The club brought in XS Audio Visual to design and install a new system
UK - Bacchus Bar & Club in Bishop’s Stortford’s recently brought in XS Audio Visual to design and install an extensive sound system, powered by just two amplifiers from Linea Research.
The entire project had to be completed to a tight deadline. “We had only four days to completely rip out the existing sound and lighting systems and commission a whole new nightclub sound, lighting, and video install, including relocating the DJ booth and existing TV video feeds,” recalls XSAV managing director Lee Michael.
Michael describes the Bacchus Bar as “a perfectly sized, rectangular-shaped venue that can accommodate 500 people comfortably.” On weekends, the well-established hot spot is often busy enough to reach full capacity, with DJs energizing the crowd. During the week, the club’s entertainment systems are used for karaoke and sports events.
XSAV installed a dozen Void Acoustics Venu 12 loudspeakers, suspended from cradles near the ceiling. The low end, so crucial for DJs, was a little trickier. XSAV wanted to install a pair of Void Stasys 218 subwoofers, each loaded with two 18-inch drivers. “The club was concerned that the two subwoofers be out of sight,” Michael explains, “so we had a wall built around one of them and removed parts of the small bar to accommodate the other one.”
The dozen loudspeakers handle 400W AES power each, and the two subwoofers draw up to 2,400 watts AES power. But space taken by a large amplifier rack is space not usable by patrons. XSAV had a ready solution: Linea Research’s 44C20 power amplifier, which houses four channels, each delivering up to 5,000W (at 2Ohms) of Class D amplification, with very low distortion.
The 44C20 also offers extensive 96 kHz signal processing, including grouping and multi-layer equalization, as well as Ethernet networking, and a variety of input options.
Since the Bacchus Bar has no front-of-house mixer, XSAV installed a Symetrix Jupiter 8 digital signal processor to handle routing and processing. With eight inputs and eight outputs, a host of downloadable apps, and easy programming, Michael praises the Jupiter 8 as a potent choice for Bacchus Bar. “The DJ setup, two Sky HD+ boxes, and a local iPod input are all routed into the Jupiter 8 and selectable via a Symetrix ARC-2e wall panel,” he details.
Given the compressed timeframe, Michael was particularly grateful for the support Linea gave him in getting the amplifiers integrated and configured. “Linea delivered the amps to site and gave me a quick run through on the DSP,” recalls Michael. “When I came to commission the amps a couple of days later, very tired and late into the evening, they happily answered my call and gave me a quick refresher on how to set everything up.”
(Jim Evans)

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