The newly built Hutton Hotel in Nashville’s West End Avenue is upscale, with stunning décor, lavish rooms, and exceptional service, with the audio system also fitting this description.
Symetrix SymNet processing works together with an intuitive combination of SymNet and Crestron controllers to weave any number of inputs to any number of outputs across the bar, the restaurant, ballrooms, meeting rooms, and public areas, with sound quality and reliability commensurate with Hutton’s four-star rating.
The system was designed and installed by Nashville A/V integrator Multi-Media Masters with Dan Burgess, engineering manager and Keith Martin, account manager spearheading the project.
Both worked closely with Steven Andre, the general manager of the Hutton Hotel. The basic system is separated into two subsystems, one of which drives the ballrooms and meeting spaces on one side of the building, and a second which handles the bar, restaurant, and private dining areas on the other side.
Each of two ballrooms, which are proximate to three dedicated meeting rooms, can be subdivided into two smaller rooms for a total of up to seven smaller meeting rooms. The subsystem that handles those spaces also provides sound for two hallways, two restrooms, and six elevator landings.
Input plates abound, with jacks for video, microphone-level audio, line-level audio, and CobraNet audio protocol. Each ballroom accommodates up to four mic inputs, whereas each of the meeting rooms accommodate two mic inputs. Even the hallways have mic inputs to serve tours or special events.
SymNet ARC-2 wall panels allow users to cycle through a list of available inputs, including Muzak, and to adjust the overall volume up or down. For more complex control, including anything-to-anywhere routing, users step to the equipment room, where an intuitively organized Crestron touchscreen controller bends the system to his or her will.
“You can plug your iPod into the hallway jack and crank it up in both ballrooms if you like,” laughed Burgess. “The system is completely flexible in terms of inputs and routing. One immensely practical application of this flexibility is for meeting overflow.”
Five SymNet Express 12×4 Cobra provide a wealth of inputs and the brains to condition both the inputs and the outputs. The outputs feed five QSC CX204V four-channel, 200 W per channel amps, which in turn feed over forty punchy EV Evid C8.2 ceiling speakers.
On the other side of the building, a SymNet Express 8×8 Cobra and a SymNet Express 4×4 Cobra provide input and output conditioning for two private dining areas, outdoor areas, elevator landings, hallways, the lobby, the bar, the 1808 Grille – the Hutton Hotel’s gourmet restaurant.
Again, SymNet ARC-2 wall panels provide easy access to three separate Muzak channels and, where appropriate, mic inputs and line inputs. For example, someone who rents out one of the private dining rooms can easily plug in an iPod for custom music.
“I love the overall flexibility of the SymNet system,” said Burgess. “We specialize in Crestron control panels, and the two systems work together flawlessly. In terms of processing flexibility, I have access to all manner of dynamics, EQs, filters, routing logic, mic conditioning, auto-mixing, and so on.
“Moreover, I can give any function a control number and the Crestron or the ARC interface controls it. For a simple user interface, the ARC panels have everything I need. I can program the display to read whatever I choose, and of course I choose something that anyone, even with no A/V experience at all, will be able to understand intuitively.”
With CobraNet interconnects at all the input panels, the system is ready to expand whenever the Hutton Hotel asks. “They are extremely happy with both the sound quality and the functionality and will get years and years of use out of the system, even without any adjustments,” said Burgess.
“We typically let our clients use the system for a few months and then come back for final tweaks. SymNet accommodates that mode of operation. If they want to build on or add new features in the future, we can easily add on to what they have. There’s no need to start from scratch with SymNet’s modular design.
“It is a valuable system not just now, but stretching into the future.”