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Owners Kristi Anderson and Bryce McKamey conceived Seattle’s See Sound Lounge, nestling in the heart of trendy Belltown, over dinner in New York City one day in 2001. For a venue that came about from an evening’s conversation, it has turned into something rather special that indulges a few of Anderson and McKamey’s personal passions. Not least of which is what McKamey declares to be ‘studio quality audio’ based around a Turbosound QLight™ loudspeaker system.
See Sound Lounge describes itself as the implementation of logic and ergonomics, utilising neutral, linear and organic elements to create a clean and minimalist environment, where contemporary and ultra comfy sofas, ottomans and day beds articulate the true meaning of lounging.
A glowing, streamlined bar with Italian leather bar-seats, DJ booth, luxurious private guest room, open air façade, and soothing water features, along with a speciality martini cocktail and champagne menu, complete the picture. With such attention to detail paid to the overall effect, no wonder the audio was so important.
“I originally heard Turbosound while working at the Beach Club in Brighton, UK as a bartender back in ’99,” says McKamey. “Then I was blown away by a temporary “Big DJ in a little club” Turbosound installation at Bar None in Vancouver for Danny Tenaglia [New York-based DJ and music producer] in ‘01. The sound was so big, yet so clean you could easily hold a conversation while feeling the sound through your whole body.”
Back in 2004, McKamey originally installed only two TQ-445DPs into See Sound Lounge, alongside equipment from other manufacturers, but then realised that the sound of the Turbosound enclosures was much better than anything else in Seattle.
“Initially, we were going to expand on our other brand,” he continues. “But their customer service, warranty policy and turnaround were horrible. And once we heard the Turbosound TQ-445DPs and experienced the customer service, our choice to install all Turbosound throughout was not even an issue.”
Since then, he has added two TQ-308 mid highs, a TQ-310 passive two-way wide dispersion cabinet, three TCS-40 dual 8”/1” passive two-way low profile cabinets and two TSB-212 subs, along with Turbosound LMS-D24 and D26 controllers.
“I still plan to add two more TCS-40 in our Deep room (VIP) and two TCS-56s to our main dance floor,” he says. “I’m a house DJ here, so I’ve positioned the sound in the room so that the sweet spot is about six feet in front of the DJ. This, with the booth monitor levels set at the right level, makes for extremely clean, wrap around monitoring for a DJ. It’s a dream to play on.”
See Sound Lounge was voted best lounge by City Search and AOL, Seattle Weekly best bar, nominated for best lounge in the Club World Awards 2006 and McKamey himself was awarded Seattle Weekly best DJ. Not that proof, in the shape awards, of just how good a venue this is seems necessary.
“We get so many compliments about how clean our sound is,” concludes McKamey. “In fact, many DJs have stated that our room has the best sound in Seattle.”
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