What's the Difference Between Automatic Coverage and Steerable Coverage?
Key Takeaways
- Automatic Coverage™ technology— The microphone captures talkers in up to 8 adjustable coverage areas that you define without the need to aim pickup lobes. Minimal setup required. Automatic Coverage is best for environments where people sit in different locations at different times.
- Steerable Coverage™ technology — You precisely aim up to 8 pickup lobes with individual audio outputs. Steerable Coverage is best for fixed seating layouts or special applications like voice lift and sound reinforcement.
- Both Automatic Coverage and Steerable Coverage modes are supported by the MXA920, MXA925, and MXA901 ceiling array microphones. (MXA901 requires firmware v6.9 or higher).
Shure ceiling array microphones — including the MXA920, MXA925, and MXA901 — give you the choice between two coverage approaches. Automatic Coverage is easier to setup: place coverage areas in the room and the microphone finds the talkers for you, making it ideal for spaces where people sit in different locations.
Steerable Coverage gives you manual control, letting you aim up to eight fixed pickup lobes at specific locations. Each lobe has its own audio output, providing precise control of audio routing that is ideal for voice lift or sound reinforcement applications.
What is Automatic Coverage Technology?
Automatic Coverage lets you define where in the room you want audio captured — the microphone does the rest. You place coverage areas using Shure Designer software or the microphone's built in Web CUI interface, and the microphone automatically tracks talkers within those areas without any need to aim or adjust pickup lobes.
There are two types of Automatic Coverage areas:
- Dynamic coverage areas — The microphone distributes coverage lobes to wherever the talkers are within the defined area. Dynamic coverage is ideal for seating areas, where people may be in different seats at different times.
- Dedicated coverage areas — One of the eight lobes is locked to that area to ensure there is always coverage. This is ideal for a podium or VIP seat that needs priority coverage at all times, whether a talker is present or not. This leaves seven lobes for automatic deployment within the remaining Dynamic coverage area(s).
- Dedicated coverage areas — One of the eight lobes is locked to that area to ensure there is always coverage. This is ideal for a podium or VIP seat that needs priority coverage at all times, whether a talker is present or not. This leaves seven lobes for automatic deployment within the remaining Dynamic coverage area(s).
Out of the box, the MXA920 and MXA925 cover a 30x30 foot (9x9 meters) dynamic coverage area. Dedicated coverage areas are 6x6 feet (2x2 meters). The MXA901 covers a 20x20 foot area by default, which is adjustable down to 10x10 feet. The MXA920 and MXA925 microphones support up to eight coverage areas in any combination of Dynamic and Dedicated. The MXA901 supports one Dynamic coverage area and does not support Dedicated coverage.
What is Steerable Coverage Technology?
Steerable Coverage lets you aim up to eight pickup lobes at specific parts of the room at the time of installation. The lobe positions are fixed and do not change during meetings, and each lobe delivers its own audio output. This enables precise routing of the audio from each pickup lobe to specific loudspeaker zones, which delivers more gain before feedback in voice life or sound reinforcement applications.
With Steerable Coverage, the width of each lobe can be adjusted to be:
- Narrow — 35 degrees
- Medium — 45 degrees
- Wide — 55 degrees
Automatic Coverage adapts to how people sit in different places at different times, and provides a single audio mix for conferencing and transcription or meeting summary tools, and requires less effort to set up than Steerable Coverage. Steerable Coverage provides audio pickup of up to eight fixed locations, with individual audio outputs that can be assigned to specific loudspeaker zones in the same room for voice lift or sound reinforcement.
With a choice of both Automatic Coverage and Steerable Coverage, the MXA920, MXA925, and MXA901 ceiling array microphones are useful in many different types of rooms and applications.
When Should I Use Automatic Coverage vs. Steerable Coverage?
The right coverage mode depends on your room type, how people use the space, and whether you need individual audio outputs per zone. Use the table below to guide your decision.
| Automatic Coverage™ | Steerable Coverage™ | |
| Setup Effort | Minimal — self-adjusting | Manual — lobes aimed |
| Best for | Variable seating; flexible rooms | Fixed layouts; voice lift; sound reinforcement |
| Coverage Areas | MXA920, MXA925: Up to 8 Dynamic or Dedicated coverage areas MXA901: 1 Dynamic coverage area | Up to 8 individual aimed lobes |
| Individual Audio Outputs (Dante) per Zone | No — automix output only | Yes — one lobe + automix |
| Adapts to Talker Movement | Yes | No — Fixed position |
| Supported Products | MXA920, MXA925, MXA901 | MXA920, MXA925, MXA901 |
Choose Automatic Coverage when:
- Seating arrangements change between meetings
- You want minimal setup time and a self-managing system
- You don't need separate audio outputs for different loudspeaker zones
Choose Steerable Coverage when:
- Room layout is fixed and predictable
- You need separate audio outputs for each pickup lobe for routing to specific loudspeaker zones for voice lift or sound reinforcement
- You are integrating conferencing with an in-room voice lift system
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch between Automatic Coverage and Steerable Coverage on the same microphone? Yes, on supported microphones — including the MXA920, MXA925, and MXA901 — you can choose which coverage mode to use via Shure Designer software. You are not locked into one mode at the time of purchase.
The MXA920, MXA925, and MXA901 (firmware v6.9 or later) all support both Automatic Coverage and Steerable Coverage. The MXA902 supports Automatic Coverage only. The MXA710 supports Steerable Coverage only.
Is Automatic Coverage or Steerable Coverage better for voice lift? Steerable Coverage is the better choice for voice lift applications. Because each pickup lobe has its own dedicated audio output, with Steerable Coverage you can route individual pickup lobes to specific loudspeaker zones, while it also bypasses the onboard IntelliMix DSP for lower latency — both of which are essential for optimum voice lift performance. Automatic Coverage produces a single automix output and does not support per-zone routing.
Can I mix Dedicated and Dynamic coverage areas in the same room? Yes. On microphones using Automatic Coverage, you can define up to eight coverage areas in any combination of Dedicated and Dynamic to suit your layout.
Does Automatic Coverage work with AI transcription and meeting summary tools? Yes. Automatic Coverage delivers a clean automix output that feeds directly into collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, providing a reliable audio signal for AI-powered features like transcription, meeting summaries, and speaker attribution.
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