Partnership for the meeting experience of tomorrow: Bose and Sennheiser

Bose and Sennheiser launch product bundle for meetings

Imagine the following scenario: It’s 8:00 a.m. and you are sitting in one of your company’s nice, bright meeting rooms, waiting for your colleagues over a cup of coffee. Five minutes before the meeting starts, all the colleagues who are attending the meeting on site have gathered in the room. Since external participants are also expected, you want to start the video conference. Unfortunately, the screen only shows a black background and there is a big mess of cables on the table. What are your first thoughts in this moment? Trouble, rush, stress? It takes time until the IT expert arrives, and the problem can be solved. Valuable time in which you and the team could have worked productively. But that’s not all. When the meeting can finally start 20 minutes later, there are repeated dropouts and delays in the voice transmission of external participants, which leads to confusion and repeated questions. At this point at the latest, you and probably 80% of the meeting participants have mentally switched off.

Everyone has experienced this situation more than once. The fact that the equipment in a meeting room has a significant effect on the performance of the participants is repeatedly proven (find some numbers in this article of envoy.com). It is mainly about the furniture used in the room, the colors, lighting conditions and the technology installed. As audio specialists, we know how crucial – and sometimes underestimated – the technical set-up is for increased productivity and effectiveness in meetings.

Technology in meetings: an underestimated factor

But meetings are all connecting people and enabling them to work together towards a common goal, a common vision. In our highly connected world, it’s part of the agenda to have business partners and colleagues from other cities, different countries or from home at a meeting. Particularly in meetings with externally connected participants via services such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, the technical equipment contributes significantly to the success or failure of the collaboration. It is of enormous importance that all parties can always understand each other clearly and without delay. However, it is not just a matter of providing a range of technology and tools. Ideally, the solutions should also be intuitive and easy to use for the end user, while being reduced to the essentials. A table, for example, which is often covered with microphones and cables, creates visual distraction and can have an extremely negative effect on the concentration of the participants. On the one hand, the start of the meeting can be delayed unnecessarily due to a complicated set-up and opaque combination of audio devices that are not fully compatible with each other. On the other hand, participants are simply distracted from their work by the mess on the table.

Our vision is to create the conditions with our products and solutions that make meetings a place where people connect and unfold together their creativity, productivity and visions. That’s why we’ve worked with audio manufacturer Bose to create a complete package that fulfils this vision. The result of this inspiring collaboration is a Microsoft Teams certified meeting solution consisting of three Bose products (EdgeMax EM180 ceiling speakers, PowerSpace P2600A amplifier, ControlSpace EX-440C DSP) and a Sennheiser product (TeamConnect Ceiling 2 ceiling microphone), together called the “ES1 Ceiling Audio Solution”. Best of all, the entire ES1 Ceiling Audio Solution bundle has been certified for Microsoft Teams. That means: easier setup, better compatibility, and – most important – less headaches.

As good as face-to-face communication thanks to the “ES1 Ceiling Audio Solution” from Bose and Sennheiser

The requirements for technical solutions, which are necessary for successful collaboration, can be likened with the requirements for interpersonal communication. First and foremost, communication is about hearing and being heard – both acoustically and in terms of content. The individual components of the new “ES1 Ceiling Audio Solution” support this natural process during meetings and ensure that communication with external participants feels as real as possible to a face-to-face conversation.

The four components in detail:

Comparable to our ears in a direct conversation, the plug-and-play ceiling microphone TeamConnect Ceiling 2 listens to exactly the right talker throughout the entire conference room – thanks to its patented, automatic beamforming technology. From table to whiteboard, you can move around the room completely freely and always be sure that your word is heard. Thanks to the simple ceiling installation, this microphone solution keeps the table free and concentration high. ES1 is Microsoft Teams certificatied which means that is 100% compatible with your in-room communications platform and provides uncompromised audio quality.

After listening what has been said in the meeting, the sound must be processed in the head of the conversation partner. On a technical level, this part is handled by Bose’s ControlSpace EX-440C DSP and it’s 8-channel routable Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), which processes the audio and passes it onto the network via Dante. In addition to the Dante connections, the EX-440C offers are other flexible options such as Analog In and Out, VoIP, PSTN, USB and Bose AmpLink digital output.

Now the far-end participant has understood your question and wants to give an answer. On a biological level, phonetic development in human begins at the vocal cords. A reliable and high-quality audio reproduction is essential for a consistent exchange of information. Bose provides the PowerSpace P2600A amplifier with 600 watts per channel and a near-zero latency digital audio connection from the EX-440C using a CAT5-based Amplink, connection for precise audio replication to the loudspeaker.

In a face to face conversation, the answer is received while facing the direction of the respondent. This completes the very simplified process of interpersonal communication. Our technical package is completed by Bose’s visually unobtrusive but technically outstanding EdgeMax EM180 ceiling speakers. The EdgeMax in-ceiling speakers are designed to be installed in the front of the meeting room, above the projection screen or display. This ensures natural sound reproduction from the direction of the remote participants during remote video meetings to maintain the natural sight-sound connection that eases communication.

Let us also work together: We provide you with the ideal meeting solution and you can concentrate fully on your work. That is our vision of perfect cooperation.

The ES1 Ceiling Audio Solutions Bundle is available through selected distribution partners.

Stronger together: Find out about current partnerships with other strong companies here.

About Bose

For more than 45 years, Bose Corporation’s professional audio division as developed innovative loudspeakers, electronics and software to meet the needs of demanding professional audio applications.

Their products are sold only through authorized pro-audio dealers, AV-system integrators and distributors. Bose provides substantial support for their distribution network, including product technical information, system design support and after-sale support. Bose sound is found throughout the world in performing arts centers, theaters, houses of worship, stadiums, restaurants, retail stores, corporate buildings and hospitality establishments.