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- QLight loudspeaker
systems are forming the key
element in an intelligent
zoning installation at Ba
Orient, a unique style of
cocktail and dim sum bar in
the fashionable Mermaid Quay
area of Cardiff, UK
Designed
and installed by Enhance Audio
of Bristol, the bar's new
sound system features a total
of 23 Turbosound loudspeakers,
distributed throughout the
venue's public areas and
private VIP suites.
The
design was conceived by
Enhance Audio's Jerey Denning,
with the Ba Orient's system
based on QLight™ TQ-308
and TQ-230 enclosures,
deployed in multiple stereo
zones, complemented by TQ-115
and TSB-110 bass units
installed at floor level and
built into columns along the
venue's central axis. A
TXD-081 loudspeaker is also
installed as a monitor for the
DJ station, which is
incorporated into the bar.
Enhance Audio used flexible
rubber suspension brackets to
mount all the mid-high
loudspeakers, in conjunction
with acoustic treatment of the
ceiling void, to prevent sound
from the Ba Orient being
transmitted to the Italian
restaurant on the floor
above.
The
owner's brief for the Ba
Orient sound system required a
different approach to the more
conventional up-front bar
presentation. The emphasis was
on creating a relaxed wash of
sound, with the capacity for
higher levels during weekend
evenings. With four
public-area zones, and three
VIP suites which can be hired
out independently for private
meetings the system had to be
sufficiently flexible to
provide some of the zones,
particularly the VIP suites,
with their individual choice
of music. The system is
configured with a total of
five stereo images in the
public and bar areas, using
TQ-308 mid-highs, with a pair
of TQ-230 mid-highs installed
in each VIP suite. Control
over the zoning is handled by
a BIAMP AudioSolo system,
using four Select 8 control
panels to give localised
control over levels and
sources.
Jerey
Denning, of Enhance Audio,
explained his approach: "The
Ba Orient comprises a long
main room, approximately 20
metres long by less than 10
wide, and to achieve the
optimum quality throughout, we
designed the system to have a
stereo image at every four
metres down the room. Each
stereo pair of TQ-308
enclosures has a supporting
TQ-115 sub-bass unit, built
into a cabinet at the base of
each column, while the TQ-230
mid-high pairs in the VIP
suites each have an associated
TSB-110 bass enclosure.
Configuring the system in this
way has enabled us to ensure a
tight stereo image within each
zone, and with a very even
distribution of low
frequencies. The coverage
patterns of the Turbosound
speakers are entirely
appropriate for this kind of
application, and the designs
make a highly significant
contribution to the
consistency of image and
quality throughout the venue.
An important factor for the Ba
Orient project is that this
performance can be maintained
as the levels rise during an
evening. Typically, the levels
are set-up to rise at around
5pm, and again at 7pm, as
customers leave work and the
bar gets busier, with further
increases later in the evening
and on DJ nights. The
automated levels can also be
controlled manually, for
example within the VIP suites,
with the whole system
re-setting at the end of each
evening. The overall result is
a very good combination of
quality, control and
flexibility."
Conceived
primarily as a stylish,
up-market cocktail bar, the Ba
Orient represents a fresh
concept among the venues along
Cardiff's Mermaid Quay, and
serves a rather different menu
based on traditional Chinese
dim sum.
One
of the partners of the Ba
Orient commented on the
venue's aims and the results
of Enhance Audio's
installation: "We created the
Ba Orient to offer a unique
environment, incorporating a
number of unusual design
elements, including the
interior aesthetics, as well
as the audio and lighting
technology. Our main objective
was to offer our wide-ranging
clientele the best quality
experience, from the choice of
food and drink, to the music.
We can be serving business
lunches at the start of our
day, while creating a livelier
atmosphere later in the
evenings, with a DJ on weekend
nights. Our sound system had
to be able to handle a wide
range of music, while
retaining its quality and
clarity at different volumes
levels. With help from Jerey
at Enhance Audio, we did a
considerable amount of
research into the kind of
system we were looking for,
visiting other venues and
listening to a number of
products. We were particularly
attracted to the Turbosound
loudspeakers, and they have
proved to be perfectly suited
to our venue. Their very clear
and detailed sound does not
inhibit easy conversation,
even when running fairly loud.
It is certainly the best
sounding system we have heard
in a venue of this type, and
we are very satisfied with the
results. Jerey worked very
hard to ensure we had a design
that fully met our
expectations. If we ever open
another venue, we will
certainly go this same route
again."
In
addition to the Turbosound
loudspeakers, Enhance Audio
also installed a variety of
MC2 power amplifiers,
including T-1500, T-1000,
T-500 and T4-250 models, plus
a BIAMP AudioSolo 4-in/12-out
DSP system with wall-panel
volume/selectors. The DJ
equipment included a Denon
DN-D4000 double CD player,
Technics SL1210 turntables and
an Allen & Heath Xone:92
mixer, with a Denon 5-disc CD
carousel and a c-burn digital
music system being supplied
for playback
duties.
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