LAVs, Handhelds, & Headsets

Choosing the Right Microphones for Your Panel Discussion

Sound reinforcement systems for speaking events are the most common type of systems we work with. And the most challenging part of these kinds of events is that they often involve panels, which require a line of people to be greatly amplified from (sometimes nervously low) conversational volume. This can be done in three ways:

  1. LAV/lapel/clip-on/shirt/jacket mics

  2. Headset or earset mics

  3. Handheld mics

  4. Table and/or push-to-talk mics

LAV microphones are the small clip-on blobs that you commonly see on event panelists, TV show hosts, interviewees, and more. They are chosen because they look neat and leave speakers' hands free to hold notes or wave around, however they are notoriously low-gain-before-feedback and, due to the distance they naturally are from the speakers' mouths, not as clear sounding compared to almost all other options. To work with LAVs, we set up the PA such that you have the highest gain-before-feedback to start with, and then our engineers pull out all the stops - system tuning, 'ringing out' the system during setup, gating, channel EQ, automixing, and more to ensure the LAVs work well. If you're in a reverberant room, we typically recommend against using LAVs, as they naturally pick up more room noise. If you're using several LAVs, you will almost always need a secondary audio engineer (A2) to help swap mics on presenters, and also a non-rushed setup to ensure we have time to set the system up for them properly.

Headset or earset mics offer a good middle ground between LAV mics and handhelds. They get the mic far closer to the speaker's mouth than a LAV, providing greater gain-before-feedback and superior sound quality. They also keep your hands free like LAVs. They often do not need nearly as much processing or ringing-out as LAVs do to avoid feedback. The only cons to headset or earset mics are that they take slightly longer to put on, and we like to wipe them down with a sanitizing cloth after each use as a courtesy. You'll definitely need an A2 for headset mics, but they are easy to set up and perform better in reverberant rooms compared to LAVs.

Handheld mics are the second-most common type of microphone used for panel discussions. They are simple: Pick them up from the chair or table, hold the stick up to your mouth and talk into it. When you're done, leave it where you found it for the next panel. That's it! They sound great, do not need as much setup time as LAVs or headsets, and everyone knows how to use them. People enjoy being able to quickly look away from the mic to cough or sip their water without making a bunch of noise in the PA. There is no downtime between panels getting people set up with a microphone, so they usually don't need a dedicated engineer to wrangle them the whole show. Also, if you want to have monitor wedges pointing at the speakers so they can hear themselves better, you'll basically always want to use handhelds because they have directional pickups, unlike most LAVs or headset mics which would quickly feedback with the monitors. This is why, when possible, we usually recommend using handheld microphones over other options due to their better sound quality, higher gain-before-feedback, superior panelist experience, and almost-zero transition hassle.

Table mics can manifest in two forms:

  • Handheld mics on short stands

  • Specialized push-to-talk gooseneck mics

If you go with a handheld mic on a short stand, they perform exactly as we discussed above but mounted on a stand instead of being held in a hand. It is also easy to slip them on and off of the stand if the panelist wants to do so.

If you choose push-to-talk gooseneck mics, we enter a slightly different territory. These mics are similar to the performance of handhelds, except the power of muting and unmuting is transferred from the audio engineer to the panelist on stage. This means less work for the engineer, since there will be fewer open microphones to cause feedback at any given moment, and they don't have to keep many mics open or predict who is going to talk next. Instead, the panelists push a button on the microphone's stand to turn it on, and again to turn it off. This system works very well, however it's helpful to chat for a minute with the presenters ahead of the event to make them aware that they must unmute themselves to talk. Regardless, sometimes humans forget, causing distracting periods of lacking sound reinforcement and audience members shouting "mic!" more than with other microphone types.

Hopefully this article has helped you decide which kind of microphone will work best for your panel discussion. If you need more help figuring out sound for your event, check out our main article, Live Sound Reinforcement Explained, or get in touch with us with any questions.

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