One of the first steps you can make toward improving the quality of your tour is to know what kind of audio system is right for you and your tour guests. Taking the initiative to invest in a quality tour guide system is already the first step, as understanding your environment and who you’re talking to allows you to improve the overall quality of the tour. Of course, there’s a number of amplification options available, so it really depends on where you are, who you’re talking to and the number of people you’re giving the tour to. Here are several factors you’ll want to keep in mind prior to selecting a Whisper tour guide system.
Selecting The Right Whisper Tour Guide System
Environment
First, you need to consider the environment where you’ll be giving the tour. What kind of noise is produced where you’ll be giving the tours. If you’re offering a tour in a closed environment with low ceilings and little production noise you may not need to have any kind of audio system at all. At the very least, a small, portable microphone and self-contained speaker system will be all you’ll need for this kind of setup.
However, if you are giving a tour in a large facility, such as a hangar, a facility where there are no walls close by (which means it takes longer for noise to travel and then bounce back)Â or a location with a large amount of machinery you’ll need to opt for a Whisper tour guide system.
When in a large open space, a megaphone or self projected audio system may not be right. Even when spoken at a higher level and with a greater amplification the sound waves will still need to spread out before reaching the listeners. In these instances you’ll be better off having your guests wear headphones. This allows them to hear everything you say clearly and you won’t need to shout or worry about the audio projection in the given space.
Size Of The Tour
Next you need to consider how large the tour is going to be. This will affect the kind of audio system you’ll need to invest in. When there are only a handful of guests you can spring for a headphone based system. This is comfortable for both you to talk into and your guests. Your headphones will be similar to your guests, only yours will have a microphone configuration built into it. This is easy to walk with while not carrying around much in the way of equipment.
However, what happens if you have several dozen guests? Perhaps you’re giving a tour and there are 30 or 40 or even 50 people following you. When this is the case there just is no real way to have individual headphone systems for each. This is extremely expensive, not to mention you’ll need back-up systems in case some have technical issues. You’ll also need multiple battery packs for each (if you’re giving several tours a day), and you’ll need the extra chargers that go with the headphones. When this is the case you’ll need to go with a self-projected system where either you have the speaker clipped onto your belt, you use a megaphone, or you feed your audio through the facility’s PA system (if it has one).
Hard Hat Zone
Is the facility you’re giving a tour of a hard hat zone? Is it necessary for safety reasons to have some kind of helmet on while walking through? If so you’ll want to have a Whisper tour guide system that allows you to wear a helmet without interfering with the headphones.
There are many headphone options designed to curve around the base of your skull, which allows the helmet to fit on top and the headphones to slide in underneath comfortably. If you don’t have a hard hat requirement you can go with something else. The over-head headphones have their advantages are often seen as more comfortable, but that is a personal choice.
Questions Asked
Are you going to give a guided tour or is the tour a bit more interactive? If the guests will have the ability to ask questions you’ll need to adjust the kind of system you have with you to accommodate this. There are a few options you can consider when it comes to this kind of feature. First, everyone can have a microphone built into the headphones. Now, this is best when everyone is openly talking with one another and you want dialog with everyone.
However, if the guests do not turn off their microphones everyone else will hear what they’re saying, which can cause other issues. When this is the case you’ll want to go with a single, external microphone. The microphone can be passed between different individuals who are asking questions. The microphone will then feed the audio either into a portable speaker system or into the headphones of those on the tour. Having this option is nice as you can then turn the microphone off when it’s not in use.
Noise Levels
If you’re giving tours of an active manufacturing plant there will be noise. Due to this, you’ll want a Whisper tour guide system that is able to block out some of this noise. Noise cancellation will allow your guests to hear the tour without it being interrupted and without the need to crank the volume on their headphones all the way up.
There are different noise cancelation options available for you to choose from. The heavier duty noise cancelation options will often weight a few ounces more, so keep this in mind. However, the ability to remove some noise may be of critical importance to your guests. It doesn’t do much good if they can’t hear what you’re saying during the tour, and chances are you’re not able to simply shut down the manufacturing process in order to give the tour. The noise canceling headphones offer you the best of both worlds.
Finding The Right Whisper Tour Guide System
These are several important tips and suggestions you’ll want to keep in mind when it comes to finding the right Whisper tour guide system. The beauty about working with Plant-Tours though is you’re able to rent some equipment or request a free demo kit prior to investing in the purchase of audio hardware. This way you can test out different systems to see which works best for you and your guests. Then, once you find the hardware perfect for you and your guests, you’ll be able to move on from there and opt into a system that better fits your unique needs.
