Shure Incorporated

NILES, IL, March 31, 2015—Throughout the year, pharmacists and health care stakeholders across the country gather at 340B University™, an in-depth educational program presented by Apexus, the exclusive prime vendor for the 340B Drug Pricing Program. From keynote addresses to breakout sessions, the full day training events are a fundamental initiative for educating 250 attendees on ways to improve 340B program compliance and integrity. Sullivan & Gregory Entertainment, a mobile audio/video event production and rental company, was tapped by Apexus to support the traveling university’s audio needs. 

“The 340B University events take place in heavily trafficked cities with congested RF environments—like San Francisco and Las Vegas,” said Mark McElwain, owner and manager of Sullivan & Gregory. “We needed audio gear to address this crowded frequency challenge, while also finding a setup that could support various panel discussions between presenters and the audience.”

McElwain opted for Shure DDS 5900 Digital Discussion Systems, and QLX-D™ Digital Wireless, purchasing the gear through Ametron Electronics, a pro audio store located in Hollywood.  QLX-D wireless microphones are used for breakout session presenters, while DDS 5900 is for panels. With QLX-D, the Sullivan & Gregory team can easily pair transmitters with receivers using the system’s IR scan and sync. The automatic channel scan also helps find a clean frequency.

“QLX-D is a huge timesaving device. With QLX-D, we simply set it and forget it— we don’t have to worry about RF interference, which means we don’t need to dedicate much time to monitoring the breakout session speakers for audio dropouts,” McElwain continued. “Instead we can focus on other event demands.”

Relying on DDS 5900 portable systems for panel discussions, McElwain’s team can ensure fluid conversations between participants. Before the DDS 5900, up to 12 university faculty members needed to share and pass around six lavalier microphones among each other, which delayed the session’s flow. Now with the all-in-one DIS sound system, every participant has access to his or her own microphone and loudspeaker and can receive important panel updates without interruption.

“The built-in loudspeakers, which let attendees choose their desired volume, are an absolute key for 340B University discussions,” said McElwain. “The voice activation is also an important feature within the DDS 5900s, as it helps the conversation run more naturally, without the pauses you get with push to talk systems.”

The DDS 5900 can be expanded to accommodate up to 250 users. The system is ideal for delivering consistent sound quality everywhere in a room, regardless of its size or acoustic conditions.

“These Shure systems haven’t failed us, and the 340B University team at Apexus has been thrilled with their audio set-up. One presenter even commented that the DDS 5900 system was the most technologically advanced solution she has seen on the conference circuit,” concluded McElwain.

Sullivan & Gregory will be supporting Apexus and the 340B University sessions throughout 2015. For more information on Shure conferencing and wireless solutions, please visit www.shure.com.