Describing itself as 'eclectic, warm and decadent', the Dome Bar at the exclusive Crown Hotel prides itself on its ostentatious décor. So not only did Saltec have to provide a top-quality audio system which would primarily handle background music, but also be suitable for the bar's Friday and Saturday night DJ slot, but the loudspeakers needed to be visually unobtrusive.
Saltec's Stephen Askins chose eight TCS35. "The client wanted a good quality of sound with an even coverage throughout the venue," he says. "We chose TCS35s as we had used them in other venues with great success and knew they would provide the quality of sound we were after."
One of the hotel's exterior walls adjoins a residential site, so the system had to be volume limited to comply with council regulations. This was done with the system's DBX Zonepro front end and the council, residents and hotel owner have all pronounced themselves happy with the result.
"Everyone has been very impressed with the sound," says Askins. "As a direct result, we were awarded two further hotel contracts after they listened to the sound at The Dome Bar." One of those contracts was the Red Cow hotel.
The Red Cow already had a long association with Turbosound so, during a recent complete renovation, Saltec was contracted to install a number of Impact 50s in the two-level bar area. One of the challenges was that the hotel is a listed building, so great care had to be taken with loudspeaker placement to make them as unobtrusive as possible and to limit any damage to the building's fabric.
Used for background music, the speakers are also controlled by DBX Zonepro. The latter's autowarmth feature ensures that the Impact 50s sound perfect even at low volume. And such has been the enthusiastic feedback from the hotel's owners, they have asked Saltec to design a new sound system for one of their other hotels.
In complete contrast to the Red Cow is the Aurora Bar - a brand new, ultra-modern venue at the centre of Sydney's business district. As a bustling city centre bar, it required a background music installation that could compete with constant loud conversation and would also be suitable for DJs on Friday nights.
"The client originally specified another brand of speaker," says Askins. "But we took him to hear the sound at the Dome Bar and he immediately changed his mind, requesting Turbosound speakers instead!"
As with the Dome Bar, Saltec installed Turbosound TCS35s. Despite the modern décor of the Aurora Bar, which includes a lot of flat reflective surfaces, Askins reported that the installation included "no real dramas, although speaker placement was difficult given that the room is long and narrow.
"The clients are extremely happy with the sound from the Turbosound speakers," Askins concludes. "All of these installations had their own particular challenges, but the speakers are consistently delivering high quality audio. And that's what's most important!"
(Chris Henry)
