K-Array caters for all eventualities at Mr and Mrs Bund
Published: ASIA
CHINA: A K-Array system described as a ‘tour de force’ has been installed at Mr and Mrs Bund, a leading avant-garde restaurant inside Shanghai’s Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. Led by world-renowned French chef Paul Pairet, the restaurant was opened with the goal of creating a broad menu of high-end French dishes for a wide selection of diners and was recently awarded the 11th place spot on William Reed Business Media’s countdown of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants.
Mr Pairet inherited a sound system from the previous tenant which was deemed unfit for the purpose and subsequently enlisted the help of Sennheiser China to install a new system capable of matching its world-class menu. Led by president Marc Vincent, Sennheiser was responsible for the design, installation and tuning of the new system. As a regular diner at the restaurant, he was able to lend a personal point-of-view to the project.
‘I must admit that I took it as a great honour being a fan of Paul’s creative cuisine and the charming and relaxed atmosphere of the main dining room,’ explained Mr Vincent, on being approached for the project. ‘I go there as often as possible. Now music can fill its duty and add to the dining experience, making the evening totally enjoyable.’
The brief required more than 2,700m3 of sound coverage throughout the historic 19th Century building. The chosen solution also needed to provide smooth and subtle sound reinforcement during dining hours while being able to ramp up the power when accompanying the house DJ at night. Sennheiser catered to this requirement by installing six K-Array KK102s and six KK52s distributed around the room. For low frequency extension, KMT18 subwoofers were positioned in each corner of the room along with four KU36 compact subs embedded into the walls. KA10-10 amplifiers power the entire system.
According the Mr Vincent, the installed system blends in with the interior décor elegantly and is able to provide high-fidelity sound during all phases of the evening. Mr Pairet’s vision of a truly modern French eatery is now supported with an equally modern audio solution.