After ten years of running PA hire across London, the problems we see most often on event day aren’t equipment failures. They’re venue surprises. A power socket that’s on the wrong side of the room. A goods lift that’s too small to get the speaker stack through. A ceiling so high and hard that the room bounces sound like a swimming pool. A venue coordinator who didn’t mention the noise curfew until the afternoon of the event.
None of these are catastrophic. But they all eat into setup time, add stress to the morning, and occasionally force a compromise on the quality of the final result. Every single one of them could have been caught at the venue beforehand with the right questions.
This guide is a practical walkthrough of what to check, why it matters, and what to do with the information. It’s broken into three areas: power supply, room acoustics and access logistics. All three are equally important. Miss any one of them and you’re taking an unnecessary risk.
Why a venue visit or call matters more than you think
Many event organisers assume the venue will flag anything relevant. In our experience, they often don’t. Not because they’re unhelpful, but because venue staff think about their space differently to an AV company. They know where the bar is and how the tables get configured. They don’t necessarily think about where the nearest 13-amp socket is to the stage, or whether the goods lift can take a 60kg flight case.
The best results we get are always on jobs where the organiser has done some homework at the venue before we arrive. We can plan the setup more precisely, we arrive knowing what to expect, and the sound check is faster and cleaner. It’s a direct line from preparation to quality.
You don’t need to visit in person if that’s not practical. A focused call with the venue’s technical or events coordinator will cover most of it. What you need is the right list of questions.
Part one: power supply
Why this matters: PA systems need reliable, adequate power close to where they’re set up. Power problems are among the most common causes of audio issues at events, and almost all of them are preventable with a bit of advance planning.
1
Where are the nearest power sockets to the PA setup position?
This is the question most organisers forget to ask. Every venue has power sockets, but they’re not always where you need them. If the nearest socket to your stage or speaker position is on the opposite side of the room, you’re looking at long cable runs. That creates two problems: trip hazards across the floor, and potential signal interference in the audio chain.
Knowing socket positions in advance lets us plan cable routing properly, use the right cable lengths, and avoid running power across areas where guests will be walking. It also tells us whether we need to bring extension solutions or request access to specific circuits.
Ask your venue: “Can you show me where the power sockets are in the main event space, specifically nearest to where the stage or PA will be positioned?”
2
What is the power capacity and are there separate circuits for different areas?
Most dedicated event spaces in London have adequate power for a standard PA setup. But older buildings, converted spaces, marquees and outdoor sites can have limited total supply, particularly when multiple suppliers are drawing from the same circuits simultaneously.
The problem isn’t usually the PA system on its own. It’s the PA system plus the lighting rig plus the caterers’ hot plates all running from the same distribution board. When the total draw gets too high, you get tripped breakers or fluctuating power that causes audio dropouts. It’s one of those things that always seems to happen at the worst possible moment.
Ask whether previous events have had any power issues, and whether other suppliers like lighting or catering will be sharing the same circuits.
For outdoor or marquee events: ask specifically whether a generator is needed and who is responsible for providing it. This is often assumed rather than agreed and creates confusion close to the event.
3
Is there a dedicated AV or technical power circuit?
Some professional event venues, particularly purpose-built conference centres and corporate spaces, have dedicated AV power circuits that are separate from the general room supply. These are cleaner and more stable for sensitive audio equipment because they’re not sharing a circuit with things like air conditioning units, coffee machines and lighting dimmers, all of which can introduce interference into an audio system.
If your venue has a dedicated AV circuit, ask for access to it and pass that information to us when you book. It’s a small thing that makes a real difference to audio quality, particularly in technically demanding environments.
Part two: room acoustics and ceiling height
Why this matters: the physical characteristics of your room determine how sound behaves inside it. A PA system set up identically in two different rooms can sound dramatically different. Understanding your room in advance lets us configure the system to suit the space rather than fighting against it on the day.
4
What are the walls, floors and ceiling made of?
This is the single most important acoustic question you can ask. Hard surfaces reflect sound. Soft surfaces absorb it. A room with polished stone floors, glass or plaster walls, and a high hard ceiling is acoustically live. Sound bounces around it and builds up, creating echo, reverb and a muddy quality to speech that makes it hard to understand clearly even at high volume.
A room with carpet, acoustic panels, heavy curtains and soft furnishings absorbs sound and feels much more controlled. The same PA system in these two rooms needs to be set up very differently to deliver equally clear results.
Knowing the surface materials in advance lets us choose the right speaker positioning, adjust the equalization of the system to reduce the frequencies that cause problems in that specific room, and allocate extra time during sound check for a thorough acoustic tune.
High-risk room types in London: banking halls, glass-fronted conference venues, stone-floored historic buildings and converted industrial spaces. All beautiful venues. All acoustically challenging. All very manageable with advance notice.
5
How high is the ceiling?
Ceiling height affects speaker placement, stand height and echo characteristics. Very high ceilings create a longer delay between the direct sound from a speaker and the reflected sound bouncing back from above. In extreme cases, this can create a noticeable echo effect that makes speech sound slurred or doubled.
