STILLWATER, OK – Court hearings should, of course, be heard. But it took multiple audio installation attempts at the Payne County Courthouse in Oklahoma before Judge Donald L. Worthington and the courthouse administration gave a thumbs-up verdict. Aspen Custom Electronics used AKG gear, including a WMS450 wireless body pack, a DMM 4/2/2 Audio Mixer and two GN30 Goosenecks.
Aspen's project manager, Matt Hall, noted the courthouse's acoustic anomalies. Built in 1917, it was designed to provide optimal voice projection without the use of a PA system, so even the smallest sounds reverberate throughout the room. Much of the front, he added, is covered in marble. Witnesses, whose voices are often low and withdrawn, can turn up to 180 degrees while on the stand, looking from judge to jury.
It was evident to Hall that the audio system needed to be clear and focused. After reviewing the layout of the courthouse, Aspen Custom Electronics decided on a GN15 Gooseneck at the judges desk, one GN30 Gooseneck at the attorney's lectern and one at the witness stand, a WMS450 wireless body pack at the attorney's lectern and a DMM 4/2/2 Audio Mixer for the whole courthouse. Each mic – for the judge, attorney and witness – uses a ST45 stand and a CK80 Mic Module.
"Unlike entertainment installs, people's lives hang in the balance in a courtroom installation," Hall said. "As a result, our systems need to be powerfully accurate and clear, and with AKG, we get everything we are looking for and more."
The witness stand microphone, which was the biggest problem before the installation, now delivers clear, intelligible sound no matter which direction they are looking, and the judge and court reporter can now hear just about anything that is said. In addition to the AKG components, the system features a dbx AFS224 processor and a Crown 180A amplifier.
"AKG has a wide range of products, and because of that, we were able to choose the right microphone for the right applications," Hall noted. "Their products are very affordable as well, which made them easy to recommend to our customer. The pick-up patterns and the variety of shotgun capsules gave us a lot of microphone options, the DMM 4/2/2 is a perfect fit for the application we had in the courtroom, setup was easy and the product worked exactly as we had anticipated."
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