ST | AV Pricing
Honest pricing, written down, scoped to your room.
Real numbers and the range your event will land in. No fake “from” prices that fall apart on the call. No surprises on the invoice.
Written
Every quote, in writing
No surprises
Invoice matches the quote
Same person
From first call to event day
Walkthrough
Free venue visit before quoting
How ST | AV pricing actually works
Most AV companies post a single “from” price on a website. Then the actual quote is three times the headline. We’d rather show you the real ladder.
Every event is priced on three things: the kit (what we bring), the service tier (you collect, we deliver, or we run it for you), and the room (size, ceiling, audience, sight lines). We sort all three by walking the venue with you and writing a spec, then a number.
The lowest entry point is a £118 two-speaker PA collected from our Salford workshop. The highest end is a multi-day operated conference with full lighting and a video wall. Most Manchester business events sit between £400 and £4,500.
Three service tiers
Pick the level that matches your team and your event. Same flagship kit underneath, three different ways to use it.
Dry hire
From £118, up to £350
You collect, set up, run, return. Suits production companies, freelance engineers, in-house AV teams who already own the workflow.
- Two-speaker PA from £118
- RCF 915 dance-floor PA from £180
- d&b live-music PA from £500
- Lectern + comfort monitor kit available
- Collected from our Salford workshop
Delivered
From £400, up to ~£1,800
We bring it, set up, tune the room, hand it over, collect after. Your team runs the event day. For in-house marketing, venue staff and event teams.
- Lectern + mic + screen + PA package
- Sized to your room at the walkthrough
- Room-tuned, hand-over briefing included
- Collection same day or next morning
- No on-day operator (your team runs it)
Operated Most popular
From £2,000, scaling with the day
We bring it, set it up, and we stay. Same operator your whole event. The level we recommend for AGMs, panels, gala dinners and awards nights.
- Operator on site through the whole event
- Mic handovers, battery swaps, level riding
- Show-call and music cues on awards nights
- Hybrid feed if you need remote attendees
- Multitrack recording for minutes or highlights
Pricing by kit type
Indicative ranges by kit category. Final quote follows a free venue walkthrough. All prices ex VAT.
| Kit | Use case | From | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two-speaker PA (RCF 312) | Small board meeting, speech day, ceremony | £118 | £180 |
| RCF 915 PA | Mid-size hall, reception with dance floor | £180 | £350 |
| d&b live-music PA | Large rooms up to ~2,000 cap | £500 | POA |
| Lectern package (lectern + monitor + mic) | AGMs, panels, conference keynotes | £400 | £1,200 |
| Wireless mic pack (4 channels) | Panel, host + presenters, speeches | £100 | £500 |
| Projector + screen | Slides, sponsor reels, branded content | £200 | £900 |
| LED video wall | Awards, conferences, brand activations | £1,500 | POA |
| Stage hire (modular decks) | Panel stage, awards stage, school production | £250 | £1,400 |
| Event lighting plot (uplighters + wash) | Gala dinners, weddings, brand activations | £300 | £1,800 |
| Hybrid stream feed | Teams / Zoom in + out for absent attendees | £600 | £2,500 |
| Single-camera event recording | Archive, highlights, parent copy | £500 | £1,200 |
| Multi-camera live stream | Broadcast-quality event capture | £2,000 | POA |
| Operator day rate (on-site) | Included in Operated tier | £450 | £700 |
Three worked examples
Placeholder client names. Real Manchester rooms. Indicative numbers, ex VAT.
Budget
Small board meeting AGM
The room: 30 shareholders, single agenda hour, boutique meeting room.
Kit: Two-speaker PA, lectern mic, one handheld, single screen.
Tier: Delivered
£400 to £600
Mid
200-guest panel discussion
The room: Hotel conference suite, host + four panellists, Q&A.
Kit: Five-mic panel rig, two roaming Q&A handhelds, projection screen, recording.
Tier: Operated
£2,000 to £2,800
Premium
400-guest awards evening
The room: Ballroom, twelve categories, named host, sponsor reels.
Kit: Dressed stage, LED video wall, four mics, walk-up music, full lighting, multitrack recording, show-call.
Tier: Operated
£4,500 to £8,000
What the pricing gets you
Every operated day looks like this
The price tiers on this page are anchored to what the day actually looks like end to end.
A short walkthrough of what an operated AV day looks like from a client seat: what we bring, what we set up, what we run, what you sign off.
What changes the price
Six things drive most of the variation between events of similar size.
Room size + audience
A 60-seat boardroom needs a different PA to a 400-seat ballroom. Bigger room, bigger speakers, bigger setup time.
Number of mics
Single speaker = one mic. Panel of four with Q&A = seven mics. School musical = up to twelve channels.
Lighting plot
Plain conference room = no lighting needed. Gala dinner = 12 to 24 uplighters. Brand activation = sculpted lighting design.
