Audio-Technica has introduced the ATND1061 Beamforming Ceiling Array Microphone, designed for conference rooms, boardrooms and meeting spaces. Designed in a familiar form factor (roughly the size of a wireless access point), the ATND1061 may be used singly or in multiples to capture every person speaking in a room with clear audio that reduces distracting environmental sounds.

Room configuration, zone setup and other settings are handled through A-T’s Digital Microphone Manager software application. The ATND1061 has six individual output channels which can be configured with up to 32 user-defined microphone pickup zones. Across all the output channels, the microphone’s 90-degree orthogonal beams are capable of focusing on a particular point in space, preventing the pickup of unwanted noise.

The ATND1061’s proprietary voice activity detection (VAD) technology enables the microphone to discern between a voice and unwanted noises. For installations without external digital signal processing (DSP), the ATND1061 features powerful onboard DSP, including automix, acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), noise reduction, automatic gain control (AGC) and four-band EQ. Exclusion zones can be set to avoid known sources of unwanted noise, helping to maximize the effectiveness of the built-in noise-reduction and automatic-mixing functions.

User-defined “Coverage Zones” and “Priority Zones” allow complete custom room coverage and optimized signal flow. Output Channel 1 can be configured with 16 user-defined Coverage Zones. The beam will track and keep the microphone focused on the speaker’s voice, minimizing any room noise. Only one of the 16 Coverage Zones can be open at a time with the microphone automatically selecting the zone with the strongest signal identified as speech. Output Channels 2–6 can be configured with 16 user-defined Priority Zones which receive priority over Coverage Zones. A maximum of five Priority Zones can be open at a time.

An IR remote is also included to allow users to quickly mute the microphone when a muting function is not available in the room configuration. The IR Remote can also be used to recall presets or toggle the Power Save Mode on and off.

The ATND1061 can be flush- or surface-mounted in a drop ceiling or hard ceiling, or mounted in open architecture spaces via a standard VESA mount. The unit’s low-reflective white finish matches standard ceiling tiles in most environments. The ATND1061 is UL 2043 compliant for installation in plenum spaces. All mounts, safety wiring, mounting hardware and accessories are included.

The Dante-enabled ATND1061DAN has two network ports, which can be configured to fit any installation requirement. In “Single Cable Mode,” Dante audio and microphone control data are sent together over a single standard category cable. In “Split Mode,” Dante audio and microphone control data are sent separately over two category cables. The ATND1061 is powered by network PoE. Plug-ins are available for popular control systems.