Appetite for sound
Published: MEA
Pier 7 in Dubai Marina has become one of the hotspots for new eateries in the Emirate. With the likes of Fumé, Atelier M and The Scene by Simon Rimmer, each of the seven floors of the venue provides a different delight for the palate. Offering a contemporary fusion of the Far East and the Middle East is Asia Asia on the building’s sixth floor.
While the food maybe of Asian origin, the venue’s sound system has a distinctly Western European flavour thanks to Dubai-based company Pulse ME. Entering through a curving tunnel-like entrance it is inside the main dining area where the sound system really comes to the front. Here Asia Asia has opted for the combination of TW Audio speakers and Powersoft amps to create a smooth even sound that penetrates every corner of the venue.
‘The Client was looking for a high-end audio system where he could get clear full range sound from low level music, and deliver the same quality at high music levels,’ explains Pulse ME managing partner Joe Chidiac.
While this sounds like a regular brief for any project, this one was met by particularly discerning ears. Freek Teusink, one of the partners in the restaurant, was tasked with selecting the sound system. Given his history as a monitor engineer in his early career back in the Netherlands, Mr Teusink was determined the new venue would have the right kind of sound.
‘When I heard the TW Audio boxes, I knew they would be right for the main system in Asia Asia,’ says Mr Teusink. ‘This is a restaurant/lounge, but I wanted the lounge area to really kick off. We chose TW Audio because of the crisp, clear sound and beautiful bass. It’s a really balanced sound and I can turn it up quite loud without disturbing the guests. If you have a lower quality loudspeaker it can get distorted and that would not be a nice experience for our customers.’
Asia Asia’s discreet system consists of four TW Audio M12 speakers, eight M8 units and a pair of M10s. Low end is supplied by a pair of flying S30 subs as well as a B15. Power for the whole system is courtesy of six Powersoft K3 DSP amplifiers. While the amp rack is hidden behind some beautiful wooden carvings by the main entrance, the cabinets themselves disappear into the black ceiling as the decorative birdcages attract the attention.
This is a sound system that is heard but not seen, and the systems integrator is particularly happy with the combination of the two brands. ‘After a lot of experience with these two brands and following each new project we design and implement, we are becoming more confident that we shouldn’t look for an alternative,’ states Mr Chidiac. ‘Simply speaking it’s like magic.’
For the partner in the venue, it is not only the combination of products, but the company behind the installation that makes Asia Asia a success. ‘There are a lot of top brands out there, but it is the interplay of TW Audio and Joe,’ says Mr Teusink. ‘Pulse ME offers an excellent service – Joe is always available if we need him, the quality of the products they install means the sound is, so why would we go for something else?’
Designed for sound
As a venue owner with a professional grounding in sound, Mr Teusink is careful that the system selected will meet the needs of the venue as well as matching the concept. To this end, the sound system was always under consideration when it came to designing Asia Asia.
‘I didn’t design the venue around the sound, but when I designed this venue and created the layout, I was very confident of where I could put the speakers,’ says Mr Teusink. ‘This was actually quite easy because it’s quite a long bar and the distance to the back is not very far. So four 12-inch speakers at 90-degrees dispersion each was really enough with the subs as well.
‘While designing the venue I kept an eye on where I could put my subs and how it would sound,’ he continues. ‘I chose to have some subs in the ceiling. We have an open ceiling so you don’t see them and I didn’t really have a lot of space on the floor.
‘I aimed the speakers a little higher so I could cover the booths as well,’ continues Mr Teusink. ‘It works fine and customers don’t have to shout at each other to be heard.’
Equally, the décor in the venue has combined to aid the audio install. ‘I’m super-happy with the acoustics here,’ says Mr Teusink. ‘When I designed it, I didn’t build it for the acoustics, but I knew all the soft furnishings and wood would help.’
Meeting the challenge
Despite the advantages of considering the sound during the design process, there was still the challenge of ensuring it the end result matched the concept of the venue. ‘In any venue, you always struggle to find the right sound,’ notes Mr Teusink. ‘Here, because it is a lounge, you want to have a conversation so the music has to be loud enough to talk without the next door table being able to hear what you are saying. It needs to be pleasant, but it needs to have some volume, then at the weekends it will become much louder – I really want people to enjoy themselves here.’
Every installation offers its own unique set of challenges, and the project at Asia Asia was no different. ‘The first challenge was the request from the client describing the needed system for the venue and the sound target,’ recalls Mr Chidiac. ‘Speaker size was very important for the client. He was looking for smaller speakers with the highest output which is something not common with all brands. Nothing was impossible though. With TW Audio we could match his requirement and more in terms of quality. The installation used flexible brackets for flying the speakers and subwoofers which made everything work in the right way.’
The combination of a venue designed with sound in mind and a knowledgeable owner has seen even the manufacturers of the various products quick to heap praise on the project. ‘I think we’re lucky because Freek is the owner and also at the same time a sound technician,’ says Bernhard Wuestner, managing director of TW Audio. ‘It makes it so easy. Usually the decision makers do not know so much about sound which makes it hard to explain why you have to pay more for a quality sound system.
‘I think the quality of the club speaks for itself,’ continues Mr Wuestner. ‘The sound fits perfectly to the environment. We are very proud to have our equipment in use here and it is also a good reference for TW Audio.’
Further back the signal chain, the amplifier manufacturer is also happy to have such a high profile reference project. ‘It’s great to have such a fantastic K Series reference out here in the Middle East,’ says Powersoft regional account manager Karl Kahlau. ‘There’s an unbelievable amount of power from such a tiny rack. We have dedicated presets for the TW Audio speakers and they work perfectly together with the K3. Asia Asia really shows how well the K3 meets the needs of high-end venues.’
The final result is something that everyone concerned is clearly proud of. ‘You can see from the finish that this is not a cheap club,’ says Mr Teusink. ‘I preferred to pay for a few good quality speakers than lots that would be less good.’
This philosophy has served the venue well. With the level of investment that has clearly been made into the restaurant it would have been easy to select a cheaper solution that would have done a job in the space. By turning away from this option and opting for a high-quality system, Asia Asia has made a brave but ultimately successful decision. The installation is the embodiment of the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’.