Funktion One adds a new Spark to Taipei’s nightlife

TAIWAN: A Funktion One system is at the heart of one of Taipei’s most fashionable new nightclubs following an installation by Audio 6 Ltd. Named Spark ATT, and owned by renowned DJ Junior Lin, the 1,200-capacity club follows previous Taiwanese hotspot Spark 101 (located in the Taipei 101 building), and sister venue Halo. Since opening earlier in 2014, Spark ATT has become the go-to destination for Taipei celebrities and socialites.

Located on the seventh floor of the ATT4Fun building in the Hsinyi District of the city, Spark ATT is the most ambitious nightclub yet from Junior Lin, having been modelled on the famous bottle-service clubs of Las Vegas. Its creation represented ‘a complete overhaul of a previous performance space’, explained Audio 6’s system and technical consultant Jonathan Liao, who also worked on the previous 500-capacity Spark 101 nightclub and Halo lounge/club.

‘There were quite a few challenges for all the contractors, especially the interior and the electrical team,’ continued Mr Liao. ‘Access for large items to the venue was not easy and required going from a service elevator through another space. This was obviously time-dependent and therefore put pressure on everyone.

‘Being a DJ himself, Junior is very insistent on quality in the sound system while also meeting his requirements as a club owner. This is both a challenge and a benefit as we had to (and still do) constantly make adjustments to suit his changing needs. On the positive side though, there is a clear directive as Junior has more than 15 years experience running clubs and is a very hands-on kind of owner who is in the club every week, on the floor, and in the DJ booth.’

Mr Lin’s decision to install a Funktion One system follows a previous December 2012 experience of retrofitting the former Spark 101 location with a system from the UK-based manufacturer. ‘Junior liked the point source sound and wanted something similar for Spark 101, which had a low-ceiling with a working height of 2.9m,’ explained Mr Liao. ‘During that time he visited the Octagon club in Seoul, tried out their Funktion One system and liked it very much. After some discussion, we agreed to install two Resolution 3 loudspeakers and four F121 bass enclosures in Spark 101, which he was very happy with.’ Following the decision not to renew the lease of Spark 101 in May 2014, that system now resides in Halo.

In the meantime, the design of Spark 101’s successor, Spark ATT, presented new challenges. ‘Spark ATT is located adjacent to another performance space, and as we were not able to alter the separating wall, there were initial concerns for sound spilling over,’ Mr Liao continues. ‘Fortunately, the venue operators use the adjacent space mostly for daytime and evening events, whereas Spark ATT does not open its doors until 11pm.’

The Howard Liao Design interior has also been accommodated. ‘Inside the club interior, there are quite a lot of hard surfaces and mirrors on the wall. However, the club floor and stage is built of wood platforms with vinyl tiles and is much softer than concrete flooring. To further mitigate bad reflections, all the speakers are directed at the crowd and dance floor. This is a benefit of Funktion One point source speakers – I can adjust where the sound goes with more accuracy than a line-source speaker.’

The completed main system comprises customised dance stacks based on a famous design in London’s Warehouse nightclub. On each side of the DJ booth, two ‘skeletal’ Resolution 3SH EVO mid-high sections work alongside a pair of F215 mkII double 15-inch woofers and two F221 Bass double 21-inch enclosures. ‘It is the first dance stack system in Taiwan, and represents an upgrade on the standard F1 dance stack by using the F215 mkII for extra “punch”, with the visually unique skeletal Res3SH EVO tops,’ Mr Liao enthused.

He added: ‘Junior had a lot of input in the design as I dealt with him directly. We went through many discussions and trialled many variations on site so he could get a feel of how it would look and sound in the venue. Initially, he wanted to use a smaller system to take up less footprint and to minimise the impact on the LED wall. I recalled the skeletal R3SH EVO system at Warehouse, and he liked the look of it. Then after hearing the two F221s per side, this sealed the deal even though the final footprint was larger than the original plans.’

Power for the system is delivered via two FFA F10000 amplifiers plus a single FFA 6004, while an XTA DP548 is employed for loudspeaker management. Elsewhere in the venue, a peripheral system of seven 15-inch M-650 mkII loudspeakers from Reyn Audio, powered by Reyn QX4 amps, has been installed. ‘Originally, the club was going to be a full Funktion One fit-out, but in the end Junior  decided that the peripheral system would be Reyn Audio’s own brand speakers,’ Mr Liao explains. ‘Matching two different loudspeaker brands is not easy but with XTA processing and the Dynamic EQ function of the DP548, we were able to achieve accurate settings and keep the sound balanced, clear and distortion free.’

Adding visual flair to Spark’s interior is a Mars Dotz LED ceiling from Orbit Optotech with Madrix control. In the booth, DJs perform on four Pioneer CDJ2000 Nexus CD players and a single DJM900 Nexus mixer. A Midas Venice 160 mixer at front of house feeds the signal to the processors.

Reflecting on the completed installation, Mr Liao commented: ‘Junior has been a loyal supporter of Audio 6 since Spark 101, and we were keen to continue the relationship. In terms of clubs, Spark ATT is a marquee installation and is a benchmark for other clubs at the moment in regards to sound. It is our most successful installation to date and is a key reference in the club market for us.’

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