CP Sound has delivered sound solutions for a variety of top class restaurants up over the last five years, including several flagship venues for the Conran Group and a number of leading independents.
CP's Colin Pattenden previously worked with Filpi on several high profile projects whilst he was a project manager at the Ignite Group (Eclipse Bars, Bouji's, etc). "We stated with a challenging situation" says Pattenden "The restaurant was already built when they decided a proper sound system was vital to the ambience". The CP team therefore undertook the task of installing the system and leaving the venue pristine behind them.
Mooli's is a small main room with a relatively low ceiling and a pavement terrace for the summer. They required a top quality, smooth sounding background music system. For control, Pattenden specified a CD player for audio playback and a Cloud CX 163 zoner plus an RSE PFX500 amplifier with clip control. "This is all tried and tested technology that's 100 per cent reliable," he says "And that's one of the most important elements for any installation."
On the speaker front, he again went for JBL - his brand of choice for this type of installation, because "There's a huge range of speakers available, and the excellent quality, depth and richness of the sound."
Hidden under the banquette seating are two JBL Control SB2 subs to deal with the bottom end. For mid/tops, there's eight white JBL Control 23 speakers, picked for their compactness - they are in perfect proportion with the rest of the room. Four of these are attached discreetly to the walls hidden in alcoves . To ensure every millimetre of available roof-space is maximised, CP fabricated some special L-shaped mounting brackets, and the other four control 23 speakers are mounted onto these allowing the sound to reflect off the walls and back into the middle of the room below.
Moolis is split into two audio zones. It was proving difficult to gauge the volume levels in the area away from the bar whilst you were actually in the bar itself, so CP installed a pair of computer monitor speakers behind the bar that are connected to the front area, proving a hit with the bar staff and allowing sound to be quickly and easily balanced throughout the whole space.
CP undertook all the cabling, which involved plenty of lateral thinking and tough work drilling in and out of the building several times to ensure it stayed hidden from view.
Pattenden says: "It's a nice classy installation appropriate for the venue, and it really kicks ass when required as well! Everyone is really happy!"
(Chris Henry)
