup coverage and are commonly used in medium-sized rooms. Products such as Logitech Rally Mic Pods, Yealink CPW65, and Poly table microphones can be linked together to cover longer tables.
Best for: Rooms with 8–14 participants.
Best practice: Position microphones evenly along the centre of the table and keep them away from noisy equipment such as projectors, laptop fans, or air vents.
Limitation: They introduce visible hardware and cabling, and can be moved or disconnected when furniture is rearranged.
Ceiling Beamforming Microphones
For larger rooms, ceiling microphone arrays are often the preferred solution. These systems use multiple microphone elements and digital signal processing to focus on active speakers while reducing unwanted background noise.
Popular solutions include the Shure MXA920, Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2, Biamp Parlé series, ClearOne BMA 360, and Yealink CM50.
Best for: Boardrooms, training rooms, and spaces with more than 14 seats.
Advantages:
No equipment on the table
Consistent coverage across the room
Greater flexibility when furniture layouts change
Improved aesthetics
Limitation: Higher installation cost and more complex system design.
Boundary Microphones
Boundary microphones are low-profile microphones mounted on or within a table surface. While less common today, they remain useful in council chambers, courtrooms, and other formal meeting environments.
Speaker design matters too
Audio quality is not just about what remote participants hear. In-room participants also need clear and evenly distributed sound.
Built-In Video Bar Speakers
For small rooms, integrated speakers generally provide sufficient performance and can simplify system design.
Soundbars
A dedicated soundbar can improve clarity and volume in medium-sized spaces without requiring a full audio installation.
Ceiling Speakers
In larger rooms, ceiling speakers provide the most consistent listening experience by distributing sound evenly throughout the space.
When using ceiling speakers, they should be integrated through appropriate audio processing rather than connected directly to conferencing devices. This ensures proper audio management and helps prevent echo problems.
General placement guidelines:
Ensure every seat is within range of a speaker.
Avoid positioning speakers directly above microphones.
Coordinate speaker and microphone coverage for optimal performance.
Acoustic echo cancellation: the hidden essential
AEC is one of the most important technologies in modern meeting rooms. Its job is to remove speaker audio from microphone signals before it is transmitted to remote participants.
Without effective AEC, users will experience immediate echo issues.
Three simple rules apply:
Every microphone-to-speaker audio path requires echo cancellation.
Only one device should manage AEC for a specific audio path.
Good room acoustics improve AEC performance significantly.
Common mistakes include adding external speakers without appropriate processing, connecting laptops independently of the room system, or using consumer-grade Bluetooth speakers designed for personal rather than professional use.
What about the room itself?
Read how the design and furnishings of can affect the rooms acoustics.
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Think you’re ready to test the audio after installation?
Look at the checklistto ensure all the bases are covered.
Need Help With Meeting Room Audio?
The best meeting room audio systems are often invisible to users. People simply walk in, start talking, and everyone hears each other clearly. Achieving that experience requires matching microphone technology to room size, distributing audio effectively, and ensuring proper echo cancellation throughout the system. Get those fundamentals right, and your meetings will be far more productive—regardless of which video platform you use.
Book a free room assessment. UComm will evaluate your room audio and show you what needs to change.