Contour Audio & Acoustics has outfitted the Rise Nation hybrid gym/club locations in Denver with VUE Audiotechnik loudspeakers centered around the newly released e-Class. Founded by Los Angeles personal trainer Jason Walsh, Rise Nation is a recent entrant in the growing group fitness category.
Centered around upright Versaclimb equipment, locations offer a combination of a climbing gym and nightclub with geometric custom-lit ceiling installations and high-energy soundtracks. “While the trend in group fitness gyms is to deliver nightclub-level sound, Rise Nation raises the sound system game to a new level, so it’s no wonder patrons include celebrities and pro athletes,” explains Ryan Balentine, CEO of Denver-based Contour Audio & Acoustics. “The head trainer for all Denver locations was checking out other gyms in the area and he happened upon an install that we did at a cycling studio. He said it was the best sound system at a work out facility he had ever heard and inquired about who installed it. That is how Contour got the gig for the three new Denver Rise Nation locations.”
While the stand-alone Rise Nation flagship location in Cherry Creek allowed for unlimited SPL, the second location in the Highlands neighborhood had restrictions associated with the mixed-use complex in which it is located.
“The new e-351 was a no brainer for this installation given its output-to-size ratio,” says Balentine. “The e-351 is capable of kicking out 118 dB from a 5-inch enclosure which made it the perfect choice for the tight space and the desired club-like experience the client wanted to deliver. Altogether the VUE system can easily handle the mix of electronic and hip hop music while clearly delivering enthusiastic instructor vocals on top of the mix.”
The Cherry Creek gym is configured in a baseball-diamond configuration with the instructor in the corner behind home plate and 34 climbing machines arranged in arched rows. The ceiling is a suspended deck with intelligent custom LED tiling sub hung from it. All walls are double 5/8-inch gypsum board with green glue; the walls to the left and right of the instructor are covered with mirrors.
“A big design constraint was that we needed to make sure the speakers didn’t cut off sight-lines to the ceiling-mounted LED tiles,” Balentine notes. “There were also to be mirrors on the wall up almost to the bottom of the LED tiles so wall mounting the speakers was out of the question. This meant that we had to find small high output speakers that could fit in between the panels.”
For the Cherry Creek location, the system also includes a dozen e-351 architectural elements and two i-6 full-range loudspeakers powered by a v242 VUEDrive Systems Engine designed specifically for the e-class. Two IS-15a subwoofes provided more than enough low-end support.
