City centre hotel installs A-Series in popular basement club.
Melbourne’s central business district has always been known for its wide and eclectic choice of bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, and the competition can be fierce when it comes to attracting patrons simply because there is so much on offer on every street corner. So, it’s no surprise that the Colonial Hotel has, for some time now, put a lot of investment and effort into creating a top-class establishment that can provide hospitality at every level.
At more than a century old the traditional bluestone building is, on the inside, well and truly in the twenty-first century with its large restaurant, four modern function centres, and in the basement, the popular Brown Alley nightclub, regarded as one of the area’s premiere venues.
Like many similar spaces, Brown Alley had historically relied on hiring in PA and lighting production around a core setup as and when needed, and to suit the needs of the event - be it a rock band or performance DJ. When an opportunity arose for Tan Huynh and the Synergy Events Group (SEG) to provide a d&b system for hire, the difference in sound quality and versatility was so noticeable that the venue, after a short rental period, decided to purchase and install a d&b rig that would cater for all the nightclub’s needs, removing its need to outsource audio equipment in future.
Brown Alley as a space essentially works in two modes. When a significant live act or performance DJ is playing, and it’s a ticketed event, the audio is expected to cover the entire space without any compromised listening areas (or ticket holders grumbling in their beers about the sound quality). On otherwise ‘normal’ nights when a resident DJ or local band provides the entertainment, the focus is more about good audio on the dance floor and close to the stage, but with less SPL everywhere else and at comfortable levels.
The speakers FOH are a single A-Series’ ALi60 and two ALi90 units flown for top end, and two B22-SUBs per side floor-stacked. Further distribution around the room is completed through six 8S loudspeakers which are an eight/one-inch, two-way co-axial loudspeaker that can be discreetly mounted wherever needed. Three 30D amplifiers are powering everything, allocated accordingly so that clever processing can do its thing. The venue also provides monitoring with a pair of MAX2 wedges and two B6 subwoofers, again on the business end of a 30D amplifier.
When it comes to support and advice, Huynh is unequivocal about just how close the relationship is between SEG and NAS Solutions, d&b’s Australian Distributor.
Ultimately, Brown Alley’s new audio install continues the Colonial Hotel’s program of keeping the venue at the forefront of Melbourne’s CBD entertainment choices. The d&b design provides the versatility and performance the nightclub needs, in a relatively small footprint. It’s cutting-edge technology that’s reliable long-term, allowing the hotel to concentrate on that more important traditional stuff - cold beer, good grub, and top-notch entertainment.
Thanks to for NAS / AV Technology Asia Pacific Magazine for letting us reproduce this story
