New York City’s Marriott Edition Hotel is one of the latest projects created by US entrepreneur Ian Schrager, who originally rose to fame as co-owner and co-founder of club Studio 54 in the late 1970s.
To take care of the audio solution, Schrager’s director of development, Michael Overington, enlisted the services of Ernie Lake’s AV firm, EL Media Group and Symetrix DSP.
“We knew exactly what was needed from the start,” says Lake.
“Working in cooperation with Schrager’s designers and the head of branding, Ben Pundole, we were asked to put together a system able to handle a DJ and other general audio duties, which could perform well and at different levels. Quality and even sound dispersion were an absolute must. The client also requested remote access for volume and source.”
As a long-time Symetrix system user – “we’ve been specifying their processors for many years now and love their products.”
It was a fairly easy decision to select two SymNet Radius 12×8 open architecture Dante-scalable DSPs. These were augmented by two SymNet xOut 12 I/O expansion units, with a handful of ARC-2e control panels also installed to provide the necessary remote control capabilities.
The installation covers a large number of areas across the facility – among them lobby check-in, bar/lounge, pool room, restaurant bar, three dining rooms, three meeting rooms, gym, spa, penthouse suites, restrooms and hallways – with suitably flexible audio distribution and processing. As part of its work in these spaces, EL Media Group also installed K-array speakers (“they were found to be suitable because of their slimline design and controlled dispersion”) and amplifiers, along with Tannoy in-ceiling speakers and Lab.gruppen amplifiers.
The end-result is a 360-degree package of high-end audio brands, with durable SymNet Radius DSPs from Symetrix as the bedrock. Responses from the owner/operator of Marriott’s NYC Edition property have been enthusiastic, and point to the prospect of further similar projects at other sites in the future. “They really love the system and we’ve been asked to design a few more,” reveals Lake.