Operator on the day
Self-run (delivered tier) is cheaper. An on-site operator for the whole event adds £450 to £700 per day.
Hybrid stream
In-room only is the baseline. Adding a Teams / Zoom feed with remote Q&A pipe-back adds £600 to £2,500 depending on quality and camera count.
Recording deliverable
Audio-only multitrack is included on Operated. Single-camera video adds £500 to £1,200. Multi-camera broadcast quality is from £2,000.
Day of the week + season
Weekdays in low season = no surcharge. Weekend nights in awards season = sometimes a surcharge, always flagged at quote time.
Venue distance from Salford
Salford, Manchester, Greater Manchester = no travel charge. Liverpool to Leeds = sometimes a small mileage line. Further afield = quoted per job.
Why we walk the room before we send the number.
A ten-minute look at the room saves a four-figure surprise later. We need to see ceiling height, audience layout, mains points, load-in route and the venue’s installed kit. The walkthrough is free. The quote that follows is written, scoped to your room, and final.
What’s included, and what’s extra
Always included in the quote
- Free venue walkthrough
- Written spec + price breakdown
- Set-up + tune-in + sound check
- De-rig + collection
- Standard cabling + power leads
- Salford-area travel
- Backup mics for critical channels
- Audio recording on Operated tier
Sometimes charged extra (flagged at quote)
- Out-of-hours load-in (before 8am, after 10pm)
- Weekend or bank holiday day rate
- Travel beyond Liverpool to Leeds
- Overnight kit security at the venue
- Additional crew on multi-camera streams
- Branded LED content (we run, agency builds)
- Replacement of damaged consumables
No hidden line items. If anything in the right-hand column applies, you’ll see it on the written quote before you sign anything.
Pricing questions we hear most
VAT, deposits, cancellation, changes, kit failure, the lot.
Are prices on this page ex VAT or inc VAT?
Ex VAT. All ranges shown on this page exclude VAT. The written quote we send you breaks out the ex-VAT total plus VAT on a separate line so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Do you take a deposit?
For most operated events we ask for 25% to 50% on booking, with the balance due 7 days before the event. For dry-hire collected from our Salford workshop we usually take payment on collection. Trade and repeat clients can move to invoice-on-completion.
What payment methods do you accept?
Bank transfer (preferred) and card. We send a written invoice. For trade clients we offer 14-day terms after the first event.
What’s your cancellation policy?
No charge if cancelled more than 14 days before the event. 25% if cancelled inside 14 days. 50% if cancelled inside 7 days. 100% if cancelled inside 48 hours. We try to be reasonable on date moves and venue changes.
Can I change the kit after the quote is signed?
Yes, within reason. Additions get added as a clear line item to the invoice. Removals get credited. We’d rather you ask than worry about a small change.
Why is your “from” price honest but other companies’ aren’t?
Because we walk the venue before quoting. A “from £99” headline that turns into a £1,500 invoice is a worse outcome for everyone. We’d rather show you the real ladder up front.
Do you offer trade pricing for production companies?
10% to 15% off list price on dry hire if you collect, operate and return without needing our technical support. Defined by independence, not job title. Trade pricing details.
Do you charge for the venue walkthrough?
No. The walkthrough is free, and we’d rather walk a room and not get the job than win the job blind. It saves both sides time and money.
How long is a written quote valid for?
Thirty days from issue. After that we’ll re-confirm against the current kit calendar in case anything has moved. Locked-in dates inside the quote are held for 14 days while you decide.
What happens if a piece of kit fails on the day?
On Operated events we carry backup mics and a spare PA channel. If a fixture fails outside our backup stock, we drive a replacement in from our Salford workshop, usually within the hour. No charge for the swap.
Do you charge for set-up and de-rig time?
No. Set-up, tune-in and de-rig are part of the quoted price for delivered and operated tiers. We don’t bill by the hour at the venue.
Are there discounts for multi-day events?
Yes. Day 1 is the full kit + operator day rate. Days 2+ usually drop by 30% to 40% because the kit is already in the room. Worked out per quote based on what stays vs derigs.
Do you offer charity / non-profit pricing?
Often, yes. We support a handful of charities each year with discounted operated days for fundraising events. Ask, and tell us about the cause.
What about price-matching another quote?
We don’t price-match line-for-line, because cheaper quotes usually exclude something we include (operator, backups, recording, the walkthrough). If you have a cheaper quote, share it. We’ll tell you honestly where the difference lives.
How quickly do I get a quote back?
Same working day. Steven answers his own enquiries, not an agency mailbox. If you send the form before 4pm we’ll get a written response back the same day, with a date for a free walkthrough.
Get a written quote
A few details about your event and we’ll come back the same working day with a written quote and a date for a free walkthrough.
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