Scarlet Lady, the first ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet
Europe - Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems has solved the challenge of delivering a premium nightclub experience at sea with the first ever installation of Martin Audio’s recently launched WPS optimised line array. The latest member of the Wavefront Precision family was specified long before its official launch to cater to the entertainment needs of Scarlet Lady, the very first ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet.
“We started audio specification for the ship back in 2016 but thanks to the strength of relationship with Martin Audio we were able to glimpse into the future product roadmap and as a consequence believed that the product that would become WPS was a perfect fit for the nightclub,” explained Rob Shuard, vice president, design & engineering of Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems. “We felt WPS would offer the perfect marriage of high performance, control, consistency and coverage in an ultra-compact format, befitting of the Virgin Voyages vision.”
The Manor nightclub is named after Virgin’s first music studio in England. The space was designed utilising two ship decks of height to maximize how the room feels and mimic the structure of land-based clubs. Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems has equipped The Manor with a state-of-the-art acoustic design as well as industry-leading equipment to support DJ sets, and Martin Audio’s WPS will take pride of place.
The set up in the nightclub consists of four WPS left and right of the stage, flown over two SX218 subwoofers. Supplementing this are a further four arrays, each of three WPS, flown over the dancefloor. The system is all powered by four iKON iK42 amplifiers supporting a two-box resolution for enhanced coverage, consistency and control.
“Virgin Voyages will redefine entertainment at sea and to help deliver on this mission it’s essential that we have the latest technology and superior audio to enrich our sailors’ experience onboard,” stated Daren Hirst, director, entertainment technical of Virgin Voyages. “We’re delighted to have Martin Audio’s latest Wavefront Precision line array in The Manor, knowing that its low distortion, richness of tone and clarity will provide endless hours of pumping tunes for our Sailors.”
Summing up, Dom Harter, managing director of Martin Audio concluded: “We are delighted to be part of this prestigious and exciting project from Virgin Voyages and grateful for Wärtsilä Entertainment Systems’ faith in us so far ahead of the announcement of WPS. Wavefront Precision line arrays have been the fastest selling in the company’s 48-year history and I’m sure WPS will add to that success and for Virgin Voyages it will help unite their sailors in spell binding entertainment.”
(Jim Evans)

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