Open Forum

Our museum has a fairly large lecture hall (can seat several hundred people) and I am looking for a portable PA system that we could use for occasional lectures and other public programs. It would mostly be used to amplify one or two speakers at a time (the accoustics in our lecture hall are good and most speakers who can project are fine, but soft-spoken people can be harder to hear).  

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Passport-Conference-PA-System/dp/B00J4VTD04/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1476710152&sr=1-6&keywords=portable+pa+system. 

Does anyone's institution use something similar and would you recommend what you use? I'm interested to hear what kind of system you have and what it cost. We are hoping to spend under $1,000 for something that is easy to set up before a lecture and put away when not in use. 

If you are going to invest in something, i recommend it being great quality. While Fender is ok, I would be nervous about the longevity of the system. We purchased a Yamaha set (which includes two 10" speakers, mixer, cords and speaker stands) as well as a Shure wireless microphone. See below for links, hope this helps!

Yamaha STAGEPAS 600I Portable PA System with 2 On Stage Classic Speaker Stands and Hosa 10 Ft XLR Female To XLR Male Cable

Shure BLX24/PG58 Wireless Vocal System with PG58 Handheld Microphone, H8

Our museum has a fairly large lecture hall (can seat several hundred people) and I am looking for a portable PA system that we could use for occasional lectures and other public programs. It would mostly be used to amplify one or two speakers at a time (the accoustics in our lecture hall are good and most speakers who can project are fine, but soft-spoken people can be harder to hear).  

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Passport-Conference-PA-System/dp/B00J4VTD04/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1476710152&sr=1-6&keywords=portable+pa+system. 

Does anyone's institution use something similar and would you recommend what you use? I'm interested to hear what kind of system you have and what it cost. We are hoping to spend under $1,000 for something that is easy to set up before a lecture and put away when not in use. 

Our museum has a fairly large lecture hall (can seat several hundred people) and I am looking for a portable PA system that we could use for occasional lectures and other public programs. It would mostly be used to amplify one or two speakers at a time (the accoustics in our lecture hall are good and most speakers who can project are fine, but soft-spoken people can be harder to hear).  

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Passport-Conference-PA-System/dp/B00J4VTD04/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1476710152&sr=1-6&keywords=portable+pa+system. 

Does anyone's institution use something similar and would you recommend what you use? I'm interested to hear what kind of system you have and what it cost. We are hoping to spend under $1,000 for something that is easy to set up before a lecture and put away when not in use. 

Shure has an excellent track record for microphones, and they make a number of them that are reasonably priced.  You may want to consider a wireless lavalier microphone (the tiny clip-on type).  I've struggled through many a presentation where the speaker kept unconsciously moving the microphone off-axis, (especially as their hand/arm fatigues) causing their speech to become momentarily inaudiable until they moved their hand back into proper position.  This can also become an issue with a microphone mounted in a fixed position (as with a podium), as the speaker will often turn their head to address the audience naturally, or to answer a question, and when they do so, they're off-axis again.  Some microphones are less directionally sensitive than others, but with a lavalier located on the lapel or near the shirt collar, it's "set it and forget it" and volume will remain consistent.  (Be sure that the batteries are at full charge!) 



       Michael

Our museum has a fairly large lecture hall (can seat several hundred people) and I am looking for a portable PA system that we could use for occasional lectures and other public programs. It would mostly be used to amplify one or two speakers at a time (the accoustics in our lecture hall are good and most speakers who can project are fine, but soft-spoken people can be harder to hear).  

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Passport-Conference-PA-System/dp/B00J4VTD04/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1476710152&sr=1-6&keywords=portable+pa+system. 

Does anyone's institution use something similar and would you recommend what you use? I'm interested to hear what kind of system you have and what it cost. We are hoping to spend under $1,000 for something that is easy to set up before a lecture and put away when not in use. 

Our museum has a fairly large lecture hall (can seat several hundred people) and I am looking for a portable PA system that we could use for occasional lectures and other public programs. It would mostly be used to amplify one or two speakers at a time (the accoustics in our lecture hall are good and most speakers who can project are fine, but soft-spoken people can be harder to hear).  

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Passport-Conference-PA-System/dp/B00J4VTD04/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1476710152&sr=1-6&keywords=portable+pa+system. 

Does anyone's institution use something similar and would you recommend what you use? I'm interested to hear what kind of system you have and what it cost. We are hoping to spend under $1,000 for something that is easy to set up before a lecture and put away when not in use.