K-array Invisible Audio Speakers Improve Dubai Restaurant Experience

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K-array Invisible Audio Speakers Improve Dubai Restaurant Experience

Posted on: 1st June 2017

It’s no secret that open spaces and reflective surfaces are ingredients that can wreak havoc for sound engineers. Add in a pinch of random décor and there’s the potential recipe for disaster.

This was the combination that Procom was met with when it was contracted to deliver the audio solution at the newly opened Italian restaurant Matto, located inside The Oberoi at Business Bay. With dozens of new restaurants and bars opening each and every week in Dubai, many of which are found hidden away inside hotels, it can be a challenge for the venue’s owner to provide customers with a unique experience. The food of course plays a significant role, but the decor and ambience can be just as important in delivering an environment with a difference.

In an effort to stand out from the crowd, Matto has opened its doors in Dubai with an industrial theme that blends the mechanical with small town Italy. A background of concrete walls and metal grating contrast with the bathtub filled with compost and fresh-growing basil. It is visually stunning and is certainly unlike anything you may have seen before, but how would it sound?

"The décor here is astonishing. They’ve got the heavy metal look going on and the DJ booth is on a Vespa! The area was scary at the beginning when we first started deploying the system as it was an empty room. I was listening to it and thinking, What have we embarked upon? This will be a disaster!" - Liam O’Brien from Procom

With such a focus on the visual aesthetics, the client brief did of course state that the restaurant required a sound system that would 'disappear into the décor, without compromising on sound quality' – essentially invisible audio speakers. Therefore, Mr O’Brien and his team utilized AutoCAD drawings and EASE simulation to determine the proper solution. This resulted in the selection and design of a K-array system, although there were still concerns about the space.

"The biggest challenge was the concrete and all the reflective surfaces," says Mr O’Brien. "The venue is hall-like and I told the client that we would do the installation and if it then still didn’t sound good, that they should be prepared to spend some money on acoustic treatment. They were fine with that. It was important to them to keep the industrial look."

Discussions regarding acoustic treatment would end there though, as once the audio speakers were installed it was no longer deemed necessary.

"In the end I needed to do very little equalising," notes Mr O’Brien. "What absorbed most of the acoustics was the furniture, which brings a bit more irregularity into the room. The good thing about the décor is that it is chaotic in terms of breaking up standing waves. I did the EQing directly on the amp with the K-array software so that it was included in the hardware loop."

The installation comprises 10 K-array Kobra-KK52 discreet line array elements, deployed five per side, hung with a combination of K-array brackets and custom brackets designed to take the difficulties of the environment into account.

"They are installed with vertical splay on one side as they are not too visible," explains Mr O’Brien. "On the other side, they are a lot more visible so we went with a horizontal splay, which works very well. This is something I have done at quite a few other restaurants with the splay, not only with the Kobra but also with K-array’s Python cabinets."

The nice thing with the Kobra-KK52 is the difference between the spot and flood modes, he continues. "If you’re using them as an array you set it to spot mode and the opening is 5-degrees. And then if you set it to flood, it adds 30-degrees on each side."

Handling the lows and complementing the Kobras is a pair of 18-inch K-array subwoofers from the Thunder line, KMT18. One has been placed in a cage along the wall next to the bar, the other is across on the opposite wall beside the DJ booth. The Dubai restaurant’s décor would again present a challenge when it came to installing the second of the subwoofers, with the visual look of the room taking precedence over sound. Procom therefore had to make a compromise.

"This sub was meant to be the other side of the DJ booth," Mr O’Brien points out. "But, they had a change of décor and unfortunately they thought it would ruin the aesthetics."

Behind closed doors, en route to the kitchen is a single Kommander-KA84 amplifier which powers the entire setup, suspended below the ceiling above a storage area.

"It’s all we need. It’s a big amp with four channels at 2,000W. One channel powers the five half-meter Kobras down one side, another powers those on the other side and a channel for each of the subs. Just one amp to power the whole system: it’s as simple as that."

With the system installed and the restaurant serving up pizza, pasta and myriad beverages, things are sounding as well as tasting good.

"The distribution of sound is very present without being overly loud,” concludes Mr O’Brien. “Clarity without the volume – that’s what you want to have everywhere."

Courtesy of K-Array