Opened in 2014, The Jane has two areas. Downstairs is a high-end restaurant for 75 people, while upstairs is a 38-seater bar area where guests can share food, enjoy cocktails and listen to local and international DJs. Later in the evening diners can move upstairs to enjoy a pre-clubbing vibe and The Jane also hosts special events where big-name DJs play to the whole venue.
The Jane team had a clear idea of the kind of sound they needed, as Bril explains: "We wanted the music to be like a waterfall - with more intensity upstairs, yet diners downstairs still being able to appreciate the full range of the sound flowing into the restaurant." The team also needed a system that could be turned up later in the evening - and pushed even harder during special events.
The vast old church posed a number of acoustic challenges - with high ceilings plus lots of reflective surfaces provided by the tiled floors and stained glass windows. And getting the sound right before the first guests have walked through the door was not going to be easy. The Jane team decided Pioneer Pro Audio was the team to help them bring their vision to life.
Pioneer Pro Audio teamed up with The Jane's local installation partner Discostore to create a system that could give full coverage throughout the venue: a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant and a more energetic vibe in the bar.
This waterfall effect was achieved by installing six XY-81 two-way speakers, in white, and one XY-215S quasi-bandpass subwoofer, in black. All the speakers are installed in the upstairs area and positioned to take advantage of the building's acoustics to help the sound cascade to diners below.
The compact XY-81s were installed horizontally in an array around the bar area, with the constant directivity horns rotated to ensure a wide, even dispersion. The speakers provide a subtle sound across the frequencies during the day and early evening, but they are powerful enough to create a pre-clubbing atmosphere in the bar area at night. The XY-215S, with its twin 15-inch low frequency drivers, provides a warm bass upstairs, with a comfortable low frequency sound in the restaurant.
The system is driven by two Powersoft amps - one K3 and one K2 - both with built-in DSP and Pioneer pre-sets. The team used Armonia Pro Audio software, which gives the management and installers remote access to the amps day and night.
"The room EQ options are set for The Jane's unique acoustics, spreading the sound evenly while reducing noise and echo. And certain frequency ranges can be eliminated early in the daytime and early evening, to make it more comfortable for people in the restaurant and eating in the bar," says Alex Barrand, Pioneer Pro Audio manager.
The XY-81s' constant directivity horns and array configuration deliver a smooth SPL without any hotspots and enable the music to travel to the dining area without loss of sound quality. The positioning of the XY-215S takes full advantage of the building's unique acoustics, spreading the bass throughout the venue - even at low volumes.
(Jim Evans)
