Situated on Welsh Back, Bibas Lounge Bar & Restaurant has been created in authentic art deco style by owner Costa Kkolos, and incorporates genuine memorabilia from the original Carnaby Street boutique.
Among the chrome and beveled mirrors, which form part of the £550,000 spent in developing the new infrastructure, is the type of Martin Audio sound reinforcement system you might expect to see in any of the world's leading dance venues.
Trevor Brooks, who runs local pro audio specialists CPM, was brought in to carry out a site survey after Kkolos heard the Martin Audio system installed by the contractors at nearby Barcelona Bar. The CPM proprietor and his freelance sound engineer Alan Crane knew immediately how the sound could be optimised for diners in the formal 54-cover restaurant (with additional seating for 30 around the cocktail bar).
Aware that the ceiling had already been insulated with 18in thick acoustic material to prevent sound leaking up to the residential apartments above, Alan Crane proposed two pairs of W8LMDI down-fill line array enclosures in view of their directionality (20° vertical dispersion). Bass extension would be handled by a pair of ground-stacked Blackline S15 subs, and the entire front-of-house system is powered by Lab Gruppen amplification.
Mounted on the suspended ceiling (via bespoke Powerdrive brackets) the W8LMDI enclosures deliver absolute clarity for the cool lounge jazz that wafts over the diners at low level from a multi-play CD, while retaining Martin Audio's signature hi-fi sound when the venue reverts to live jazz sessions from pianist and stand-up bass.
"We knew that by using the down-fills any potential problems regarding noise spillage would immediately be eradicated," says Brooks.
In fact he has specified Martin Audio from the ground up, providing a pair of Blackline F10's for the performers' stage monitoring, distributing eight Martin Audio AQ8's around the interior and two AQ5's in the striking entranceway (all on delays from the BSS BLU-80 DSP processing).
"The combination of industry-standard processing and amplification has brought the best out of the Martin Audio system," reasons Brooks. "
Aside from the Martin Audio loudspeakers CPM has also been responsible for the general electrical contracting, the video (a 65in plasma display above the stage taking DVD feeds of classic movies) and the lighting (including the edge-lit fluorescent ceiling).
(Jim Evans)
