SoundGarden Hall, Philadelphia’s newest concert venue, is a 2,100-capacity live event space serving the local nightlife scene with electronic, alternative, rock, pop, and R&B music.
Artists who have already performed at the hall since it opened in September include Paul van Dyk, Cosmic Gate, Super8 & Tab, Nadia Ali, and Tritonal.
Ian Hoffer of Aurora Sound and Light Design LLC provided design, sale, and installation for SoundGarden Hall, which was handled by several personnel who also worked on the Meyer Sound-equipped Rumor nightclub one year earlier.
Rumor’s UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers were a hit with management, so they were also the choice to head the design of SoundGarden Hall’s system.
Hoffer says: “The people involved in SoundGarden Hall were so impressed with the UPJ-1Ps I used at Rumor that when we were evaluating speakers for SoundGarden’s delay fills, they said, ‘Can’t we just use some more of those UPJs?’”
Hoffer selected six Meyer Sound 600-HP subwoofers, the exclusive subwoofer in use for the main hall. Five UPJ-1P loudspeakers are used for delay fill, with two others for the DJ booth monitor. A Meyer Sound UMS-1P subwoofer is installed for the DJ booth.
SoundGarden Hall’s elaborate lighting design fills the entirety of the concert hall. The layout created challenges, says Hoffer, which he was able to meet with the Meyer Sound UPJ-1P.
“There was no convenient spot to put delay-fill speakers,” he recalls, “and there’s nowhere to have stands coming up from the floor. At the same time, because the ceiling is set up more like a nightclub, the customer is enveloped in the sound-light experience throughout the whole facility.
“We used UPJs with Meyer’s MUB-UPJ U-brackets, put two theatrical clamps on them, and mounted them to the light pipes, so the delay speakers actually disappear into the lighting grid. That worked well. And the output for the size is impressive.”
SoundGarden Hall also features an MA Lighting command wing and a Yamaha M7CL-32 digital mixing console.