Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532010
I first came across the Shure mic arrays while searching through their website for small boundary mics. What quickly captivated my mind for the next few days was the MXA920 array system. It is primarily designed for corporate conferencing within a larger network of other arrays. But what I saw was a single device that can be mounted on the ceiling, wall, or table, that had eight mic lobes outputting eight isolated channels with an automix function—all through and powered by one Dante cable. Production mixer Ryan Pedersen was kind enough to put us in touch with Jenn Liang-Chaboud at Shure. She talked to us about the form factors of the arrays they had and mentioned that a few other mixers previously had success deploying them on their shows. We ended up with five MXA920's. I was initially intimidated by the amount of programs and hardware available for the device. Eventually, I realized I only needed the Designer 6 software, and that I could process the arrays natively on my computer. Designer 6 has some powerful features in its IntelliMix processing, including auto gain, automix, EQ, noise reduction, echo cancellation, and the ability to connect multiple arrays through the same processor. The eight lobes can be set up for automatic coverage and, while it still sounds very good, it limits the amount of control you have over specific areas in the room you may want to cover. With automix turned on, you get eight channels that can each be EQ'd, muted, gained, and redirected live with a relatively small deployment delay. This meant that we could point the lobes where we expected our man to enter, sit/stand in multiple places in a room, and if he moved somewhere unexpected or if his voice felt slightly out of pattern, we could move the lobe in real time without interfering with the quality of the track. We were able to run/process natively five of these arrays on a computer while recording the 45 associated audio tracks (eight isos and one automix track for each) onto a Sound Devices PIX 270. " " Shure MXA920 Ceiling Arrays used in five different locations.