Since it opened in 2000, the venue had employed a house system for day-to-day work, hiring in something more substantial for special events. As the special events grew, so did the need for a permanent system that could handle the growing list of international DJs and the succession of live bands.
Due to the increase in live performances and to provide bands with a suitable working area, Xtreme AV devised a portable stage, constructed in front of the DJ booth before each gig. This meant that the sound system had to be portable, so that the stacks could be moved from either side of the DJ booth (behind the stage) to either side of the stage area. This narrowed Baines' options to a handful of top-line speakers. Eventually, he asked KV2 Audio's Andy Austin-Brown If he would come and do a demonstration 'live' on a Friday night.
Baines explains: "When you are specifying a system for this type of venue, you have to consider carefully the range of possible usage and expectations. Ease of operation, flexibility in the moving and set up of the system and of course, playback and sound quality is paramount. To find a system that offers you all of this in one package is not as easy to provide as it may appear from the myriad of products on the marketplace today. Budget is always a major factor - anyone can spend the client's money, the trick is to spend it wisely."
On the live demonstration night, once the system was set up (in around 35 minutes - Austin-Brown taking a straight feed from the mixer to the KV2 EPAK's), the Elbow Room team had their first chance to listen to a KV2 system. The initial response on the night was positive. Baines says: "What impressed them the most was the absolute force and power combined with the subtlest clarity and definition of the system, comments like 'pleasantly surprised' and 'you've just given me a bottom-end enema' were voiced."
The beauty of the system was its ease of installation", said Baines, "no elaborate system equalisation, control or processing required. Andy's demo definitely clinched the deal."
The final installation consisted of two KV2 ES1s and four ES 1.8s, plus two EPAK2500. Elbow Room also took advantage of the recently-released KV2 EX10 active loudspeaker, utilizing two of the units, with another serving as a DJ monitor.
(Lee Baldock)
