A ceiling microphone mounts in or below the ceiling above the meeting table and picks up voices from overhead, so the table stays clear and furniture can move. Use ceiling mics in large rooms, boardrooms, training rooms and spaces where table mics get in the way. Most modern models are beamforming arrays that steer pickup toward whoever is talking and work with a DSP for echo cancellation.
When ceiling mics make sense
| Situation | Ceiling mic? |
|---|---|
| Huddle or small room under about 12 feet (3.5 m) deep | No. A video bar's built-in mics are enough. |
| Medium room with a fixed table | Usually table expansion mics are simpler and cheaper. |
| Large room or boardroom with a long table | Yes, if you want a clean table. |
| Flexible rooms where tables move | Yes. Coverage doesn't depend on furniture. |
| Training rooms and classrooms | Yes, often combined with a presenter mic. |
| Very high ceilings (over about 12 feet) | Consider a pendant (hanging) mount to lower the mic. |
Types of ceiling microphones
Beamforming ceiling arrays. A flat panel or tile with many mic elements. The DSP forms pickup lobes toward talkers and ignores other directions. Many are sized to drop into a standard 2 x 2 ft ceiling grid. The Poly IP Ceiling Microphone is a 360° PoE array for the Poly G7500.
Ceiling speakerphones. Mic and speaker in one ceiling unit, sometimes with a built-in DSP hub. The AVer FONE700 is a ceiling speakerphone and DSP hub that daisy-chains up to four units.
Pendant / hanging mics. A small mic hung on a cable or pole below the ceiling. Logitech's Mic Pod Pendant Mount hangs a Rally Mic Pod from the ceiling, bringing Rally's expansion mic closer to talkers without putting it on the table.
Other well-known ceiling arrays come from Shure (MXA series), Sennheiser (TeamConnect Ceiling), Biamp and others. These usually need a separate DSP and integration work.
Coverage per mic
Coverage depends on the model, ceiling height and room noise, so use the manufacturer's coverage map rather than a single number. General guidance:
- Lower ceilings give better pickup. Pickup quality drops as distance from mouth to mic increases.
- Center each array over the seats it serves, not over the middle of the room.
- Large or long tables need two or more arrays, with overlap between zones.
- Hard surfaces and HVAC noise shrink effective coverage. Treat the room first. See conference room acoustics.
What else you need: DSP, speakers and cabling
A ceiling mic is only half of the audio system.
- DSP / echo cancellation. The far end hears its own voice if the room's mics aren't echo-cancelled against the speakers. Some ceiling mics have built-in AEC; others feed a separate DSP.
- Speakers. Ceiling speakers or the video bar's speaker. Keep them away from the mic lobes.
- Connection to the call. Usually USB from the DSP to the room PC, or a native network connection to a codec like the Poly G7500.
- Cabling and power. Many arrays use PoE over a single Cat cable. Some use Dante network audio.
- Tuning. Set mic zones, gain and exclusion areas (such as over the display or door) during commissioning.
Installation basics
- Mount in a ceiling grid tile, a hard-ceiling bracket, or a pendant/pole for open ceilings.
- Plan cable paths and plenum-rated cable where the ceiling space is an air return.
- Keep arrays away from HVAC diffusers and projectors.
- Test with people speaking from every seat, at normal volume, before handing the room over.
Ceiling vs table mics
Ceiling mics give a clean look and flexible furniture. Table mics sit closer to mouths, so they pick up more voice and less room. In a reverberant room, table mics often sound better. See boundary and table microphones and best ceiling microphones.
For full large-room audio planning, read large conference room audio and the conference room audio guide.
Thinking about ceiling mics? Send us a ceiling plan and room size and we'll lay out the coverage.
Related guides
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