It’s time to put in a new audio visual system in your ballroom or conference hall but you’re dreading putting together a budget for it. How much will it cost? What all is needed? What can we keep from the old system? Where do I even start? These are all fair questions as you begin the process, but actually putting the hard numbers together can sometimes be a challenge. We’ve created this general guide to help you plan before you sit down with your audio visual company.

Here are 4 things (and one bonus) to help you create your budget:

  1. Know when the equipment is going to be used
    Some audio visual equipment is used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; like atrium TV displays, overhead background music, etc. and some equipment might only be used on  weekends, busy holiday seasons or yearly events. Knowing how often the sound equipment you’re looking to replace is used will help your AV designer get a better feel for what could best meet your needs while staying in budget without settling for lesser quality.
  2. Know what the system is going to be used for
    Does your event center or hotel mostly host live music, mostly speech, playback, video, handheld mics, podium, wireless..etc? Or is it a mixture of all? Are you looking to expand what you currently have to offer more accessibility for a wider variety of events? Knowing who is going to be using the system helps your AV designer have a better understanding and feel for where those budget dollars are best spent.
  3. Know who will be the point person to manage the project and new system
    Sometimes different people can have a differing perspective with what’s needed and what’s not. Knowing who the decision maker is and who will be managing the project can help reduce any confusion or change orders. This helps the project not only stay a financial budget but a time budget as well. A good audio visual company isn’t going to design, install and leave; they are going to want to train and follow-up on the work they’ve done. Knowing who will be the person (or team) on your end who will be learning the new system will help in getting an overall feel for any other needs the project might need.
  4. Know how long before you’d need to look into upgrading again.
    This could sound odd, but hear us out. Finding the right set-up for your new sound system and doing so in budget it also helps knowing how long you plan to go before investing again. Knowing the difference in “we only make sound system changes every 10 years” versus “we like to make sound system changes every few years” helps your audio designers find the best fits for your goals. If the system must last 10 years, your designer and installation team will have a better feel for where best to place the budget dollars. If you know there will be budget dollars from year-to-year this will help your designer help you plan for options that fit those goals. This will help you know where to direct your budget funds in the event that you have to scale back from your original plans.
  5. (Bonus) Know your timeline expectations
    While not always tied to the overall budget, having a good feel of your event center or hotel’s schedule can help give your design team an understanding of timeline and priority. Does it need to be done in the next few months? Can the project be done in phases? Is there a special event (expo, local high school prom, wedding reception, conference) it must be done for? Conveying these things to your audio visual company as they get a good feel for what you need and when you need it by helps establish a good level of communication for the best outcome.

Conclusion
Given the wide variety of variables in audio visual systems, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Putting together a budget for a new sound system or upgrade can be hard to put your head around. Knowing these 5 things (though not exhaustive) can well equip you as you sit down with your audio visual design and install team. A good audio visual team is one that has worked with a myriad of budgets, timelines and expectations and been able to deliver a system that truly meets all the needs of their client with the utmost integrity.

Audio Acoustics has been around since 1968 and has an established reputation of not only working with a wide variety of audio and video system needs but also in delivering the very best in customer service.

Are you looking to upgrade your event center, ballroom or convention center audio visual system? Contact us today

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