Attorneys, witnesses and judges needed to be mic’ed in every room
King William County Courthouse, Virginia
A historic courthouse gets crystal-clear audio
King William County Courthouse has stood since 1725, with a newer building added in 2004, and it sits on the National Register of Historic Places. When the pandemic forced remote galleries and online jury trials, the 2004 audio system could no longer carry the room. The county needed a system that would mic every judge, attorney, and witness, route audio across new spaces, and leave the historic structure untouched.
Case Study
Corporate
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
North America
Multi-zone
King William County Courthouse, Virginia
A historic courthouse gets crystal-clear audio
Case Study
Corporate
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
North America
Multi-zone
King William County Courthouse has stood since 1725, with a newer building added in 2004, and it sits on the National Register of Historic Places. When the pandemic forced remote galleries and online jury trials, the 2004 audio system could no longer carry the room. The county needed a system that would mic every judge, attorney, and witness, route audio across new spaces, and leave the historic structure untouched.
- Venue
- King William County Courthouse
- Location
- King William, Virginia, United States
- Install partner
- Right Track Marketing, RTW Media
- Product highlights
- Dynacord MXE5, TPC-1 · Electro-Voice EVID, CPS4.5, PC microphones
The venue
The courthouse needed a unique sound system solution
King William County Courthouse in Virginia traces back to 1725, with a second building added in 2004. It is a working courthouse, and the room had to keep holding trials while the world around it changed.
During the pandemic, the county added remote gallery spaces and began broadcasting jury trials online. The 2004 system was never built for that, and it could no longer keep court proceedings open to the public.
“Our systems were from 2004 and we only used the witness stand microphones. It was never intended to do what we now need to keep trials open to the public. It's been quite a challenge.”
Captain Scott HamiltonChief Deputy, County Sheriff's Office
The challenge
Mic every room without touching the walls
Remote galleries meant judges, attorneys, and witnesses all had to be heard clearly and seen on video, with audio routed across courtrooms, remote galleries, and ADA rooms. Privacy mattered too, since attorney-client exchanges and sidebars could not leak into the broadcast.
The work also had to be fast, stay on a tight budget, and respect a building on the National Register of Historic Places. There was no option to rip the walls apart to run a new system.
Multi-zone routing across courtrooms and ADA rooms
A fast install on a tight budget
No structural damage to a historic building
The solution
A customized zoned audio system
A zoned audio system was built around the Dynacord MXE5 Matrix Mix Engine, routing sound across courtrooms, remote galleries, and ADA rooms, with two Dynacord TPC-1 Touch Panel Controllers for everyday operation. Electro-Voice gooseneck condenser microphones captured the judge, attorneys, and witnesses, with programmable mute switches to protect attorney-client privilege and sidebars.
Twelve Electro-Voice EVID C4.2LP coaxial ceiling loudspeakers carried clear speech through the rooms in a compact, easy-to-install form. A single Electro-Voice CPS4.5 four-channel power amplifier ran the entire system, keeping the install lean and the historic structure intact.
- Dynacord MXE5 Matrix Mix Engine
- Two Dynacord TPC-1 Touch Panel Controllers
- Twelve Electro-Voice EVID C4.2LP ceiling loudspeakers
- Electro-Voice CPS4.5 four-channel power amplifier
- Electro-Voice PC Desktop-12 gooseneck condenser microphones
- Electro-Voice PC-12/XLR gooseneck condenser microphone
- Electro-Voice CPSM shock mount
“Every time we brought up a new courtroom situation, their answer was the same: 'It can do that.'”
Captain Scott HamiltonChief Deputy, County Sheriff's Office
The result
Trials stay open, and the building stays untouched
The system met every court requirement for audio clarity and function, carrying speech across courtrooms, remote galleries, and ADA rooms while keeping private exchanges private. Trials can be broadcast online and kept open to the public, which is what the county set out to do.
County personnel found the result capable and easy to run day to day, with touch-panel control that staff could pick up without training. The historic courthouse got what it needed, and its walls were left intact.
Clear speech across every courtroom zone
Trials broadcast online and open to the public
Private attorney-client and sidebar audio protected
A single amplifier running the whole system
Staff-friendly touch-panel control
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