Amplification equipment for a teacher - any recommendations?

[kaphc]

I'm working with a teacher who is having voice problems and wants to look at the possibility of having a voice amplification system in her classroom to save her having to raise her voice. I'm fully in agreement with this as she's got health issues and we need to get the situation sorted for her where possible.

 

I've worked with Soundfield systems before where 4 speakers are placed around the room to amplify sound to a consistent level for children who are hard of hearing. This is a slightly different situation, as there are no known hearing issues amongst any of the children in school. We need something that will amplify the teachers' voice. I'm considering everything from a portable PA system with a wireless mic to something inbuilt into the classroom at this stage.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations that they use for equipemnt to help similar situations?

 

Thanks

Edited April 30, 2014 by elsiegee40

[Kingstech]

Is it going to be a solution that is always going to be there or is it temporary?

 

 

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[mjs_mjs]

Have you looked at reducing any other noise in the classroom - projectors ect, as removing sound from the environment will also help, and it will benefit everyone.

 

If they are only going to need it for grabbing a noisy classes attention then maybe a whistle might be another different solution.

[dhicks]

I'm considering everything from a portable PA system with a wireless mic to something inbuilt into the classroom at this stage.

 

I had a quick demo from Lightspeed at BETT in January (no, not the same as the filtering appliance people, just the same name):

 

https://www.lightspeed-tek.com/

 

They do sound-field speakers, like the ones you've used before. They seemed to work very well from the demo I heard at BETT. If the teacher just wants a PA system for her voice, we bought one of these:

 

Trojan iPA800 Portable PA System at Studiospares

 

At £120 it's worth giving a try before you buy anything more expensive, they are very handy devices to have around. For a wireless mic, we are getting on okay with our cheap headset mics:

 

Chord QU4-N UHF Quad Wireless Neckband DJ Band Vocal Radio Mic System | eBay

 

We have the four-channel set as above, but they individual recceivers with headset mics are available too.

[andy_b]

In the past we have had success with some of these: FrontRow ToGo | FrontRow

 

But I suspect they are a little on the pricey side.

[plexer]

We had redcat access ones and whilst they didn't get used that was because no-one really needed them the sound they produce is good.

 

Ben

[3s-gtech]

We have a little PA mixer/amp with a pair of hard mounted passive speakers. We then bought an Samson Airline Micro wireless microphone after trying several alternatives. Awesome piece of kit - fully rechargeable so no batteries to change, and ultra portable. Pricey but worth it.

[jmak]

I had a quick demo from Lightspeed at BETT in January (no, not the same as the filtering appliance people, just the same name):

 

https://www.lightspeed-tek.com/

 

They do sound-field speakers, like the ones you've used before. They seemed to work very well from the demo I heard at BETT. .

 

We had a demo unit brought to school after I heard a demo at BETT. They showed me how to set it up and then left it with us for a month. I was really impressed and given the performance, I thought the price was reasonable. However the teacher who most needed it (had recurrent laryngitis and doctor told her that she was fine to be at work as long as she didn't use her voice!) didn't get on with it. The microphone we had was worn like a pendant and she was always uncomfortable wearing it. Definitely worth a call to try and get a demo unit.

[TLARWise]

If its just to boost her voice to the same level as other teachers how about something compact like this - H25 - ADASTRA - PORTABLE PA, 25W, NECKBAND VHF | CPC. It should be loud enough for use in classrooms with the advantage of being able to take it anywhere so she is not restricted to the one room (even outside as it can be battery powered). The wireless mic is also headworn so she can still use both hands while teaching.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Something like this?

 

 

Too Much..?

[kaphc]

Thanks for all the suggestions - that is really helpful! At this stage I am thinking that it needs to be a solution that can be moved around. If it's something that would work outside when the teacher is doing outdoor learning / PE then that would be even better.

 

She has a voice issue and needs to avoid any strain on her voice where possible and I agree that finding a solution which she is comfortable with is key. I will go through these recommendations with her (except maybe the stack of amps lol!) and see what she thinks would be good.