QSC Provides Flexible Solution for the Albyn

20.01.2006 -- A new £3.5 million multizone development project in Aberdeen has been equipped with a flexible, cost-efficient QSC amplification package, specified by contractors Absolute Audio Systems.

 

Owned by the European Development Company (EDC) the exclusive club, bar and restaurant — housed in a three-storey 19th century granite building — has been sensitively converted into ‘The Albyn’ by Edinburgh-based architects/designers Kerr Blyth Associates (KBA).

Working with architectural technicians, Canale Associates, KBA also designed a two-storey extension to the rear of the property to incorporate the bar, restaurant and entertainment area, featuring a grand piano, acoustically tuned and suspended ceiling mirrors and booth seats. The members’ lounge underneath is specifically designed for the over 30’s crowd with a two-level Martini bar, sunken dance floor with integrated stage for live music and star-encrusted sofa area with delicate chain drapes.

 

Into this sumptuous environment Absolute designed the technological multi-zone infrastructure — based around a QSC solution (networked via proprietary DSP devices).

 

“The venue’s requirements were absolute quality and dispersion — and this goal was easily achieved thanks to the combination of products chosen,” states their senior project design manager, Chris Preston. “QSC’s CX range was selected because it provides amazing headroom and dynamics without having to really drive the system.

 

All the gain settings are stored in a pair of DSPdevices, providing a 16 x 16 distribution matrix. This network is essential since the venue will route a variety of sound sources — from computer-generated background music, low-level sophisticated lounge jazz and live bands — to the many different sound zones.

 

For his engine, the installer has turned to multi-channel QSC amplification to achieve the optimum results, designing the system around seven 4-channel CX404’s, supported by a CX702, CX902 and CX1102 — all supplied by Shure Distribution UK.

 

“The venue was zoned in variety of reconfigurable ways, and we were able to create precise levels and EQ for each group of speakers via the DSP and QSC amplification,” he said.

 

“Having the multi-channel CX404s gave us great flexibility for this purpose, all in a 2U package. We also used a number of bridged CX404’s to supply higher power to 8 ohm enclosures, ensuring consistency in amplifier types within the rack.

 

The CX902 and CX1102 were employed for the ground floor dance area while the CX702 powered the live jazz/musician areas on both ground floor and basement (coupled with the bridged CX404s).

 

“The overall result is outstanding,” says Preston. “As for the amplifiers, they are happy to tick over in the air-conditioned rack room, running well within themselves.

 

Sharing responsibility for the high-class sound is KBA design director, Gail Thomson, who took charge of the acoustic treatment, creating the suspended ‘mirrored’ acoustic panels to deflect the high frequencies and absorb the lows.

 

Summarised EDC director, Finlay Cran, “The Albyn is a completely unique venue and something that Aberdeen has never seen before.”

 

 


Release 16