Although it is one of the premier dining and entertainment establishments in the upscale resort villages of the Hamptons, Dockers Waterside went without a fully-integrated professional sound system until only recently.
The attractions that draw vacationers, weekenders, and residents to Dockers Waterside include regular live music, two outdoor “living rooms,” three bars, scores of tables that overlook the bay, and, of course, five-star cuisine.
Taylor Sound of Holtsville, New York dramatically improved the sound system with a cost-effective and comprehensive Symetrix Zone Mix 761 fixed-architecture processor and the owner and management are enjoying convenient control from their smartphones via Symetrix ARC-WEB.
“Dockers Waterside previously had some amplifiers and music-store-grade analog and digital processors,” explained Bill Taylor, owner of Taylor Sound. “Some of the components had gone bad, but the real motivation for upgrading the system was the owner’s inability to manage the inconsistent levels coming out of his music players.
“His solution was to try to compress the signal so as to achieve uniform output, but the compression sucked the life out of the music and killed the low end. It just didn’t sound good.”
The automatic gain control (AGC) in the Symetrix Zone Mix 761, together with the rest of its processing power, produced vastly better results.
Inputs to the 12-input Zone Mix 761 include an iPod, a Sonos music player system, output from the live music system, and a wireless microphone for parties and other events.
Taylor used all six of its outputs to feed six separate zones in Dockers Waterside via three new Crown XLS 1000 amplifiers and the existing loudspeakers.
Additional improvements include a collection of AudioTechnica paddle antennas that provide coverage for the wireless microphone throughout the establishment.
The owner and management select zone inputs and adjust volumes via Symetrix ARC-WEB, which they access from their smartphones. Staff can also make necessary changes using a hardwired Symetrix ARC-2e wall-mounted, menu-driven remote located near the main bar.
“We got the system up and dialed in very quickly,” said Taylor. “We were able to give Dockers so much more functionality than it had previously. Symetrix’ AGC algorithm is great, and the owner is very pleased with the quality and consistency of the sound now. Being able to hand him ARC-WEB put the installation over the edge. He loves having that kind of convenient, cutting-edge control!”