I'm working on a project in a commercial space. The desire is to have a space that can be used for movie night in an assisted living facility. The same space will also be used for meetings with PowerPoint style presentations. The room is large enough to require the presenter to use a microphone. I'm trying to make this work with 1 system with 1 set of speakers. The alternative is a 5.1 system with a separate 70V mono presentation system. I'm trying to avoid two sets of speakers in the room. They prefer stealthier in-wall speakers and there is limited space/budget for 2 independent sets of speakers.

I'd suggest that if you do choose to run a microphone through the audio system, you put a compressor limiter between the microphone and whatever mixer/gain stage you WILL need to run into consumer input. It would be desirable to have your surround system be able to go to mono on the mic input. My favorite supplier can set you up with the electronics and the microphone if you need.

Fred's favorite supplier will want to help getting the microphone signal right in another way, too.

I'd imagine you don't want to have to choose between mic signal OR movie etc signal, but want to be able to present any programming and speak over it. This means some kind of mixer. That means you'll probably be limited to two channels of audio. Frankly, after setting up a surround system in a retirement home a few years ago, I'd go monaural or stereo, not surround! That system ended up being used in PARTY mode all the time, so surround was wasted.

That, of course, solves the mic and other programming problem because it's easy to mix a mic into a stereo signal on a simple mixer. If you have to have rear speakers, I'd duplicate the front channels on them.

Ernie tugged the message out further. Shure makes a fine, compact mixer with mic and consumer inputs and unbalanced outputs that would work well. Signal path would be mic, mixer, compressor/limiter, analog input.

Of course I did. Fred is one of the rarest things in forums: a person who works and sells in the industry, who puts information and help above sales. This, in my experience, usually results in sales, so who's to object?

Thanks guys. This was what I was thinking, but I was looking for validation!