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Did you know that the first step of a successful event or presentation is setting up your sound system? If you have ever been to an event where the speaker had no microphone, then you know what I am talking about.

In this blog post, we will go over how to set up a speaker system for your next event so that everyone can hear and understand everything being said on stage. This way, there won’t be any awkward moments of fumbling around with wires and speakers behind the podium while people wait impatiently for you to finish hooking it all up! 

Now that’s funny!

Determining The Type Of Event You’re Hosting And How Many People Will Be In Attendance

The size of the room you will be hosting your event in also plays a huge factor in choosing the right speaker system.

A small meeting with only a few people? No need for anything too complicated or extravagant. An auditorium full of people, however? You’ll want to make sure that everyone can hear and understand what is being said on stage so we would recommend using multiple speakers and microphones.

Quick Tip: If you’re not sure about how much power your speakers need, try doing some research online and check out purchasing websites such as Amazon.com because they usually have tutorials pertaining specifically to your situation which can come in very handy!

Setting Up Your Speakers​

Single speaker

If you just have one speaker and no microphone, you can simply plug the wire into your laptop or audio output device and set the speaker up on a stand.

Two speakers

If you have two speakers and no microphone, then place one speaker behind the podium and get a 3.5mm cable for each speaker. Then plug the end of the cable into your laptop or audio output device.

Next, get an XLR to 1/4″ mono cable and take the connector that comes with it and connect it to the other end of the first speaker’s cable. This will allow you to split up both cables’ connectors so that you can attach a second cable to your second speaker. Do this by simply connecting another 1/4″ mono connector from either end from both cables if needed to fit your needs.

At this point, if you have a microphone that is plugged in with a single 5-pin XLR connector, then take that 5-pin connector to the input of your first speaker.

This is done by taking an XLR to 1/4″ mono cable and connecting both ends into the microphone’s output and then one end into the input of your first speaker.

Then do this again with the second speaker and second XLR output if you need it for a microphone.

Multiple speakers

Multiple speakers can be daisy-chained together to ensure that everyone in the room is able to hear what’s being said on stage.

How to connect multiple speakers together:

– Connect the first speaker to the second speaker using a single RCA cable. Just line up the colours on both ends of the cable and push together until you hear it click into place.

If your speakers aren’t colour-coordinated, then don’t worry about it! You can mix and match just as long as they’re not left and right speakers.

– The next step is to connect both cables (the one coming from the first speaker and the one coming from the second speaker) together using another single RCA cable. Again, make sure you match up all three cables by colour before pushing them firmly into the white end of the second RCA cable.

– Repeat this step one more time to connect your third speaker to your second speaker by using a single RCA cable, which will then be connected with the first speaker that is already hooked up.

Your speakers should now all be daisy-chained together!

Finding the best place to put your speakers based on what you’re trying to achieve

There are many factors that come into play when finding the best place to put your speakers. The distance from the source is one of the most important things to take note of because it all depends on how loudly you need your speakers to be for people in attendance.

If you have a smaller space, you might want to consider either getting floor speakers or sticking with table-top speakers. This is because in small spaces it’s difficult to separate the sound coming from the front and back of the room when trying to play music.

If you use one speaker for this, then it will almost always create feedback (that loud ringing noise when there’s too much gain).

Keep your speakers 12-18 inches apart if they’re mounted on stands or 4ft apart if they’re floor columns. This ensures that all frequencies reach every listener in the room and keeps them balanced.

Testing out different speaker placements before finalizing your setup

Once you’ve chosen the place you want to set up your speakers, take some time to test out different speaker placements.

Familiarise yourself with how each room sounds by playing music that represents what will be played at the event, then adjust your speaker placements accordingly for best results. You’ll instantly notice if there’s too much bass or treble filling the space so it’s important to be aware of this before you ever turn on your mic!

If you’re not able to test sound in the room, then use these alternative tools that are just as good.

– The first step is to play different types of music in the room so you can hear what level each speaker should be at in order to provide the best sound balance in the room.

Go loud enough so that people outside of the space would be able to hear it well but not so loud that you go over your maximum SPL (sound pressure level) which can damage your speakers.

– Use an SPL meter or app on your phone to get an idea about how much gain there is at various frequencies and where the sweet spot is for your intended purpose.

The human ear is not able to pick up on the specific dB level, so this will give you a better idea of how your sound system is performing.

– Use a decibel meter app with pink noise in order to get an accurate average SPL reading that can be compared with readings from different speaker placements. This will provide more clarity into whether or not you need to bring your speakers closer together or further apart.

We hope you found the tips and tricks we shared helpful in setting up your speaker system for an event. With a little bit of preparation, you can make sure that everyone will be able to hear what is being said at your next presentation or meeting. If there’s anything else we can help with, don’t hesitate to reach out!