Sennheiser and Xilica announce strategic alliance

Xilica has partnered with Sennheiser to develop an integrated room solution that is said to minimise installation time, improve audio quality and enhance collaboration for end users. The partnership pairs the Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) beamforming microphone array with Xilica’s ecosystem of DSP, user interfaces and network endpoints to ensure speech intelligibility for physical and remote participants in hybrid spaces, giving end users the flexibility to move throughout their space and present in their own style, while eliminating risk of inaudibility. Integrators and end users benefit from the Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2’s seamless integration with Xilica Solaro processors and Xilica Gio network endpoints, providing a simpler, no-code setup with pre-validated compatibility.

As part of the alliance, Xilica has enabled support for the TruVoicelift functionality of TeamConnect Ceiling 2 across its Solaro Series of DSPs, which simplifies the installation of multiple TCC2 microphones through automatic testing and calibration of audio. Additionally, TruVoicelift offers noise reduction, speaker amplification and creates targeted zones to home in on participants speaking in busy spaces. When paired with Xilica’s proprietary noise reduction and HearClear echo cancellation algorithms, the combined solution offers “a robust defence against meeting distractions”.

Additionally, TCC2 and Solaro processors offer end-to-end mute status sync for Microsoft Teams. This enables a software-based mute action, such as clicking a button in the Microsoft Teams application, to be reflected throughout the chain and back to the Sennheiser TCC2’s status indicator LED. Similarly, when using Xilica user interfaces, a mute action can be reflected both to the Sennheiser TCC2 and back into the Microsoft Teams application, giving room users better visibility.

“Modern meetings have more remote participants than ever, and they need to hear clearly without being distracted by background noise and interruptions,” said Charlie Jones, global alliance and partnerships manager for Sennheiser. “TruVoicelift is perfect for large conference spaces and lecture halls that allow everyone to hear a presenter, or a question from a student that is raised. Together with Xilica DSPs, end users are assured high-quality, dependable audio with exceptional room and user control.”

Jones also notes that bundling the Sennheiser TCC2 with the Solaro QR1 is ideal for integrators working in corporate and education environments with limited or no rack space, because no special wiring or configuration is required. “Our customers are seeking cost-effective ways to add audio and UC to rooms that historically had no audio or only a simple microphone,” he said. “The Xilica Solaro QR1’s compact form factor allows installers to mount the DSP virtually anywhere. It’s small, powerful and PoE, and upon first seeing it we realised that many Sennheiser customers could benefit from a combined solution. It’s also the standard for Sennheiser demonstrator kits worldwide.”

Additionally, general availability of the Xilica follow-me camera tracking module for the TeamConnect Ceiling 2 is expected in Q4 2021, enabling automated pan-tilt-zoom by using the beam position information from the TCC2. This will give room users greater freedom to present throughout their space without consideration of the AV infrastructure. Pro AVL Asia