More than 200 Martin Audio loudspeakers, spanning many of the company’s front-line ranges, have been installed throughout Bla Bla, a new beach club leisure complex in Dubai encompassing 20 bars, a beach club and three restaurants (as well as sound stages) all under one roof.
Set on 100,000 square feet of beachfront in the Jumeirah Beach Resort (JBR) that overlooks Bluewaters and the Big Wheel, Bla Bla is the under the direction of CEO Mohammad Islam working alongside co-founder Steve Taylor from Autus Partners Management Consultancy, who masterminded the design and managed the project. The audio approach was specified by design consultant Bengan Hovgard of Loud and Clear Audio Visual and installed by Pulse Middle East.
“I chose Martin Audio because the brand is well supported in the region,” Hovgard says. “The CDD range was suitable for this project as it is available in both indoor and outdoor version which enabled us to achieve the same look and sound throughout the venue. The CDD range also provided the best coverage for some of the narrower terraces and balconies in the venue.”
The consultant and integrators deployed CDD6, CDD8, CDD10, CDD12 and CDD15 models. All outdoor areas, or those exposed to the elements, have “WR” weatherized versions. Also in the outdoor areas, SX118 subwoofers provide low-end reinforcement at the pool stage with SX112 subs doing likewise in the surround areas.
Further quantities of Martin Audio ADORN A55 loudspeakers are mounted in ancillary areas and some on the cabanas outside. C4.8T ceiling loudspeakers handle the reception area, while the Irish-themed Bar is served by Blackline X8 loudspeakers and X115 subs. Finally, sound for acts appearing on stage outdoors is provided by Martin Audio LE200 floor monitors, while indoor stage monitoring is via the portable BlacklineX Powered series models deployed as both stage and DJ monitors and not required to be as water-resistant.
Martin Audio supported the installation in creating presets and custom EQ, while all equipment was supplied by local distributor PRO LAB. As for the range of themed bars, in addition to the Irish Bar there’s the Butterfly Bar, a Bali-themed beach bar by the pool, a Hollywood themed bar, a classic British pub, a Japanese bar, and many more, while the three restaurants offer Japanese, Italian, and BBQ cuisine. Nightclubs exist on two levels, each with their own DJ booths.
Finally, the Graffiti Bar, with a spray-painted interior that’s joined by white Martin Audio CDD6-WR loudspeakers. “We have graffiti-sprayed them to ensure they blend invisibly into the background,” explains Pulse operations director Greg Brown. “We have worked a lot with Bengan, and he is familiar with CDD and its performance.”We had to be extremely careful to protect the grilles and ensure the water resistance wasn’t compromised.”
Every zone in the complex is networked and runs on a Dante backbone. “Any source can be played anywhere in the venue including from any of the stages,” Brown says. “There are 140 channels of amplification and all routing is handled by Symetrix Radius NX devices.”
Martin Chiervo of events management company Empire Stages, which was brought in to supervise the technical side of the operation, concludes, “We have a great variety of Martin Audio speakers covering absolutely all the audio requirements at Bla Bla Dubai with exceptional quality. From our main poolside stage, all the bars, reception and even down to the toilets, Martin Audio has shown it’s capable of delivering the best coverage to every single corner of our venue with pristine quality.”
