Client Requirement:
Kazbar Systems Commercial Audio specifies and installs high-end, evenly dispersed sound system into five zones of the Salcombe Harbour Hotel.
Harbour Hotel Salcombe
The Salcombe Harbour Hotel (formerly Marine Hotel), contacted Kazbar Systems in the early stages of this historic Devonshire hotel’s rebuild and expansion. We were engaged to specify a complete installation covering five zones including: Bar, Upper Lounges, Restaurant, Outside Terraces, Corridors & Conveniences.
The new owners of the hotel required a sound system which would offer complete and even sound dispersion throughout the main dining and entertainment areas so that wherever a guest walked or sat down, either in the bar or within the restaurant area, the music would always be at the same volume.
Another requirement was for the sound system to be able to perform for general entertainment including DJ, weddings and parties plus offer a pleasant, ambience to the outside terraces.
Due to the open plan design of the Bar, Lounge & Restaurant area and the sweeping glass facade of the restaurant, which looks out over the ocean and harbour, speaker placement had to be planned extremely sensitively with consideration given to speaker proximity, aesthetics and sound reflection.
Bar & Lounge
The Bar & Lounge areas of the hotel, were the areas which required greater sound performance aside from the Restaurant area. The DJ area which also includes the racks for the amplification and digital zone control systems, are within the Bar area too.
We chose Martin Audio AQ6 & AQ8’s to fulfil the requirements of performance and quality of sound placing the cabinets in areas which were both structurally secure and best suited for even sound dispersion.
The most important part of a well-specified sound system, is for the sound to add and enhance the atmosphere within a commercial establishment, not to clash with it.
A common issue in poorly specified audio systems is generally conflicting frequencies of background music and conversation, causing patrons to talk louder in an attempt to be heard over the background music.
To avoid conflicting frequencies and to create the ‘full range’ sound which is pleasing at low levels, we added two Martin Audio AQ112 Sub Bass enclosures.
These were hidden out of the way as to not be an obstruction, but to fulfil the sound requirements.
Harbour Hotel Salcombe Restaurant
The restaurant of the Salcombe Harbour Hotel is completely open space sitting behind a wide, sweeping glass façade. This is a focal point for the restaurant and could not be obstructed under any circumstances.
To solve the aesthetic constraints but also solve the sound reflection issues created by the glass facade, we chose Martin Audio C6.8T.
These were placed in even areas throughout the restaurant, focusing the sound downwards, and again, completed with two Martin Audio AQ112 Sub Bass enclosures.
Harbour Hotel Salcombe Outside Terraces
Ambient background music helps to create a relaxed atmosphere on a pleasant evening, the Salcombe Harbour Hotel has three Terraces,
two lower (one close to the Bar and one close to the Restaurant) and one upper which is close to the function room.
For the outside music we chose Bose DS40SE speakers as they are offer a great background sound and are durable too.
We placed two speakers per Terrace angled towards the seating areas, we chose the DS40SE’s in White to help blend in with the building architecture.
Harbour Hotel Salcombe Corridors & Conveniences
To complete the background atmosphere, we installed Martin Audio C6.8T Ceiling Speakers in the corridors, Hotel Reception and Conveniences.
DJ Enclosure
The DJ Enclosure is also the machine room of the hotel for the sound system. We collaborated with the hotel designers in making sure the racks within the DJ Enclosure were suitably ventilated and spacious to allow decent airflow.
The DJ equipment supplied consists of two Pioneer CDJ2000 Mixers and a Pioneer Nexus DJM2000 Mixer, also a Serato Scratch Laptop system.
Powering the Martin Audio AQ6’s, AQ8’s and C6.8T Ceiling Speakers are Martin Audio MA2.0 Amplifiers, Yamaha P5000S’s supply the amplification to the Martin Audio AQ112 Sub Bass Enclosures.
Also within the DJ Enclosure is the BSS Blu 100 Soundweb DSP Zone Control System. We have processed the sound frequencies of every zone of the hotel within the Soundweb System along with daytime and evening optimal volume settings.
This keeps the maximum volume level of the sound system within check and can only go louder if it is programmed to do so. This is to ensure that the sound system does not cause any environmental sound issues.
There are manual volume controls quickly accessible behind the DJ Enclosure should the sound in a zone need to be adjusted. The Bss Soundweb was programmed and set by the Kazbar Systems Commercial Installations team.
