Reach Zone DSP TAP800-Audio

Product introduction

Reach Zone DSP TAP800 is the audio processor at the centre of a teaching sound-reinforcement system. It mixes the teacher microphone, the student microphones and the classroom PC, feeds the local speakers, and keeps the remote class connected through a dedicated echo-cancellation path.

The system has three parts: the TAP800 host, a ACM600 bar array for the teaching area and one or more ACM100 spherical microphones for the student area. The bar array picks up a 180° fan in front of the lectern; the spherical units pick up 360° from a 2.1–2.5 m hanging height. Both were designed for the same processor, so gain, echo cancellation and feedback suppression are set up once, in one place.

The processing is deliberately strong: feedback suppression ≥18 dB, noise reduction ≥30 dB, echo cancellation ≥90 dB over a ≥1 s tail and maximum gain ≥30 dB. That is what lets a teacher walk the platform at normal speaking volume without the room ringing, while the remote site hears a clean signal.

Every input has its own level control on the front panel — other microphones, AEC in, speaker out and AEC out — so a technician can balance the room without a laptop. The rear panel adds phantom power for condenser microphones, a wireless input, an RS485 port for central control and a WLAN port for configuration.

Product views

The TAP800 is a half-rack, 270 × 163 × 52 mm chassis. The rear panel carries the power switch and DC input, the microphone inputs, echo-cancellation in/out, the two speaker outputs, the network port and RS485.

Rear panel — POWER, DC 12V, PRI / SUB / OTH MIC, LINE IN, AEC IN / OUT, SPK OUT 1–2, WLAN and 485.

Key features

• One processor for the whole room. Teacher array, student microphones, PC audio and the remote class are mixed and processed in a single unit.
• Feedback suppression ≥18 dB. The room can be driven loud enough for teaching without the system ringing.
• Noise reduction ≥30 dB and echo cancellation ≥90 dB. Air conditioning, projectors and the far-end signal are removed before they reach the students.
• Dedicated AEC path. A separate reference input and output pair keeps the remote class isolated from the local reinforcement chain.
• Front-panel level control. Other mics, AEC in, speaker out and AEC out each have their own knob and a factory reset; no software is needed for daily use.
• Phantom power and wireless input. 48 V phantom for condenser microphones and an OTH MIC input for a wireless receiver.
• Central control. RS485 for room control systems, plus a WLAN port for configuration.
• Matched microphones. ACM600 bar array and ACM100 spherical microphones are part of the same system, so wiring and gain structure are predictable.

Specifications

Processing

Interfaces

ACM600 bar array microphone

The ACM600 sits in front of the teacher, either on the lectern or on a short suspension. It uses six condenser capsules in a bar with a 180° fan-shaped pickup pattern and reaches 8 m, which covers the whole teaching area without a body-worn microphone. Two Category 5e/6 cables connect it to the TAP800.

ACM600 — bar array, 180° fan pickup, 8 m range.

ACM100 spherical microphone

The ACM100 hangs over the student area at 2.1–2.5 m and picks up 360° around itself, so a student speaking from any seat is heard. A single capsule with a noise-suppression circuit and phantom power over XLR keeps the installation simple: one shielded two-core cable per unit.

ACM100 — spherical, 360° omnidirectional, suspended.

Installation note: keep the vertical distance between the speaker and the front of the ACM600 bar above 30 cm, and hang the ACM100 units 2.1–2.5 m above the floor, clear of the loudspeakers.