Holophone’s H2-PRO surround microphone was on the scene of the 51st Grammy Awards to capture the audience’s reaction at the televised event.

The H2-PRO was used as a near field mic to help supplement the production crew’s audience mic setup. This is the third year the mic has been used on the Grammys telecast.

The H2-PRO was installed 8 feet above the audience in the rear center section of the Staples Center. Twenty-two additional microphones were placed around the area to help further capture the audience reaction. All mics were fed into a Calrec Alpha mixing console.

“The audience reaction is a very important part of our broadcast’s overall sound,” Production Mixer Tom Holmes said. “I think that with the addition of the H2-PRO, we got more of the desired spatiality of the crowd, more of a surround sounding environment. It is very solidly built, rugged and the setup was simple.”