Right across the street from iconic Wrigley Field in Chicago, Hotel Zachary is a dining destination with restaurants from some of the city’s best chef-driven restaurant groups, including Mordecai Whiskey & Grill, West Town Bakery and Dutch & Doc’s — and all have been equipped with Martin Audio CDD Series loudspeakers by Tim Pickett and Encompass AV, based in nearby Elk Grove Village, IL.
“We designed the audio/video system that runs throughout the entire hotel lobby space which also includes the reception area, a large open bar in the center, a patio on the second level, and a private dining room,” Pickett explains.
The sound system consists of 33 Martin Audio CDD6 loudspeakers in a custom color (London Fog) to match interiors in the rest of the building, along with five CDD6WR outdoor loudspeakers for the patio. In addition, eight CDD5s are mounted around the bar for fill. All loudspeakers are ceiling- or wall-mounted, with 11 CSX112 subwoofers — also ceiling-mounted — deployed around the space. Nine C6.8T ceiling loudspeakers serve the rest rooms.
“We wanted crisp, clear and a very even sound throughout a space that varies in terms of people congregating in certain areas like the bar and single tables where people are eating lunch, yet we were faced with hard acoustic surfaces like a concrete ceiling with no acoustic absorption, hard walls and floors, with lots of glass surfaces as well,” Pickett notes. “The trick was to get exceptional coverage with correctly positioned small speakers and strategically placed subs to fill out the low end. The hotel wants really good quality sound that’s upbeat and rocks.
“There are a lot of concerts in Wrigley Field with artists like Sting and Pearl Jam,” he continues, “and they want the same vibe to carry over on those nights so they can feature a playlist from that band that’s 9 dB louder than normal for the fans staying at the hotel. CDD has the differential dispersion pattern which is huge. You get that smooth, even square-edged coverage pattern which creates a nice flow throughout the space.
“Where CDD really dominates the market is the quality of the vocals and the highs, that’s what really separates them from the competition. It doesn’t sound like it’s coming through a horn, it sounds like a great home stereo speaker.”
