Old Barn Audio (OBA) recentlyequipped a rooftop bar/restaurant concept––part of Exeter, England’s new £12 million Queen St Dining regeneration project—with Martin Audio‘s new CDD and CDD-WR loudspeaker series.
Situated in the city’s Guildhall Shopping Center, The Terrace is the brainchild of directors Joe Hill and Steve Keogh, owners of the successful Artigiano coffee chain. They had been looking to diversify into an upscale all-day and late night operation over three floors, including a rooftop bar at the top.
“We recommended Martin Audio’s CDD series,” says OBA director, Phil Clark, “and after checking all credentials, the client chose us over the brands submitted by the other companies.”
“In addition,” notes Clark, “their DJs also recommended Martin Audio, which pushed the decision further in our favor.”
At ground floor level, the entrance-cloakroom is served by a pair of CDD5 loudspeakers. The main action is contained on the next floor among the New York loft style environment. Here six CDD10 loudspeakers take the general background music day time feeds while the main dance floor is equipped with four CDD12, two recessed 2 x 12in CSX212 subs and a CDD10 for DJ monitoring.
The upstairs fine-dining area is equipped with a further four CDD10 loudspeakers to offer background music or higher-level DJ music, routed from the floor below, if desired. And finally, for the upstairs roof deck, four CDD5-WR (Weatherized) enclosures have been specified.
The system is driven by Powersoft M-series amplifiers and routed via Symetrix Radius DSP, with custom designed touch screen control for the 18 LED moving heads (programmed in many different ways).
The provision of five stereo plugin points provides versatility for incoming iPods, and when The Terrace wishes to present live music upstairs—such as acoustic duos—the band inputs will cut the sound automatically from the rear and turn the sound rig into a conventional L/R front facing PA.
All the technology has been placed on an enclosed Wi-Fi network while the Symetrix also interfaces with the fire alarm system.
“With a dedicated entertainments team they want to attract the top DJs, and they love the clarity and power of CDD,” concludes Clark.