Knowing the ceiling height lets us plan speaker angling to direct sound toward the audience rather than up into the room, and manage the system settings to compensate for the acoustic environment. If you don’t know the height, most venues can tell you. If not, a rough estimate helps more than nothing.
6
Are there pillars, columns or obstructions between the stage and the audience?
Pillars block sound in the same way they block sightlines. Guests seated behind a column in a large room may not hear as clearly as everyone else, because the direct sound path from the speakers is interrupted. This is particularly relevant in older London venues like listed hotels, historic livery halls and converted Victorian spaces where structural columns are common.
Knowing about obstructions in advance means we can position additional speakers or adjust the main speaker array to fill in the acoustic shadow zones. It’s a straightforward solution when planned for. It’s a scramble when discovered during setup.
Walk the full room yourself: stand at the back, stand at the sides, stand behind any pillars. Note anywhere that feels acoustically cut off from the main stage position and tell us about it.
Part three: loading and access logistics
Why this matters: PA equipment is heavy and comes in large cases. Getting it into the building, into the right room, and set up on time requires specific access information that venues don’t always volunteer. Access problems on the morning of an event are more common than you’d think and almost entirely avoidable.
7
Where is the loading bay and how does equipment get into the building?
This is one of the most commonly overlooked logistics questions and one of the most consequential when it goes wrong. PA equipment arrives in professional flight cases on trolleys. These are not small, light items. If the only access to the venue is through a narrow front door with steps, or across a cobbled courtyard that won’t take a loaded trolley, setup takes significantly longer and sometimes requires manual carrying that’s both time-consuming and physically demanding.
Many London venues have a dedicated loading bay or goods entrance that’s completely separate from the main entrance, often on a different street. If you give us the main entrance address and don’t mention the loading bay, we’ll find the right way in eventually but it costs time we should be spending on setup.
Ask your venue for the loading bay address specifically and confirm whether there are any parking restrictions or time windows for unloading in that area.
8
If there’s a lift, what are the dimensions and weight limit?
This catches people out more than almost anything else. A venue might have a goods lift, but if it’s a small passenger lift repurposed for deliveries, or an older service lift with a tight weight limit, it may not be able to take the equipment cases we need to bring up. Finding this out on the morning means manual carrying up stairwells, which adds significant time to setup.
The key measurements are the internal dimensions of the lift car (height, width and depth), the door width, and the stated weight capacity. If in doubt, we’d rather know the measurements and decide ourselves than be surprised on the day.
9
What time can we access the venue for setup, and how much time is that before the event starts?
This is non-negotiable and needs to be confirmed clearly, not assumed. We need to be in before your guests. For a complex setup this can mean arriving two to three hours before doors open. For a simple job, an hour is often enough. But we need that time to set up, cable, position speakers correctly and do a proper sound check. A sound check isn’t optional. It’s the difference between a setup that sounds right and one that sounds adequate.
Don’t assume setup can happen right before the event starts. And don’t agree an access time with the venue without confirming it gives us enough room to work properly. If the venue can’t give you early access, tell us in advance and we’ll plan the logistics accordingly.
Also worth asking: what time does the venue need us to have packed down and cleared by at the end? If there’s a hard out time, we need to factor that into the day’s planning too.
10
Are there any venue restrictions on external AV suppliers?
Some venues in London, particularly corporate buildings, licensed spaces and properties with in-house AV teams, have rules about third-party technical suppliers. This can range from a simple requirement to be on an approved supplier list, to restrictions on the type of equipment that can be brought in, to a requirement that all AV work goes through the venue’s own team.
None of this is usually a problem if we know about it in advance. It becomes a problem if we find out about it when we arrive. The simplest way to check is to ask your venue coordinator directly: “Are there any restrictions on using external PA or AV suppliers for this event?” You’d be surprised how often the answer turns out to be yes, and how rarely it gets mentioned unprompted.
The fastest way to cover all of this: ask your venue for a technical specification sheet. Most professional event venues have one. It typically covers power supply, ceiling height, access routes, load-in times, any noise curfews and supplier requirements. If they don’t have one, the ten questions above will get you the same information.
The quick reference: a printable checklist
Venue checklist before PA hire arrives
Share this with whoever is liaising with your venue and pass the answers to us when you book.
Power supply
- Location of power sockets nearest to the PA setup position
- Total power capacity and whether other suppliers share the same circuits
- Whether a dedicated AV or technical power circuit is available
- For outdoor and marquee events: whether a generator is needed and who provides it
Room acoustics
- Wall, floor and ceiling materials (hard or soft surfaces)
- Ceiling height in the main event space
- Any pillars, columns or structural obstructions between stage and audience
- Whether the venue has acoustic panels or any sound treatment
Access and logistics
- Loading bay address and access route for equipment delivery
- Goods lift internal dimensions and weight limit
- Access time available for setup before the event
- Hard out time at the end of the event
- Any venue supplier restrictions or approved supplier requirements
- Any noise curfews or volume limits in the space
Pass the answers to us as early as you can. The more we know before we arrive, the better prepared we are and the smoother everything runs on the day. We’ve been doing this across London for over ten years. If you’re not sure what any of the answers mean for your specific setup, just ask us and we’ll talk you through it.
