We have supplied gear for enough conferences, AGMs and awards nights to know the pattern: the LED wall gets weeks of attention, and the thing that actually derails the morning is a presenter microphone with flat batteries. Here is the eight-point checklist we run for corporate AV — steal it freely.
1–3: The presenter chain
One microphone per presenter style. Confident speakers take a handheld; hands-talkers and panellists need a lavalier system; anyone doing a walking demo wants a headset. Fresh batteries at every session break — not every day. A wired spare on the lectern, because a Shure SM58 that just works has saved more keynotes than any redundancy plan.
4–5: Sound the room, not the stage
Speech wants even coverage, not volume. A pair of compact powered speakers like the FBT X-Lite 110A on poles, ahead of the presenters and angled across the seating, beats a big loud pair at the front pushing past the fifth row — and the X-Lite's built-in mic input and Bluetooth channel mean a boardroom AGM can skip the mixer entirely. Long rooms need delay speakers halfway back. Walk the room during soundcheck — the back corner seat is where the CEO's mother-in-law will sit.
6–7: Playback and power
Every video plays off the show machine, not a presenter's laptop — collect files the day before and test them at full volume, because that embedded clip is always louder than the speaker. Know your power before pack-in: audio, lighting and catering urns do not share circuits happily. A venue floor plan with power marked on it is worth an hour of anyone's time.
8: Have a Plan B in the van
A spare mic, spare speaker, spare laptop, and cables for every connector you might meet. The kit that never leaves our van has rescued events we were only delivering to.
Running an event in the lower North Island? Whether you are buying gear to bring AV in-house or spec'ing a one-off, we will help you build the kit list — and tell you honestly which items you only need to hire.