Stow, OH (January 27, 2022)—Audio-Technica has unveiled its new ATND1061 Beamforming Ceiling Array Microphone, intended for use in conference rooms, boardrooms and meeting spaces. Roughly the size of a wireless access point, the ATND1061 can be used singly or in multiples (for larger meeting spaces) to capture people spread around the room.
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, collectively, can be configured with up to 32 user-defined microphone pickup zones, making the ATND1061 appropriate for use in a variety of room sizes and meeting types. Across all the output channels, the microphone’s 90-degree orthogonal beams can focus on a particular point in space.
The ATND1061’s proprietary voice activity detection (VAD) technology reportedly enables the microphone to discern between a voice and unwanted noises such as paper shuffling. For installations without external digital signal processing (DSP), the ATND1061 features 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, such as HVAC systems.
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User-defined “Coverage Zones” and “Priority Zones” allow customized room coverage and optimized signal flow. Output Channel 1 can be configured with 16 user-defined Coverage Zones, within which a meeting participant may be seated or move about while speaking. The beam will track and keep the microphone focused on the speaker’s voice. 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. Coverage Zones pick up either nonpriority or unplanned participants. 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, with each open zone selecting the strongest signal identified as speech.
An IR remote is also included to allow users to 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. UL 2043-compliant, the Dante-enabled ATND1061DAN has two network ports; in “Single Cable Mode,” Dante audio and microphone control data are sent together over a single standard category cable, while in “Split Mode,” Dante audio and microphone control data are sent separately over two category cables. The ATND1061 is powered by network PoE.
