Let me entertain you

The ongoing popularity of any bar or nightclub is not as much to do with the price of the drinks, as it is to do with the atmosphere and comfortable vibe. Studies have proven that the sound quality plays a significant role in determining the comfort of a venue it also influences the amount of time people spend there.

A cheap set of speakers going at full volume will make customers uneasy. And the lighting is just as important as the sound, says Darian Sundars of Edwards Sound Light & Vision.

"When it came to designing the sound and lighting for the Garrison Public House at Sylvia Park, it was a case of providing a high-quality look and feel, with all the bells and whistles. But at the same time, we had to keep it as subtle as possible," he says.

"The owners requested a multi-zone audiovisual system that would enable different areas within the bar and outdoor garden area to be controlled separately. To achieve this, we broke the bar down into five independent zones controlled via a matrix. The audio and visual systems in each zone are independently controlled. This means, for example, a zone may be screening a Sky feed while a DJ is providing live music in another area."

Darian Sundars says the technology behind the scenes is highly complex, but the user interface is simple to operate, intuitive and very user friendly. All the sound and lighting can be controlled from a single, portable Crestron touch screen.

To provide the specified quality and sound pressure level around the venue, the system utilises powerful DAS speakers, with sub-woofers positioned in specially designed, discreet enclosures.

The Crestron front end not only provides the control over the audio and video switching matrices, but the entire front of house lighting as well. It enables the user to recall, edit and save desired audio, video and lighting setups.

For the dance floor, the four moving heads use a separate program and controller, called Sunlite. The light show can be driven by the DJ, or it can run from presets that change the scenes and colours of the dance floor and ceiling. This system also controls the LED lighting behind the bar.

"Our client recognised the importance of having the right equipment from the start, which made it easier to provide such an outcome on this project," says Darian Sundars.

For details, contact Edwards Sound Light & Vision, phone 0800 4 Edwards (433 927). Email: darian@edwardsnz.co.nz. Or visit the company's website: www.edwardsnz.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas